Page 1 of A Reclusive Heart

CHAPTER 1

“On behalf of Rerum Publishing House,” Rick said as he raised his glass of champagne, “I would like to congratulate our guests of honor on their five-year anniversary!”

A loud round of applause broke out among the party guests as the happy couple smiled dreamily at each other while Nick stood there, somehow managing to force a smile. With a grin, Rick held up his hand, motioning for the crowd to settle down. “We are also here to celebrate a momentous occasion for Rerum Publishing House and for Dana Pierce. As of this month, all six books of herChristian and Baileyseries novels have sold over a hundred million copies worldwide.”

Nick watched as the luckiest bastard, as far as he was concerned, pulled a very surprised Dana into his arms and slowly spun her around while he gave her one of those achingly sweet kisses that had all the women around them sighing dreamily.

It just made him sigh.

He loved his friends. He really did. They were great, down-to-earth people with hearts of gold, and had four of the greatest kids he’d ever met, but sometimes it was a little much for him tohandle. Most of the time, it didn’t faze him, but other times like this, when their love was practically a living thing reaching out to bitch-slap everyone in the room, it was difficult to handle.

It made every single woman around them get that hopeful look in her eyes just before they turned calculating. Then, right before his eyes, once levelheaded women turned into vultures, setting their sights on all the single men around them. Hell, five women were giving him that look right now, probably trying to determine what kind of husband and father he would be. Would he worship her? Be there for her? Be faithful? Take out the trash? The answer was very simple.

God fucking, no.

Marriage wasn’t for him and every woman out there should be thankful that he was determined to stay clear of the altar. Put simply, he was not the marrying type. Never had been and never would be. It wasn’t that he didn’t believe in marriage. He did, for the right people, that is, and the right people definitely did not include him.

He was a thirty-two-year-old man who’d never had a girlfriend and didn’t want one. That was too much commitment and way too much fucking drama for him. He didn’t want to be responsible for someone else’s happiness or be held accountable for remembering shit like birthdays, anniversaries, Valentine’s Day, or not to fuck her best friend when he was bored. No, that was just way too much to expect of him.

He was the man that you went to for fun and always had been. As a kid, he’d been responsible for giving more than half the girls in his class their first kiss. He loved women and they loved him. As long as they remembered that there would never be anything more between them than sex, then all was right in his world.

For those who thought they could change him...

Well, they got what they deserved. He never lied or pretended to be something that he wasn’t. He made damn sure of that. Any woman he took into his bed knew that he was an asshole and that she better not get her hopes up where he was concerned. It just wasn’t worth it.

He wasn’t worth it.

“Congratulations to Edward and Dana Pierce!” Rick said, leading the room in another toast.

Nick held up his glass of scotch in their direction. Dana deserved this more than anyone. Seven years ago, she’d walked into their offices a broken-down woman trying to keep it together for her two kids. Where most women would have been bitter in her situation, Dana had thrived. She’d pulled her life together and shared her heart with the world. Then, Edward stepped into her life and showed her what love really meant.

Where the hell was this romantic shit coming from? God, he needed another drink and possibly a woman to lose himself in for the night. He glanced around at the marriage-minded vultures and scratched the last part. He just needed a drink.

Nick made his way through the crowd of well-wishers to the bar, where he had to wait for twenty women to finish flirting with the bartenders and place their orders. Christ, couldn’t Rick have hired a few female bartenders? If he had, Nick would already have a drink by now.

“So, what do you think?” Rick asked, leaning back against the bar.

Nick sighed, giving up any hope of getting another drink. “I think I should hire the staff for the next event.”

Rick chuckled. “I think you’re still banned from that job after the Christmas party.”

“That party was memorable,” Nick drawled, making Rick’s lips twitch with amusement.

“Hiring strippers to function as staff was definitely one for the books,” Rick said dryly.

“No one complained,” Nick said, shrugging it off.

Rick threw him a disbelieving look. “Every single woman complained. Many of them demanded your head on a platter.”

Nick waved it off as he tried once again to get bartender’s attention only to be ignored.

Fuck.

“The service that night was great.”

“Yeah, it was. With every drink, the guests were offered a lap dance for half the price and a few were offered a Happy Ending.”

“That’s good service, nothing like the sausage fest you’ve got going on tonight,” Nick drawled.

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