“Easy enough.” He caressed my skin with his heated gaze one more time. “And if you leave before one hour then you have to model for one of my paintings.”
“You’d really want me to pose for you? Wait, would I be naked?”
“Not completely.”
It took me a moment to respond. I would just have to suffer through Cole’s asshat friends for sixty minutes. There was no way I could lose.” I stuck out my hand. “It’s a bet. I better shine up my motorcycle boots.”
“We’ll see.”
Our handshake lingered overlong. I slid my fingers from his grasp and he stood. He fished in his pocket, pulled out a cigarette, and lit it. Then he held it between his thumb and forefinger as he squinted down at me through a thin veil of smoke. His silent stare was enough to heat every inch of my already sunbathed skin. I shifted nervously on the lounge.
“How do you like my new suit? Finley picked it out.”
He continued to look at me as he took a long draw on his cigarette and blew out the smoke. “Once again, Valley, I wasn’t looking at the suit.” He walked away, and I slid my hands beneath my thighs to stop the trembling.
***
Finely tried on eight different outfits for the party before finally deciding on the pair of skinny jeans and top she’d tried on the first time. I, on the other hand, had only one pair of jeans decent enough to wear in front of a large number of people making my wardrobe decision quite simple. Sometimes less is better.
Finley also checked her hair and make-up enough times in the mirror that even I was beginning to question her mascara application.
“You look beyond adorable, Finley. Stop fretting. Besides if Max is as cool as you say, he doesn’t sound like the type who will be turned off if you’re wearing too much lip gloss.”
Her hand flew to her mouth. “Shit, am I wearing too much lip gloss? I knew I went too crazy with the applicator.” She reached for a tissue, but I grabbed her hand.
“The gloss is fine but something tells me if we spend much more time getting ready, the party will be over.”
She waved that suggestion away. “Cole’s parties last until dawn or until everyone passes out. Whichever comes first.”
“Will Jude be there?” My question immediately solicited a raised eyebrow of interest from Finley.
“Maybe. Why do you ask?”
“No reason.” I hadn’t mentioned the bet to Finley, and now I was attempting to convince myself that the wager was my only motive behind the question.
“Uh huh, I see.” A small smile creased her cheek.
“Not every question has a hidden meaning.” I opened the door and ushered her out to the hallway before she had a chance to rethink her bracelets.
“No,” Finley said slyly, “but that one did.”
I decided to ignore her teasing. Music drummed through the house, and it sounded as if a lot of people had already congregated downstairs. There was an actual party room complete with wet bar and pool table, which I suppose should have been expected in a house with an elevator and theater.
One step into the room and I immediately felt out of place. The people gathered around the pool table and wet bar reminded me of the snooty half of my high school, only the snobbery was taken up a notch. My stomach twisted into a nervous knot, and suddenly, just as Jude had predicted, this was the last place I wanted to be.
“Finley!” two girls screamed with fake excitement.
“I hate these two girls,” Finley whispered from the side of her mouth.
Both girls looked as if they’d spent an entire day getting ready for the party, not a hair, eyelash, or fake nail out of place. They hugged Finley with even more overdone drama than they’d put into their greeting. One of the girls, who was passably pretty mostly because of the professional make-up job and expensive haircut, looked at me and made no effort to conceal her lack of approval. The diamond stud in her nose danced a bit while she crinkled her nose and stared down at my jeans.
“Nice vintage jeans,” she said. “Saks Fifth Avenue?”
“Mutli-family yard sale,” I answered. “Third Avenue.”
The girl snorted a derisive chuckle.
“We’re going to get drinks.” Finley took my hand and dragged me mercifully away.
“Gee, I can’t imagine why you don’t like them,” I said. “And they really seemed to like me.”
Finley smiled. “Hey, if they didn’t insult you then you should be worried. Just the fact that they took notice of you means they consider you a threat.”
We reached the bar and a tall, thin guy with a pair of thick rimmed glasses smiled down at us. “Hey, Finley, long time no see. What can I get you girls?”
“I’m not much of a drinker,” I whispered to Finley.
“Something sweet with not too much alcohol,” Finley told the guy. She glanced around casually and then she grabbed my hand so tightly her nails dug into my skin. “There he is.”
I glanced in the direction she was looking and found a guy who matched her description of Max perfectly. He seemed to sense we were staring at him and looked over with a friendly wave. The bartender pushed two icy drinks our way.
I leaned over to Finley. “This is your chance. Go talk to him before you lose him in the crowd and before you draw blood from my hand.”
She looked down at the death-like grip she had on me and laughed. “Sorry about that.”
“Go talk to him. I’ll wait here in the shallow end.” I lifted my glass. “I’ve got my floaties, and if I stay close to the side, I’ll be safe.”
I felt a bit like a nervous mother watching her child go off to school for the first day. I definitely wanted things to go right for Finley. In fact, I worried what may happen if it didn’t.
“I was beginning to think you weren’t going to show.” Jude was standing so close I could feel the heat of his body on my back.
I decided it was safer not to look at him. “Haven’t you heard the phrase fashionably late?” I glanced around at the crowd and realized Jude had instantly become the center of attention. Particularly with the female guests, and in particular, the two girls who’d I’d already met.
Jude pulled out his phone. “It’s eight minutes after ten.”
“I’ve already been here for at least five minutes.”
“Fine, then we’ll make your start time three minutes after.”
The two girls were making their way toward us. I looked back over my shoulder at Jude and wasn’t prepared for how close his mouth was to mine. It seemed to take us both by surprise and a heated hush fell between us.
“Here come the viper twins.” The words cracked out of my suddenly dry throat. “You’re on your own.” I picked up my glass.
“Jude,” the one with the nose diamond spoke using the same fake tone she’d used with Finley. “Cole said you weren’t going to show.”
I scooted away with no particular destination in mind. I could tread water for fifty plus minutes just to win the bet and then head back upstairs to the security of my room. Finley’s white blonde hair was easy to spot. She was standing next to Max, looking up at him with pure admiration. She seemed relaxed and thrilled to be standing there with him.
I peeked back through the crowd. Jude had vanished, but the two girls had been left behind. The only other familiar face in the crowd was Cole. He smiled and waved from across the room but appeared to be surrounded, and not surprisingly so, by a group of girls.
“And what is your name, beautiful?” I didn’t recognize the voice, but the mouthwash was definitely beer.
I turned around reluctantly. The guy was broad shouldered, semi-handsome, and completely drunk. And he was obviously not going to leave until I told him my name.
“I’m Eden.” I leaned out of the path of his toxic breath.
“I’m infatuated.”
I wondered how long he’d worked on that impressive little introduction. “Well, good for you.”
He stumbled closer. I took several steps back and glanced around for an escape route. Fortunately, Cole came to my rescue. “Hey, Mike, why don’t you slow it down? It’s early and you’re already shit-faced.”