Page 11 of Enticing the Fixer

“He’s the kind of guy that takes a woman home, bangs her, and then boots her out the next morning. If she even makes it through the night. And then, she’s ruined for the rest of her life.”

“Please.” I snort and roll my eyes. “He’s not that good.”

Ann arches her eyebrows and blinks. “He’s a guy like Sean. A bad boy. Except Sean was worse. He pretended not to be a bad boy.” Her eyes flash with anger as if his betrayal was last night and not a thing of the past. “Okay. They’re nothing alike, other than I bet he knows how to please a woman, and then all the other average Joe’s of the world will bore you to tears.”

“Maybe that’s what I want.” I glance over my shoulder. The man is gorgeous. Sexy. Confident. And doesn’t fit into the crowd here. He’s too…. Sophisticated. Even though he’s in jeans, I bet he’s more comfortable in an Italian suit and drinking whiskey from a crystal decanter than tipping back beers and eating peanuts.

“Girl, I don’t think you know what you’re getting yourself into. Have you ever had a one-night stand?” The man, finishes his beer, sets it on the counter, laughs at what August says, and takes a step.

Where is he going? Is he leaving? My heart thunders in my chest. Maybe it’s stupid, but it feels like if he leaves and I never speak to him, I’ve defied fate. I don’t want to be the person that defies fate.

He turns toward the hallway for the bathroom.Thank God.“There was one time I was with that guy from the pizza place.”

“You were seventeen. And it was only once because he got back together with his girlfriend. You had wedding stationery picked out and your children’s names selected.”

“I did not.” I spin around to glare at her. “Fine. I did. There would have been a dove carrying a white ribbon on the invitations, and Abby and Gabby would have been sixteen and fourteen. I appreciate your support, but I’ve had a bad day, and I’m not looking for a guy to marry. I’ve already done that, and it wasn’t what it was touted to be in the fairytales. I want to make sure everything still works. It’s been three and a half years since Jeffrey, and I were divorced.”

“And a year prior since you’ve had sex.”

“Thank you. I didn’t need a reminder that Jeffrey was getting off when I wasn’t. I saw the evidence in living color turning four years old today. Which is why I’m here tonight, forgetting about my past bad choices.”

“By making new bad choices.” She grabs my hand. “Stay away from that guy. You’re going to want something he’s not going to give. He’s the smooth talker type. The kind that never settles down and commits but can talk the panties off a mannequin.”

“Ple-e-e-ease. Nobody can do that.”

“You can’t have random sex and not get into your feelings. Kinsley, you haven’t had sex for over four years. That says something about how not into random sex you are.”

I’m not listening to her. I shove my chair back while grabbing my gear. “Wish me luck.”

“Good luck.” She crosses her arms over her chest. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

Ann’s words swirl in my head as I dodge a guy wearing cargo shorts and a wifebeater T-shirt. He stops in mid-conversation and smacks my ass. I jerk away from him and glare. “Watch it, Buddy.”

“Ah, don’t be a prude.” He leers at my tits.

Prude. I’m not a prude. Or frigid. Or too caught up in work to pay attention to my husband’s needs. My hands ball into fists, and the guy steps back while raising his in defense.

“Sorry. Didn’t mean any harm.”

“I accept your apology,” I say between clenched teeth. I’m sick of asshole men.

I stomp toward the bathroom. The only reason I was frigid with my ex was because he couldn’t find a clit with a neon flashing sign or one of those people dressed in a costume twirling an oversized arrow pointed at the precise location.

If my ex had bothered to look, he probably would have found my knee instead. I trip over my boot.

Mr. Sexy as Fuck leans against the wall. His eyes glow with more than a dash of humor as one corner of his mouth raises upward. “Took you long enough.”

Ann is right. He’s too over-the-top for me. “How did you know I’d follow you?”

“Lucky guess.” He shoves off the wall as two guys brush past on their way to the bathroom.

“This is a bad idea.” I step backward, running into the wall.

He cocks an eyebrow and gnaws on his bottom lip. “Is it?”

“Yes, it’s a bad idea. I don’t do this.”

“And what is it that you don’t do?” His voice rolls down my back and straight to curl my toes.

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