Chapter One
The room was a sea of red cups and intoxicated twenty-somethings. Part of the crowd moved to the trendy hip-hop music blaring from the speaker system, while others tried to hold conversations by yelling.
Blake tightened his grip on his cup, its near emptiness evident in the distinct crunch of ice, and slid his gaze around the crowd.
This wasn’t his scene. Not anymore. Ten years ago, when he’d been in full throttle frat-boy mode, it had been his life. Until the day it abruptly hadn’t, then he’d avoided these parties at any cost.
But he’d made a promise to drop by a friend’s twenty-eighth birthday bash tonight, and so here he was.
Fifty minutes to go.
Then he could bail without guilt.
“I’m having trouble believing it. You actually came.”
Blake turned at the deep voice and smiled at his approaching friend, the birthday boy himself.
“Wasn’t about to miss your party.”
“Right.” Jack shook his head, his brows furrowed. “You just don’t come to these things.”
“Not really my scene.”
“Yeah, I know.” Jack gave a slow, knowing grin, one considered lethal to the female population. “How’s your new place going, anyway?”
“It’s good.” Blake nodded, jamming his hands into the pockets of his jeans, thinking about his apartment just out of Seattle. “Real good.”
And real quiet. Before he’d gotten his own place three months ago, Blake had lived with three other guys. They’d first met in the fraternity but had bailed on the frat after their sophomore year to rent a house together. Calling those guys his friends was an understatement. They were like brothers.
“Yeah, I bet it must be nice having a honey pad all to yourself.”
“It’s pretty sweet.”
Blake rolled with the friendly dig that he was popular with the women since it would be hard to dispute it. There hadn’t been a whole lot of honeys coming and going lately, though. Not while he’d been finishing up training as a paramedic at Harborview.
“I’m looking into my own place, too,” Jack admitted. “Need my own space.”
A flash of tan skin and red dress caught the corner of Blake’s eye, but he kept his attention on his friend. There were half-naked women all over this party, and he’d already checked out more than a few. So far, no one had drawn his interest.
The sound of a husky, feminine laugh had Blake’s ears pricking.
While still trying to listen to Jack talk about his new job, he turned nonchalantly to glance behind him and found the girl in the red dress. A tall, curvy brunette with legs a mile long and a smile that screamed confidence. A legit goddess that half the guys at the party were clustering around.
The laugh sounded again, and Blake realized abruptly it hadn’t come from her. Puzzled, he shifted his gaze, and that’s when he discovered the woman standing next to the goddess.
Unremarkable.
It was the word that came to mind when he checked her out. Much shorter than her friend, almost scrawny, with blonde—almost brown—hair, and arms that were folded over a pair of small breasts. No sexy dress for this one but a pink-checkered flannel, skinny jeans, and brown leather boots that hugged up her calves. Unlike her friend, she didn’t ooze sensuality. Instead, she embodied the image of “girl next door.”
She and her friend seemed young. Maybe still in college, even. Which wasn’t all that weird since most of the crowd seemed to range from their early to late twenties.
As if sensing his stare, she lifted her head, and their gazes locked. She seemed to trail off from whatever she’d been saying to the guy standing next to her, and her lips parted slightly.
Her gaze slid from Blake’s head to his toes, and those dark-brown eyes took on a considering look.
“Pretty sure you haven’t heard a damn thing I’ve said in the last minute.”
Blake winced and turned back to his friend. Jack had a brow lifted before he cast a glance to where the women were.