Letting Loose!

“How is Tyler? What kinda cases is he taking these days?” Emma said with another one of those stupid smiles.

“Criminal cases, I imagine, since that’s what he does.” Tina gave the ab man a teasing smile, and then shrugged so her erect nipples pressed against the thin material of her top. She didn’t have many inhibitions: where she’d grown up there had been no privacy, no room to herself, no real parents to look after her. She’d had to fight for anything she’d wanted, using her brain, and later her body, to her advantage.

“Stop that.”

“Stop what?”

Emma straightened up. “Stop flirting with someone else’s boyfriend. She’s going to attack you with those lethal-looking fingernails.”

“I’ll bet my manicure against her manicure any day.”

“You won’t be as pretty with bloody gouges on your face. Besides, there might be a weapon under that towel.”

“The only thing she’s hiding under there is cellulite. What does she expect? She should go work out. Why should I sweat at the gym, and then hide my body just to make her feel good?” Tina’s voice got a little shrill. Lately, she’d been going to the gym just to kill time, and to try to get rid of the lethargy dogging her evenings.

Emma held up a hand. “Shhh. What’s wrong with you? Since when do you have to poach? You usually only act like that when you’re pissed off, and since talking about Tyler seems to piss you off, I think you might consider the ramifications, counselor.”

“Ramifications?” Tina rubbed her index finger and her middle finger together, a nervous habit she hated. She never thought about Tyler. He’d overstepped her careful boundaries, for which he’d been banished, and then buried, as deeply as all the rest of the shit in her past.

“Okay, ignore the obvious if you think you can. You may not care about romance, but I want it, all of it. And I don’t want to ruin this special time by spending the evening of my party watching some stripper and throwing up on my best friend.”

“Well, thanks for thinking of me, but I’d rather get stinking drunk than get caught up in any romance.” Tina shuddered for effect, making her breasts giggle. The man across the sauna made eye contact with her chest, making her grin. His girlfriend grabbed his arm, muttered something in his ear and then pulled him to his feet.

“That wasn’t nice.”

“I’m in a rut, and he looked like he could pull me out. It’s frustrating—my job’s going great, and I’m still restless. What’s wrong with me?”

“Nothing a relationship with Mr. Right wouldn’t cure.”

“Right. I’ll take The Bandit.”

“That’s not a relationship. You’re dangerous in this mood. That poor guy is going to get it from his girlfriend. She couldn’t wait to get him outta here.”

“I can’t help it.”

“Just try to concentrate on the party, okay? This is my night, so I get what I want. And I want a cruise theme.” She blew out a breath. “Tony’s family is huge, and we’re going to be inundated with them.” She eyed Tina. “But the more the merrier, so if you want to invite…”

She knew whom Emma would suggest she invite if Tina allowed her to continue. “We can start on the beach, and then move the later portion of the party to a nice inside suite. The guests who are interested can get rooms for the evening. And your hair won’t get all frizzy.”

Emma ran a hand tentatively through her hair.

Tina smiled. Mentioning frizz usually distracted Emma from those topics Tina most wanted to avoid.

“A bonfire with those flaming torches would be nice,” Emma said, sounding wistful. “It would be informal and fun.”

Tina resisted the urge to sigh.

“We could go for a walk in the moonlight.”

When Emma got that distant look, Tina knew she was remembering the beach where she’d met Tony. It wasn’t hard to see the magic between them.

I’m not jealous. “Everyone will be waiting for the falling-down-drunk part of the party, so we should at least get them started with those drinks mixed in coconuts.”

Emma shook her head. “Not everyone will be looking to get drunk.”

“Yeah, well, without The Bandit, you need to spice up the party somehow. You’ll regret not having him. Believe me, it would make it a memorable evening. One fortunate lady might have even gotten lucky with him.”

“No one sleeps with a stripper—especially not you. You’re not desperate. You’re just in a little rut.”

“Thanks.” Ever since the cruise, when Emma’s life had fallen into place, Tina’s seemed to have fallen apart. She couldn’t seem to find a man to satisfy her.

“Maybe you’ll meet someone at the party.” Emma patted her arm, and Tina resisted the urge to pull away. She wasn’t used to sympathy, and usually resented it. But for some reason, Emma mattered to her.

And it still surprised the hell out of her.

“What? And have the night ruined? There are rules against men interfering with our female fun, you know.”

“Since when are you a stickler for rules? I agree that the girls should have a little fun, but no strippers. Promise me.”

Tina rubbed her fingers together. It was an old nervous habit she’d thought she’d conquered. It certainly wasn’t appropriate for a hotshot lawyer who looked to make partner in Jacksonville’s biggest law firm. She glanced down at her fancy manicure and realized that technically, her fingers were crossed.

“Tina, promise me!”

Those naughty fingers, Tina grinned.

“Okay, I promise.”

1

“TINA, THAT STRIPPER’S amazing. What an ass. And those abs. It’s amazing what little strips of leather can do for a man. I just wish I had the chance to tear off all that leather—with my teeth.” Lindsay bared her perfect pearly whites.

Tina noted that Lindsay’s toothy smile looked almost feral in her pinched, anorexic face.

“Here’s to men in leather.” Lindsay raised her glass in a mock toast, expensive rings sparkling on every one of her bony fingers.

The Bandit certainly had Tina’s vote, and between his gyrations and the leather straps shifting over his tan muscles, he certainly had everyone’s attention.

Tina blurrily considered that she was almost drunk.

Good thing, too, because Emma’s usually placid eyes were the color of a storm at sea. Tony could be seen trying to calm her, but Tina knew she was in trouble for hiring The Bandit, and then sneaking him into the hotel with all those luscious leather straps hidden under a trench coat.

Lindsay was right. Leather made a man hot.

Tina was also hot.

She’d been fired up all the way into the hotel after the dinner and the bonfire. But only because The Bandit was due to arrive.

Maybe she should have taken The Bandit directly to her hotel room: gotten sweaty and mussed while taking off each section of leather, piece by piece, inch by sexy inch—instead of hanging here with all of these couples.