Page 30 of Royal Pain

“I was not!” My vehemence only got me four ‘uh-huh’s at the same time. “What?” I tried to sit back and Heidi huffed.

“Yes, you were. Spill it. Who was he? A sexy bartender? A gloriously buff waiter? Oh, I know. One of the strippers.” Heidi shook her head. “As long as it’s not going to turn serious, good for you.”

Her comment caught me off guard. What if I wanted to marry a bartender? I was legally divorced. I shuddered from the way she was looking at me, taking it all in as if reporting my actions to someone. Oh, come on. I had to stop acting like a ninny. They were my friends.

“It’s always the quiet ones,” Kristen said between clenched teeth. At least she was being playful.

“Always the ones you’d never suspect,” Rachel added.

“Stop it. For God’s sake. We’re all grown women here and unmarried. Except for you, missy. You shouldn’t dare look at a man and I’m not stupid. You’ve been flirting with the golden hunk of a bartender over there.”

“Hey. I’m not married yet. And I will always be able to look, just not touch. Damn it. But nothing is off limits at this point. At least I didn’t fuck a stripper.” Heidi’s voice had risen by several decibels. Every other woman sitting around the pool snapped their heads in our direction. Oh, no. They weren’t horrified or incensed. They were horny.

I cringed inside, trying to figure out how the hell I was going to avoid answering tough questions.

“Come on. We’re your besties and have been for ages,” Kristen teased.

“We’re not that old,” I told her. “Nothing to tell.”

“Then why are you blushing?” Ashley pointed again.

I threw my head back against the chair, kicking both feet. “You ladies are freaking relentless. You’re not going to allow me to live this down. Are you?”

“Hey, sexy man.” Heidi waved toward the bartender. “We need drinks for the hussies.”

The girl was in rare form. Granted, she’d always been the party girl, but she was letting it all hang out. That I couldn’t do. Not with the tough situation I was in. They knew that. Yes, they’d wanted me to let go a little since I’d been so tense and angry, but geez.

“If you say that any louder, you’re going to wake up every single person in the hotel.” I wagged my finger.

“Tough,” Kristen mused. “Who was he?”

“Or just admit you were with someone,” Rachel added.

“Fine,” I snarled as I leaned forward. The last thing I wanted to do was to let everyone around the pool in on our conversation. Plus, I doubted Gage wanted it known he’d been with a guest. I could tell it was like some unwritten rule by the slightly strained looks on his face in the early stages. Early stages of what, for God’s sake? We’d had a fling. So what? It wasn’t going to occur again because I couldn’t let it.

“Name. Address as in what state does he live in. Occupation. Financial status. And most important,” Ashley purred. “How handsome is he?”

“Let’s see. No names, period. I don’t know his state. He owns a company. I think he’s rich and handsome? He blows anyBachelorboy on television out of the water by ten-fold. There. You happy?”

The girls were fanning their faces, whistling under their breath.

Heidi was still leaning forward. “How did you do it?”

Kristen nodded. “Where did you meet him?”

“Ladies,” Rachel piped in. “The most important question is if she’s destined to see him again, including after we leave.”

“Stop it!” I kicked my feet up and down as the bartender sauntered over. I could tell by the look on his face that he was more than enthused about entertaining five wild women. Sighing, I leaned back again.

“We’ll have a bottle of your finest champagne for all five of us. On me,” Heidi cooed.

“Champagne? At eleven in the morning?” I wanted to be incensed but in truth, I needed a hint of courage. Plus, how could I lie to myself? I wanted a tiny, very personal celebration. I was sore, satisfied, hot, wet, and still wishing I could see him again.

“Why not? We’re on vacation.” Heidi was flirting even harder, licking her lips as he continued fawning over us.

“Anything else, ladies? How about some succulent fruit?”

Oh, boy, the dude was egging it on. Did they train the employees to do that? Why, yes. Yes, they likely did.

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