Seven Books for Seven Lovers

by Molly Harper, Stephanie Haefner, Liora Blake, Gabra Zackman, Andrea Laurence, Colette Auclair

“Yeah,” she giggled. “I think that’s an appropriate closing statement for this interview.”

  Ryan grabbed his clothes and dressed. Such a shame to cover that bod. She could already envision him in the shop with that chest on display, signing autographs and flashing his stellar smile. Was it bad that she had already hired him in her head?

  “Thanks again,” he said and stepped toward the bed.

  How do you say good-bye after an interview like that? Like any other, Mia supposed. She held out her hand. “Have a good night.”

  He shook her hand. “You, too.”

  And with that he turned and left her bedroom, showing himself out.

  CHAPTER Three

  The door had barely clicked shut and already Mia had dialed Bryn’s number.

  “Tell me everything,” Bryn’s voice boomed before Mia could tie her bathrobe closed.

  “It was good.”

  “Good? That’s it?”

  Mia could never hold anything back when talking to Bryn, no matter how hard she’d tried, and let her orgasm-induced giddiness flow freely. “It was ridiculously amazing.”

  “Details! I wanna know everything.”

  “Let’s just say it works very well.”

  “Did you get off?”

  “Bryn!”

  “I need to know. Our customers will want to get off. That’s the whole point.”

  “It wasn’t the focus of the interview.”

  “It sure as hell should have been. Are you seriously telling me you had sex with this gorgeous man and didn’t have an orgasm?”

  “I thought the point was to test it out and see how it felt. Make sure it was the right size and girth and whatever. I thought I was supposed to retain some sort of professionalism.”

  “Seriously? We’re going into the dildo business. You’re boinking models to find the right one. How professional can you be?”

  “Well, I tried to be professional about the whole thing.”

  “So you didn’t orgasm?”

  Mia’s cheeks warmed with the memory of Ryan’s voice in her ear as they climaxed together. “Well, I didn’t say that.”

  “Oh. I see what happened. You weren’t planning on it, but he was so gorgeous you couldn’t help yourself.”

  How does she know me so well? That’s what happens when you’re best friends with someone since grade school.

  “I’ll take your silence as confirmation. I’m so happy for you. I think you really needed a good lay.”

  “It wasn’t a ‘lay,’ it was business. And he was good. Exactly what we’re looking for. Aside from his performance, he is sweet, sophisticated, and charming. He has a great smile and would be a perfect spokesperson.”

  “Uh-huh. And there was no attraction whatsoever?”

  “Even if there was, it doesn’t matter. He’d be our employee. And last time I checked, we need to stay focused on this endeavor and not fawn over hot possible employees.”

  The last thing she needed was to start a fling with some guy, gorgeous or otherwise. Bryn’s constant insistence that there was a “soul mate” out there for her just seemed like bull. Mia had been around the block a few times and there was no one and only for her. If she’d learned anything, it was that a cute smile and a nice ass meant nothing. Bryn must have found the only decent man on earth. Mia was sick of wasting her time and being disappointed. She had her friends and a job she loved. That was enough.

  “So you do think he’s hot?”

  “You are hopeless. I think you’re the one who needs a good lay.”

  “I do!” Bryn laughed. “God, I do. And once we get these new dildos produced, I will definitely try my damnedest to have one. Anyway, so you really think he’d be a good spokesperson?”

  “Yes. I can tell he’s from a good upbringing. He was very polite and seemed like he’d be a natural with women in meet and greets.”

  “Good. That gives me some reassurance.”

  Was she nervous? Bryn had been the one with the confidence in this crazy plan all along. “Yeah. It made me feel a little better, too. All I have to do is get through the next four interviews and we can make our decision. Then hopefully we can be on our way to saving the shop.”

  “That’s the plan. And it better work. If something doesn’t happen soon, we’ll have to cut Penny’s and Grant’s hours. I don’t think I can cut my own pay any more than I have. We’re already eating ramen and hot dogs twice a week.”

