Page 4 of Sensuous

“Awww, that’s so nice of you to say. I was worried I was having a shitty hair day, but now you’ve made me feel all warm and cuddly inside.”

“Glad I could help. Any suggestions on what I should wear?” I ask, half-heartedly joking. Sadie’s taste is definitely not like mine. I think the only dresses I own are all black.

I’m hooked up for funerals until the end of the decade or until I either lose a lot of weight or gain a bunch.

Knowing me all too well, she laughs and says, “Well, maybe something black? Seriously, though, go with the strapless dress you wore to Devon’s wedding. That’s a good look on you. All that chopping vegetables does wonders for your arms, so show those babies off!”

She isn’t wrong. At least there’s that benefit from being a chef at Frederick’s. I just wish I could move up the ladder at the restaurant, but with Deidre as head chef, that’s never going to happen at my current job.

After slipping into the dress Sadie suggested, I take a good hard look in the mirror. Nice arms, if I do say so myself. Not a bad face either. I should wear those false eyelashes my mother sent me last week. They would make my eyes pop.

Why bother, though? I’m doing this for Sadie, not to meet some mythical hot guy who’s perfect for me. I’ve already decided that man doesn’t exist, so there’s no point in wishing for the impossible.

Not five stepsinto Club X and I already wish I was back at the apartment watching some serial killer documentary. The music is so loud I can’t hear myself think, and I’ve already been touched by too many strangers for this to be a good time.

Sadie thrives in places like this. Wide-eyed, she scans the room for hot guys, one of her favorite pastimes. Unlike me, shehasn’t given up on love. In fact, it’s the single thing on her mind most days, even though she’s had her fair share of lame guys waltz through her life.

How she keeps believing is beyond me.

Grabbing my hand, she gives it a squeeze and starts pulling me toward the bar. “Don’t just stand there like a pole. Let’s get a drink and check things out. I’ve seen about a dozen guys I’m liking already, including that man in the suit standing over near the wall. What do you think?”

I look around to see this man she’s talking about, and there near what looks like the office door across from the bar area down here on the main floor stands a very attractive man who I’m guessing has to be twice Sadie’s age. Is that the one she’s talking about?

“Have you decided to have daddy issues now?” I ask as she continues to drag me through the crowd. “He could be your father, honey.”

She turns to look back at him and smiles. “I don’t think so. He just has a vibe about him that makes it seem like he’s older. I’m guessing he’s not even forty, which is absolutely in my age range for potential boyfriends.”

By the time we get to the bar, she’s given me half a dozen reasons why older men are better lovers and how she thinks they could have a good time tonight. She is wearing that purple dress, which she claims is her get lucky dress, so maybe it could happen.

Whatever floats her boat. I’m not interested in any men, old or young, so who am I to say anything about her choices?

The attractive man behind the bar who sort of resembles the older guy over near the wall takes our drink order from her, and I nudge her in the side. Leaning in, I say in her ear, “This guy looks like your dream man across the room. Coincidence?”

Sadie narrows her eyes in disgust and stares at me. “Don’t ruin this. I have an entire fantasy going with that guy, and now you want to say he could be this guy’s father? No way.”

When the bartender serves our drinks, I lean across the bar and say above the way too loud music, “The guy over near the wall—a relative or does this place just hire men who look like you two?”

He gives me a very sexy smile and nods. “That’s Stefan March, the owner of Club X and my father. Cade March, at your service.”

I throw my head back and laugh at the sight of Sadie’s crestfallen expression from the news that her dream man is, in fact, old enough to be her father. “Told you!”

Trying to salvage anything good from this turn of events, she asks the bartender, “Any chance Daddy isn’t married to Mommy or step-Mommy?”

With another great smile, he shakes his head. “Sorry, he and my mother have been married for over twenty-five years. He’s crazy about her.”

Sadie clings to one last hope as she sighs and asks, “And you, Cade? Happily married too?”

“Not yet, but there’s a beautiful baker who stole my heart a while ago. Sorry. I have a cousin who looks just like my father and me, though. I think he’s coming by tonight, so stick around.”

When he walks away, I give her a hug to cheer her up. “There’s still hope. Maybe the cousin’s genes will work for you. These two do have a good look about them, so don’t give up yet.”

With a pout, she nods. “I’m worried you’re right and there are no good ones out there. So much for having a good night. Now all I can do is get drunk.”

“That’s the spirit. We’ll get drunk, dance, and have a good time. Who needs men to do any of that?”

That brings a smile to her face, and she lifts her glass in the air to make a toast. “Exactly! Who needs men? They’re only good for one thing, right?”

I tap the rim of my glass off hers and nod my agreement. “Right, and we have BOBs for that, so fuck ‘em!”

---