Oh, yeah, definite interest on their part. Big smiles from bachelors number one and two—if they were, indeed, bachelors. Kate narrowed her eyes and tried to check out the ring fingers of their left hands. Bare handed. Not that the lack of jewelry was concrete evidence of no previous attachments, but there was no gold or platinum in sight. A slightly vague glance in their general direction from the man wearing sunglasses tripped her pulse into gear. He was extremely attractive.
Weird, though. Who wore shades in a bar late at night? Maybe something was wrong with his eyes.
Gigi’s radar was working, as usual. “Hmm. Alphas. I can almost hear the growling from here. A wolf pack on the hunt.” She squirmed in anticipation. She tended to go for a certain type of man.
Captivated, Kate bit her lip at Gigi’s antics. She loved men—all things male—and made no bones about it. As if they could read her mind, Blondie, Blackie, and Sunglasses smiled, straightened as they noticed the women’s attention, did the expected hot guy chin lift, and hoisted long necks in salute.
No sissy frosted mugs for those three. Bottle babies all.
Her lips twitched at their posturing. Cliché, yet endearing. Gigi had them pegged – Alphas. Confident, assured, accustomed to feminine attention, and appreciative of it.
The twitch gave way to a grin as something warm and happy flowed through her veins. Something she hadn’t felt in a very long time. She had to admit they were cute, and she was having fun.
“They’re looking our way,” Gigi said. “I don’t think we’ll have to wait long for introductions.”
Kate watched with fond indulgence as Ellie clapped her hands like a four-year-old in front of a birthday cake. Typical Ellie, full of appealing innocence and enthusiasm and charm. All out there. If she thought it, she said it. She loved that about her friend. Amusing and aggravating at the same time. “Oh, goody. I was beginning to think tonight would be a lost cause. Anyone calling dibs?”
“Me first.” Gigi, the assertive one, considered the men, and took a sip of her drink before she smoothly adjusted her jacket on the back of her chair. Her provocative gaze grazed the guys as they sipped their beers and cast surreptitious glances their way. Typical “man sees woman, pretends not to notice while doing internal fist bumps with his friends” type of thing.
“I like the blond. He’s just my type—hot and hungry.” Gigi leaned to her left to look directly at Ellie, who rolled her eyes at her friend.
She should have known Gigi would go for the blond. Every man she dated was blond. Blue eyes, brown eyes, green eyes. Didn’t matter. But, blonde—always. Surfer dude, biker bad-ass, military, whatever, as long as his hair was a certain shade of pale.
Ellie chimed in, staking her claim. “They’re all hot, Gigi. If you want the blond hunk, and it goes without saying you do, he’s all yours. I’ll go for tall, dark, and dangerous. A little intense, maybe, but I like that. And those shoulders, and…”
Kate shook her head. “And here I thought tonight was my night. But no worries. Those aviators have me curious. Who wears sunglasses in a dark bar at night?” She gave voice to the question that had been dancing in her head as she inspected the remaining gentleman.
Glasses aside—couldn’t tell much about a man’s face when he was wearing shades—he was very nice-looking. Strong jaw. She liked that. Tall. Maybe a little too tall for her petite frame. Nice clothes over a very fit body. He took good care of himself.
Her head tilted to the side, and she caught Ellie and Gigi smiling at each other.
“Thought you weren’t interested in meeting a man, girlfriend?” Gigi teased. “Not that I’m complaining. That’s our mission for tonight. Getting you out of your man rut, reintroducing you to male society in general. Convincing you there are still good guys out there if you give them half a chance. It’s time to move on with life after your breakup. Ellie knows you’re ready. I certainly know you’re ready. Trust me, those guys know you’re ready.” She dipped her head toward the wolf pack still scenting the air. “The only one we still need to convince is you.”
“How can you possibly know if I’m ready to date again or not, when I don’t know myself?”
Ellie smiled sweetly. “You’re here, aren’t you? And the sparkle in your eyes tells me you’re happy you came.”
“Maybe.” She shrugged as Gigi snorted in a most unladylike way.