  Bryn laughed, but the pain in Mia’s chest came back anyway. The same one she felt whenever Bryn talked about how tough it’s been. Since Johnny’s death, Mia had tried to help Bryn out as much as possible, but she was a stubborn one. Mia had offered to cut her own pay drastically so Bryn wouldn’t have to go without a dime, but she’d refused. They took home equal paychecks. Mia needed money to live, too, but she didn’t have kids to take care of. And if she needed it, she had a trust fund to fall back on, though it would kill her to use her father’s money and admit she’d failed.

  “Then I guess it’s time for Auntie Mia to treat the kids to Bouncy Housy.” She knew Bryn couldn’t pass on taking the kids to the indoor arena filled with every inflatable contraption ever made. “You can come, too, if you promise to bounce with me.”

  “You know my weaknesses too well. I’ll check the work schedule and we’ll pick a day that’s good for both of us.”

  “Fantastic. I better go and take a shower. I’m kinda sweaty.”

  “Nice,” Bryn said, her voice smooth, and Mia envisioned her raised eyebrow and sly smile. “Talk to ya later.”

  OLIVER WALKED back into the bar where his car was parked and glanced at his Tag Heuer watch. Barely even ten thirty. In the last two hours, not only had he walked up to a complete stranger and chatted with her, he’d gone to her place, had sex with her, and was back in the bar ordering another glass of cheap scotch. What the fuck was I thinking?

  He’d been thinking she was gorgeous. He’d been thinking she was nice and down to earth. He’d been thinking a night to forget his problems sounded like a fine idea. And forget he did. Not once while he was having mind-blowing sex—something he certainly hadn’t had in a long time—had he thought of his stressful job or controlling father. Or the rest of his problems, either. For a mere hour he was just Oliver, having fun with a beautiful woman.

  She hadn’t planned on having any fun—it had been all business at first. But he’d managed to give her some pleasure at the end. Why had she been so hesitant to let go and enjoy what they were doing? She’d definitely been testing him for something. Some kind of job interview? None of it made sense. What did amazing sex have to do with a modeling job?

  Whatever it was, if it meant seeing Mia again, he sure as hell wanted that job.

  The bartender set the drink in front of him and he tossed back half of it.

  Four more guys to interview. That’s what she’d said. She had to have sex with four more guys before choosing a model. Oliver’s stomach turned. He barely knew Mia, but he was jealous. He hated the thought of her being with four more men. He had to convince her he was the one for her—for the job. Yeah, the job.

  MIA’S DAY off, and instead of spending it lounging and watching bad daytime TV like she wanted, her sister, Riley, had convinced her to walk the mall.

  “Oh, I need to go in here,” Riley said and steered the stroller toward another baby boutique.

  Eight months into pregnancy number two, a boy this time, she needed a completely new baby wardrobe, and no level of swollen ankles was going to stop her. Mia was just along for the ride.

  “Where should we eat lunch?” Riley asked as she walked the shop, her eighteen-month-old daughter in the stroller nibbling on freeze-dried yogurt drops.

  “I don’t care.”

  Riley continued browsing the insanely priced merchandise and squealed, holding up a tiny plaid newsboy cap. “This is cute, right? Should I get it?”

  “Does a baby really need a hat like that?”

  “Of course he does. He’s go
nna be the best-dressed little boy ever.”

  Mia took the hat and turned over the price tag. “Forty dollars? That’s ridiculous for something he’ll maybe wear once for two minutes while you snap a photo.”

  Riley rolled her eyes and snatched it back. “I like it and I’m getting it. And the matching shorts.”

  Geez. This kid’s outfits were costing three times what Mia’s did. And she wore hers for years, not weeks. She shook off her sister’s extravagance. “So how are you feeling?”

  “Good, for the most part. Gianna is in a phase right now and loves to run around the house naked. So all I do is chase her and dress her. And not even two minutes later, she’s naked again. It’s tiring. And I have no help, with Nico always working. I’m practically a single mother. And my housekeeper won’t help. She says she only cleans. Maybe I should hire a nanny.”

  More eye rolling—Mia’s this time—but she had to turn away and fake infatuation with a flower-adorned baby headband.

  Riley sighed, just as she had so many times when she was trying to manipulate someone. “I wish there was a way to have Nico home with me more. Can you think of any way to make that happen?”

