Page 6 of The Hookup
She had experienced a couple of short flings in Hong Kong. They had been nothing serious, and more to help her pass the time with.
But things hadn't fared any better since she’d returned to New York. She'd met up with one of her ex-boyfriends a few times. Dean had been the closest she had ever come to serious, and when he’d called her a few months ago, she’d gone running back instead of heeding Savannah’s advice. He had used her for a weekend, and then discarded her just as easily. So much for ‘talking’, and a possible reconciliation.
She never learned.
A booty call, Savannah had said later, when she had confided in her cousin. So when her mother talked about Xavier Stone being a possible future prospect, it was the last thing she wanted to hear. She had already tried to make conversation with Xavier. Tried and failed. Made out with him too, and failed.
Xavier had spent most of yesterday evening—well, not most,some—showing her card tricks, and they had talked and flirted, and had ended up kissing. She had to give him that—the guy was a good kisser.
A great kisser.
Things might have progressed to something else had it not been for Tobias showing up out of the blue. As soon as his brother had appeared, Xavier had dropped her like a dirty stone.
Humiliation washed over her like a dirty rag. He turned his back to her and ignored her completely. She’d left, walked away into the night, back to the beach, and the bar, once more wondering why some girls had all the luck, and why she didn’t.
Xavier walked into view, standing on the other side of the dance floor and eyeing up all the guests. The sight of him irritated her. The last thing she needed was for him to come over to this table, or for her mother to notice him and wave him over. She couldn’t put it past the woman.
“I’m going to mingle,” she announced, getting up from her chair.
It was too early to go to bed, too early to be lectured on the virtues of being married, and too early to sit around with a bunch of old people.
Surely there had to be other good looking guys on the island?
Chapter 3
The cousin of the bride was at the bar again. Yesterday she had been reeled in by Xavier’s magic tricks, and no doubt, his charm, but, Luke noted, she blatantly avoided the younger Stone today.
“What can I get you?” he asked. The good mood she’d been in earlier had disappeared and she now seemed downcast and was trying to hide it. But eyes didn’t lie, and her soft brown ones gave it away.
“A bloody Mary, please.”
“A bloody Mary, coming right up, but,” his bartender persona switched into gear and he placed his forearms on the bar top, bringing his head down to her level. “Are you sure you wouldn’t want something more adventurous?”
He had an easy way with girls, and he always attracted their attention, even back at The Oasis, where people knew who he was. He was used to the attention, and used to extricating himself from over-eager customers, but it still never stopped the women from making their intentions known to him.
Kay’s seemingly melancholy mood, in such stark contrast to how she had been before, piqued his curiosity. This woman looked as if she could do with some company, and a part of him felt sorry for her. She should have been dancing the night away instead of being at the bar alone.
“I don’t know,” she replied, picking up the cocktail list he’d put together for this event. “What do you recommend?”
“What do you usually like?” Some liked their cocktails to be like milkshakes, others liked them strong and reeking of alcohol.
“How about a Slow Comfortable Screw Against The Wall?”
He wasn’t prepared for that one. She held his gaze as the double entendre slipped through his ears and ignited the fire that would give him a boner, if she carried on talking like that.
“I can get you one of those,” he replied slowly, noting the sudden change in her temperament. Whatever it was that had dampened her mood, seemed to have suddenly disappeared.
Her full lips parted into a smile. “I look forward to it,” she purred, sending a shooting star of excitement through his body.
She was forward this one, nothing like Savannah. But he was used to it. It wasn’t the first time he’d had a customer proposition him with one of those. In his line of work, he got chatted up all the time. “Be careful what you wish for,” he replied, returning the smirk. “I’ll whip you up one of those and add my unique twist to it.”
“Whip away,” she replied, leaning forward, the tops of her breasts were pushed up to the hilt and on display in her low-cut fuchsia colored dress. Her dress, and her breasts, were hard to ignore.
She was obviously looking to make an impression.
He got busy, making up her cocktail, and threw her a sidelong glance. She looked as if she had the weight of the world on her shoulders, and he wondered if Xavier had had anything to do with this.
“Here you go,” he said, sliding the glass her way.