She stared a bit longer than necessary. How did Gigi know one of the men flirting with them from a distance was a good guy? They were well groomed, attractive—more than attractive, really. But looks had fooled her before. Still, if she didn’t take a chance, she’d never find out. Maybe tonight was the night to take that first step.
Her heart tripped at the thought. Rusty, that’s what she was. Out of practice. Re-entering the dating pool was one scary proposition.
Ellie did a covert three-sixty as she pretended to slide her purse strap over the back of her chair. Giving them a cool once-over from under her lashes, and thus implied permission to proceed, her friend played coy, ducked her chin to the side, then turned to her posse.
“Hot. Hot. Hot,” Ellie observed. “Any women in their general vicinity, or do they look available?”
Gigi snorted. “You’re kidding, right? Honey, all men are available at eleven o’clock on a Friday night. If you don’t see ladies draped all over them by now, it’s safe to assume they’re unattached. Anyone ready to make a move?”
They both glanced pointedly at Kate, who stared studiously at her margarita. “Well?”
Katherine sighed and dropped her shoulders. She glanced toward the bar and chickened out. This was more difficult than she’d imagined. And these particular men were alarmingly handsome, virile—out of her league.
Casually, but not convincingly, she muttered, “Not interested.”
“You are such a liar,” Gigi accused, tossing her curly, dark hair over her shoulder. “You’re as intrigued as Ellie or myself. Come on, those guys are hot. Ours for the taking. They’ve been staring at us the entire time, which means the lures have been cast and all we have to do is bite the hook. Take a deep breath and stop this nonsense. You. Are. Going. To. Do. This.”
Ellie narrowed her aqua green eyes at her and combed a strand of her long, red mane through her fingers. “She’s right. You can’t back out now. We won’t let you. Decision time, Kate. Now or never. One of those guys is going to make a move on you, and we’re here to see that you accept. Get off the roller coaster. Put the past behind you once and for all. Come on,” she urged. “Time for you to start living again. You’ve got to admit, he has an air of mystery about him. Dark glasses and all. Maybe he’s a spy.”
Ellie chimed in. “On a secret mission…trying to blend in with the locals.”
She laughed at the absurdity of her friends. “Right. A spy that looks like him? Hiding in plain sight with two other men that look like that? I don’t think so.”
Gigi shrugged. “It could happen.”
Ellie sipped her margarita. “Oh, look.”
One of the guys said something to his companions, and all three laughed as they continued to enjoy the view. Blackie, the tall, dark, and handsome one, finished his beer and cocked a crooked smile at Kate. So did Blondie. She couldn’t tell about Sunglasses, but he put his beer on the bar, and straightened in her direction as if all his attention was for her and her alone.
Heat emanated from the trio of sexy men across the room, and she unconsciously licked her lips. So delicious. Each man in his own way a temptation to her romance-starved heart. Excitement sent adrenaline straight to her bloodstream.
She slid her eyes to Ellie, whose aqua orbs held steady, patiently encouraging. “Now or never, babe.” Dread and undeniable excitement sent her pulse over the limit.
Suddenly, Kate panicked. This was really happening. Three delectable men were showing an inordinate amount of interest—in her. It delighted Ellie and Gigi, and scared the everloving crap out of her. Every curse word she’d ever known ran amuck through
her head as she blurted, “Damn. Why did I agree to this? I’m not ready for the single scene again. It’s too soon.” She shot a censorious glare at Gigi. “This is all your fault. You go for it. I’m not available.”
The other two women shared a meaningful smile as she groaned. There would be no escaping this bar without a genuine effort on her part to at least speak to a man. Her friends cared about her, wanted the best for her, had been by her side through thick and thin since they’d known each other. No, there would be no backing out this time.
“Methinks she doth protest too much. Take it easy —it’s just a tiny panic attack. Take a deep breath… good. Now look at the eye candy…good. Tell me you don’t want a taste of that. Quit lying to yourself. You’re ready and you’re available and you know it,” Ellie proclaimed.