  “For the hundredth time, I’m not working for Dad.”

  “Even if it means my husband will be home more? So your niece can see her daddy more?”

  “No. You know how crazy he gets. I can’t work for him.” Mia continued browsing the shop, not making eye contact with Riley.

  They’d been over this numerous times and she wasn’t about to do it again. Yeah, Mia working at the car dealership would lighten the load for Nico and make his life better, but she wasn’t about to make her own miserable. Her father may have been a reasonable man at one time, but since becoming The Great Antonio Montonari, everything had to be his way. On several occasions over the last two decades when she’d visited him at work, she’d witnessed him yelling about this, firing someone over that. She once saw him scream at a guy for forgetting to restock the snack supply in the customer lounge.

  No way. She dealt with her father’s control issues at family functions and she refused to subject herself to that misery on a daily basis. He’d just have to find someone else to work for him.

  “If it was to help Bryn, you would,” Riley mumbled under her breath as she flipped through a rack of footed pajamas.

  “What did you say?”

  “Nothing. Can you at least have dinner with your only sister, maybe a movie, so I don’t have to spend yet another night alone and bored? Mom said she’d watch Gianna.”

  “I can’t. I have plans.”

  “Plans? With a guy?”

  Actually, yes, but she wasn’t telling Riley that. She’d get all mushy and start planning a wedding. Apparently reaching thirty had made Mia an old maid, and if she didn’t find a man soon, her womb would dry up and cease to exist.

  It wasn’t as if Mia hated the idea of marriage and kids and the whole shebang, but she wanted it on her own terms. No stuffy setups. No nagging. And definitely no four-thousand-square-foot house and hired help. That was not the life she was looking for. Someday she’d find what she wanted. And there’d be no settling until she did, regardless of the biological clock that ticked in her sister’s head.

  “He must be hot. You totally just spaced thinking about him.”

  Mia shook out of her thoughts. “Um, no. I’m meeting someone, but it’s not like that.”

  “Are you sure? It could be.”

  “No. It definitely won’t be.” Even if she was in the market for a boyfriend or whatever, Ryan and the rest of the guys were off limits. “It’s a work thing.”

  “People fall in love at work all the time. That’s how I met Nico.”

  Yeah. Took a long while for that gossip to die down at the dealership. Their father had walked in on Riley giving Nico a blow job in the back corner of the detail shop, where Nico worked as a detailer. The famous Antonio Montanari demanded Nico either marry his daughter or find a new job. He did both. Marrying into the Montanari family had given him a wife and a promotion. His father-in-law had made him his right-hand man.

  Mia’s stomach churned. Riley had used sex to snag a husband, and she was using sex to save her floundering business. Ugh. Was she really no better than her horny sister?

  Yes. Mia was helping her friend, and saving what they’ve worked their whole adult lives for. She wasn’t on her knees luring a man in with her sucking technique. She was doing legitimate product testing. Yep. Keep telling yourself that.

  Besides, Riley had gotten what she wanted. Maybe Mia would, too. And if that meant getting to look at Ryan on a regular basis, so be it. No one ever said you couldn’t mix business with nice scenery. And maybe it wouldn’t even be Ryan as the scenery. It could be tonight’s guy, or one of the others.

  Lying to herself was starting to become a trend. I’m in so much trouble. Mia vowed to get Ryan out of her head before the next interview. It wouldn’t be fair to compare them to him. She’d gotten carried away and lost in the dreaminess of him. So unprofessional. But damn, he was hard to shake off.

  “Hello? Mia? Where’d you go again? This guy must be completely drool-worthy for you to get lost twice thinking about him. Spill.”

  “It’s really no one.” Only the hottest, most down-to-earth guy she’d met in forever. That combo didn’t come along often. “Just a guy we might hire for the shop.”

  “Is he hot?”

  It didn’t take much for the image of Ryan’s face to appear in front of her eyes. “Yes, if you must know. He is good looking.”

  “See. I knew it! You like him.”

