Page 7 of Knockout (Whiskey Dolls 2)

I narrowed my eyes in suspicion. “Fine. How’s it going with you?”

“Great,” she chirped happily as the other girls stopped behind her, forming a kind of semi-circle. “Absolutelyfantastic.”

Tossing my water bottle back into my bag, I crossed my arms over my chest and arched a brow. “All right, what’s going on? Did you sniff glue before rehearsal or something? You look like you’re high right now.” I sucked in an affronted gasp. “Swear to God, if you made magic brownies and didn’t share them with me, I’m going to be super pissed.”

She rolled her eyes dramatically. “I’m not high, you dummy. I’m just really,reallyhappy right now.”

“Yeah? Why’s that? You get the good stuff from Pierce this morning?”

“Well that’s a given,” she declared with a snort. “But it’s not why I’m so giddy right now.” She clasped her hands in front of her and did a little hop. “Charlotte, you want to tell her why I’m so happy?”

I looked to our friend Charlotte, lifting my brows in question as a grin pulled at her lips. “So, I went to get my hair done yesterday, and Nona was telling me about this guy she wants to fix up—”

Son of a bitch in six inch heels.I lifted my hands, palms out, and cut her off. “Oh hell no. Not going to happen.”

Marin squealed excitedly. “That’s the best part! You can’t say no. Youhaveto go on a blind date!”

“Like hell I do!” I cried indignantly as I stomped my foot on the floor. “I’m not gonna do it and you can’t make me.” Okay, so I might have been pouting, but who could blame me? Blind dates were the absoluteworst.

Marin’s smile turned into an evil glare as she planted her hands on her hips and cocked one leg out to the side. “Oh yes you damn well will. This is payback for the blind dateyousetmeup on. Remember?”

One time. I tried dipping my toe into the matchmaking pond one freaking time, and Marin refused to let me live it down.

“How the hell was I supposed to know the dude was a whackadoodle? He seemed totally normal to me. I didn’t know he was going to go allDatelinespecial on you!” I jabbed my finger in her face. “And if you really think about it, you should be thanking me.”

She snorted loudly. “How do you figure that?”

“Because it pushed you and Pierce together, remember?”

“It was a coincidence that Pierce just happened to be at the same restaurant at the same time as that date from hell.”

I lifted my chin smugly and shrugged. “You call it coincidence, I call it fate.” Yeah, so I was maybe giving myself more credit than I was due, but I still liked to think I played a part in helping my friend get her happily ever after. It meant I had something to hold over her head, especially at a time like this.

“I promise it won’t be the same thing,” Charlotte insisted, breaking up the stare-down happening between me and Marin. “Nona totally vouches for him.”

I gave my other so-called friend a skeptical look. “Yeah? How does she even know this dude?” I knew Nona Wanderly pretty well, seeing as she was the owner of the best salon in three towns. There wasn’t a woman I knew who trusted their hair with anyone but her or one of her girls, myself included. But Nona had a smokin’ hot man of her own, so she was currently one of those women who wanted everyone in the sisterhood to be just as lucky in love as she was. As the days, months, and years ticked by, more and more of my girlfriends were falling into that category. I had to say, it was a huge pain in the ass to their single friends like me.

Charlotte’s face got all soft and dreamy as she declared, “She said he brings his grandmother into the salon every weekend so she can get her hair done. I mean, how sweet is that?”

It did sound sweet.Incrediblysweet. But I wasn’t willing to cave. “Sounds like a red flag to me. If you tell me he also lives with her, I’m out. Guys with Mommy or Grandma issues are a no-go.”

“No, he doesn’t live with her,” Charlotte insisted. “She can’t drive, so he takes her. Apparently, he’s become pretty popular around the salon.”

“I think I’ve seen this guy,” Asher, another one of the girls, snapped her fingers. “Oh my God, he’sgorgeous. Like, the definition of tall, dark, and handsome. If I wasn’t already engaged to the love of my life, I’d climb that dude like a freaking tree.”

For some inconceivable and terrifying reason, at her description, the first image that popped into my mind was that of the joy-stealing demon who lived above me. He might have feasted on happy souls for a living and had a personality so bad I’d volunteer to be waterboarded rather than spend time with him, but the man was beautiful enough to make angels weep. God really had a sense of humor—or was a giant sadist—when he created Jude Kingsley.

Shaking off that tingly, skin-tightening feeling that always accompanied thoughts of his good looks, I reminded myself that he was a fork-tongued lizard man, and forced myself back into the present.

Charlotte persisted, unwilling to give up. “He’s handsome, sweet, and funny. And Nona said he even owns his own company. He’s a landscape architect or something, supposedly he’s really successful.”

“Then what’s the catch?” I questioned dubiously. “If this guy’s so amazing, why is he still single?”

“Apparently, he was engaged a few years back. The chick left him for his cousin. Burned him pretty bad, I guess, so he hasn’t really put himself out there. But Nona said he’s willing to give this a shot. She asked me who I thought would be a good fit, and after hearing a little about this guy, I immediately thought of you. You’re both hot, single, and amazing.”

I tried a different tactic then. “Yeah, but I’ve been flirting pretty hard with the guy from the floor above mine, remember?”

“It’s been four months,” Asher said with a roll of her eyes. “If something was going to happen there, it would have already.”

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