Kate squirmed in her seat. “Okay, more like reluctantly willing.” Hadn’t her ex-fiancé, Clark, the schmuck, the liar, the cheat, taught her anything? Men were not to be trusted. Most men. Maybe these men. Her determination to put the past behind her plummeted. She was such a coward.
She should leave. Just get up, grab her wrap, and hit the road. Ellie glared in her direction, the unspoken demand to “stay put” clearly written all over her face.
“This attitude of yours is getting boring,” Ellie said after a quick glance toward the bar. “I’ll admit you had a run of bad luck, but that’s no reason to penalize the rest of the male population. Let it go, Kate. Have a little fun. Live a little.” Reaching out to take her hand, she gave it a warm squeeze. “Listen, Clark was a douche. Count your lucky stars you’re rid of him. He didn’t deserve you, he never deserved you—you know it, and I know it. And somewhere out there, there’s a great guy, just meant for you, waiting for his special girl. Wanting just you. Needing just you. All you have to do is give him a chance.”
Kate listened in dismay as the man at the adjacent table murmured to his date, “Do you think I’m a douche?”
She choked on her drink, her cheeks growing warm. “Can we lose the word ‘douche’ now? I think everyone gets the idea.”
At once, Sunglasses said something to the bartender, and in short order a waitress delivered fresh drinks. “Tequila shots. Compliments of the gentlemen at the bar, on behalf of truth, justice, and the American way.” The girl hitched her head toward the men and set the shot glasses down with a wink. “FYI, those guys are regulars. Three of the good ones. Polite, respectful. You could do worse. Not one of them I’d call ‘a douche,’ ” she said with a wink.
“Oh, my god. Did the entire restaurant hear us call Clark a douche?”
Gigi snorted a dry laugh. “If the shoe fits…”
Ellie stage-whispered behind her hand, “They’re trying to get us drunk.”
Eyes wide, Gigi shrugged. “We’re already drunk. What the hell?” She turned in the booth and held her drink aloft. “To the new men in our lives. May they love us, laugh with us, and banish all others from our memories.” Spoken once again a bit too loud, her words brought titters from the patrons of the entire bar, and a few cries of “hear-hear” could be heard from the ladies.
Her friend was right. She was buzzed but good. They all were, and she giggled again.
Gigi slammed the glass a wee bit hard on the table and smacked her plump lips. Across the room, about seven men pushed off the bar, meeting the elbows of the three who’d bought them a drink.
Blond hunk leaned elbows back and narrowed his gaze toward her blissfully buzzed friend. Tall, dark, and handsome threw some cash toward the bartender and nudged Sunglasses.
“Uh-oh. Launch at two o’clock,” Ellie warned, sitting a little taller, tossing her hair over her shoulder, and grabbing her purse for a quick swipe of gloss. Well, she was ready.
Gigi lounged in the corner of the booth, a welcoming expression on her face.
Yep, Gigi, too.
“You can do this,” Ellie interjected. “We’re behind you one hundred percent. If you don’t feel comfortable after meeting them, we’ll pay our bill and take this party to my apartment, okay? Take a breath. You walked through the valley of the shadow and survived. Nothing but good times and good things ahead, I promise.”
Sharing gazes filled with love and empathy, Kate realized they were right. It was time to move on. So she’d been screwed over by a man unworthy of her. Join the club. She wasn’t the first, nor would she be the last. And they were right. She was lucky to find out about Clark before they were married. No, it didn’t do much for her self-esteem, didn’t make it hurt any less.
But better to find out now than later.
About the author...
Alabama College
University of Alabama in Birmingham
Vocal Performance & Music Education
Soloist with Birmingham Civic Chorus
Married 48 years
3 children, 2 grandchildren & 3 grand-dogs
Owner and operator of piano studio for three years while living in Ohio
Business owner/partner thirty years Ft. Lauderdale, Florida
Traveled throughout Europe and the US
(lots of research)
Loves to read and write, play piano and, of course, sing
Active member of Romance Writers of America
Writing Romance from the Heart
Thank you for purchasing
this publication of The Wild Rose Press, Inc.
Sonata by Moonlight Page 23