  “It’s not like that. It’s for work. We’re interviewing models for a new product line. No big deal.” She picked up a blue polo shirt with a sailboat on it. Riley was easily distracted. “I think Nico Junior needs this, don’t you? It will look so cute with his new hat and shorts.”

  “Oooh, you’re right. Lemme have it.” She added it to her growing pile of tiny clothing. “So, is the shop gonna carry a line of men’s things? I’d definitely be interested in getting something sexy for my man to wear, if he’s ever home to give me some.”

  “Uh. No.” Mia picked up another cute outfit, trying the distraction thing again. Not working.

  “So what do you need models for, then?”

  Riley hadn’t even glanced at the denim overalls Mia held. She knew that look in her sister’s eye. She was nosy as could be and no way was Mia getting out of it until she spilled.

  “Fine. We’re starting a line of . . .” She lowered her voice to a whisper. “Toys.”

  “Really? Well, I might just stop in and pick something up. You know I’m always game for something new and exciting in the bedroom.”

  “I don’t think you’ll want any part of this.”

  “Why?”

  Just spit it out. “We’re hiring a model to be a spokesperson. And we’re using his, um . . . manhood, as a mold for our new dildo line.”

  Riley’s eyebrows scrunched and her jaw dropped. She pushed the stroller with one hand and yanked Mia with the other to a quiet corner of the store, behind a tall rack of bibs. For a pregnant woman, she was strong, and moved fast.

  “Before you say anything, it’s not a big deal.” Was she trying to convince Riley or herself? “It’s risky, but it’s our last-ditch effort to save the shop. We need something big and new. Something fun. Lingerie by itself just isn’t cutting it anymore. It’s a done deal. I’ve already started testing out the models.”

  “Whoa, wait a minute. You’re having sex with these guys?”

  “Um, yeah. How else am I gonna know if their parts work right?”

  “Oh. My. God. It’s one thing to sell dildos; I’m fine with that. But actually testing out a stranger’s penis? Eww. What if the guys are dirty or hairy? Or what about diseases? Mom and Daddy are gonna flip when they hear this.”

  “You can’t tell them. I do not need their meddling right now.”

  “I can’t keep this quiet!” />
  “You have to. Please,” Mia begged, and remembered her sister’s other statements. “And the guys are screened. They come from a reputable modeling agency and have all been tested for STDs.”

  “I can’t believe my sister is a penis tester.”

  Mia tried to fight her grin, but failed. And Riley couldn’t hold hers, either. “I guess I am a penis tester.”

  The women burst out laughing, gasping for breath.

  “Can I help you find something?” a snooty saleslady asked.

  Riley caught her breath first. “No, we’re good.”

  The woman rolled her eyes and left, Mia finally stopping her laughter. “Are we really okay? Will you keep quiet?”

  Riley sighed in dramatic Riley fashion. “I guess.”

  “Thank you!” Mia reached out and hugged her sister, bulbous baby belly hindering a proper embrace, then dug for the plaid baby hat in the mound of clothing atop the stroller. “Let me buy Baby Nico’s new hat.”

  CHAPTER Four

  Mia brushed her hair, then pulled on her Classy ’n’ Sassy hoodie. It was an easy way for the guys to spot her, so she stuck with it. But this time she was meeting her interviewee at a coffee shop. The place was small. He should be able to find her just fine, especially since it wouldn’t be as dim as the bar had been.

  Mia arrived a few minutes before eight and ordered a vanilla chai latte. She’d never been one for coffee. Could never get used to the taste. But she’d take a sugary tea any day.

  She found a small table and sat, her body filling with jitters like it had for the interview with Ryan. Shouldn’t the second guy be easier? She didn’t think she had the courage to do this again.

  Maybe she could skip the rest of the guys. Bryn would never know. Mia could pretend to have sex with them and make up faux reports. Ryan had been so great. She could leave and end it now. Choose Ryan. No need to have sex with four more strangers.

  “Mia, right?”

  Shit! There went that plan. She forced herself to turn and found a spray-tanned face with a head of blond hair, kind of a surfer look, but not authentic. His brown, tightly fitting T-shirt read The Man, with an arrow pointing up, and The Legend, with an arrow pointing down.