By eight o’clock, I headed out the door, ready for some fun and mischief after the long and tiring hours I’d spent keeping my father company at his business meetings.
CHAPTER 2
Autumn
After Elise texted me the address of the club, I took a cab to get there. When the driver pulled into the parking lot, I could already tell the place had a large crowd for the night. I glanced around apprehensively, hoping there were no hidden news cameras trying to catch a couple of politicians’ daughters in compromising positions. But then I reminded myself that this visit to Turkey hadn’t been widely publicized, which was why Elise had agreed to go out in the first place.
“Thanks,” I said, paying the taxi driver.
He pocketed the money. “Have a good night.”
Before I even stepped completely out of the cab, someone whistled at me. I grinned, shutting the cab door and turning around to see none other than Elise Stokes coming my way. She wore a wide smile, a short red dress that co
mplemented her auburn hair, and heels so high that I would have fallen flat on my face if I wore them.
“Hello, gorgeous,” she said, skipping over to me. She stooped down to give me a hug, having to bend more than normal since her heels made her tower over me even more than usual.
I hugged her back. “Hey yourself, beautiful. Looks like you’re ready for some fun.”
“And you know it!”
We looped our arms together and headed into the club, ready to drink and dance the night away.
* * *
By the time we were on our third drink, we had been on the dance floor for at least forty minutes straight with various guys who couldn’t seem to take their eyes off us. They offered drinks and pretty promises that we laughed off, perfectly happy to tease them without getting too serious.
“Damn, sexy. Let me get you a drink—or something better, if you know what I mean.”
I turned around on the dance floor, instantly feeling repulsed by the guy standing behind me. He wasn’t bad-looking, but there was something predatory in his gaze that immediately revolted me. He stared at me, biting his bottom lip.
“No, thank you,” I said, trying to be polite nonetheless. Even if the guy hadn’t been such a creep, I knew that I was reaching my limit and didn’t need another drink unless I wanted to risk ending the night passed out on the bathroom floor.
“Ah, come on. Don’t be like that,” he said, trying to touch me. I quickly dodged his grasp.
“Back off,” I said, turning away from him. He muttered, calling me some ridiculous name before moving along in search of his next target.
I shuddered and glanced around in search of Elise. Yet, as my eyes roamed the club, something else entirely caught my attention. I froze on the spot, sensing a penetrating stare coming from the bar area. My breath hitched in my throat for a second, and a quiver went through my entire body.
The handsome stranger lifted his head just slightly, acknowledging me from afar.
My heart pounding, I averted my gaze in search of Elise again. I spotted her a short distance away, her arms wrapped around some guy’s neck as she twirled her hips to the beat of the music, keeping the guy completely riveted.
I headed their way. Thanks to my short stature, I dipped under their arms and squeezed myself between them. The guy looked down at me, startled at first, and then amused. A grin spread across his face as if he had just hit the jackpot, likely under the impression he was getting a two-for-one special.
“What’s going on?” Elise asked.
“Do you see that guy over there at the bar? Hey, don’t look! I mean, you can look, just don’t be obvious about it. You know—sneak a look.”
Elise continued dancing, swirling around to disguise the direction of her gaze until she managed to glance toward the bar. She swirled around again, wrapping an arm around me and forgetting about the guy she’d been dancing with.
“Are you referring to that super-hot guy standing at the bar, scoping you out?”
“Yes. Oh…my…God. He is gorgeous.”
“Well, why are you over here with me? Go over there to him!”
I shook my head, my stomach knotting nervously just at the thought. “No, I can’t…”