“Brilliant, Sherlock. You’ve saved the day.”
“Give her a break.” Nick grinned indulgently, giving me a little wink. “It’s her first official con.”
James sighed and straightened his suitcoat. It was paired with a white V-neck and a pair of expensive faded jeans. His dark, wavy hair hung all the way to his chin, a little on the longer side but styled in an incredibly fashionable way. It wasn’t that it mattered though; no woman on Earth could ever tear herself away from those eyes of his, those deep, rich pools of dark chocolate, a shade that just so happened to be an exact match for my favorite espresso. The only one who could withstand such a gaze was me, and that was only because I had Nick’s eyes to look into.
Claudia won’t know what hit her, I thought with a sadistic smile.
“So you know the plan, right?” Nick recapped swiftly. “Just wander into the bar like it’s a chance encounter. Sit close but not too close. Offer to buy her a drink—”
“Yeah, yeah,” James snapped. “I know how to get a woman into bed, thanks.”
Nick lifted his hands and took a step back.
I, on the other hand, continued the narration. “Mitchell is out of town tonight. They’re having an addition put in the mansion and Claudia hasn’t gotten a good night’s sleep because of the noise. Claudia did some charity work today at the hotel and they offered her up the penthouse as a big thank you. So she happily accepted. She invited Mitchell to join her, but he said work came first and that she needed a good night’s sleep. But what she really wanted was a good lay. And that put her on the prowl. We got a copy of her room key from a hotel worker we bribed.”
“So a serial killer could get into a room if they bribed someone enough money? Not that you’re a killer, but you know what I mean.”
“The hotel worker recognized Nick and believed that his future stepmom locked herself out.”
He chuckled. “Nick is such a charmer.”
“Yes, he is. Anyway, we’ll be upstairs waiting in the bedroom closet. Just do whatever you need to in order to get her into a...compromising position, and we’ll take care of the rest.”
James cocked his head with a sarcastic smile. “And how, exactly, would you like me to...compromise her, dear Abigail? Which positions do you prefer?”
I blushed a million shades of red, staring back in mortification, but Nick clapped him on the shoulder with a chiding grin. “Off limits, buddy. Don’t forget that.”
“Yeah, yeah,” James said, giving me a wink.
“Are you sure you don’t mind all this?” I asked.
Nick laughed. “He doesn’t care, Abby. Really.”
That’s right, because they’ve apparently done worse. What does that mean exactly? What the hell kind of friend agrees to seduce random women as some kind of favor? This kind of stuff only happens in the damn movies, and that’s not a movie I’d wanna watch!
Thankfully, I kept the monologue to myself and fixed James’s collar with a determined smile. “Then we should be good to go. The safe word is—”
“Fraction,” Nick and James said at the same time, shooting guilty looks at one another, one that tripled when they noticed my questioning stare and crooked grin.
“It’s not what you think! We weren’t together,” Nick said scathingly.
James flushed and added, “We both just happened to have the same gorgeous algebra teacher, the kind of teacher you really want to pet.”
“Fraction,” I repeated, shaking my head with an incredulous grin. “You’ve gotta be kidding me.”
James shook his head solemnly while Nick jutted his chin up, wearing a knowing smile.
“You’d be surprised how often it comes up naturally in conversation. We were hot for teacher, and she was drop-dead gorgeous! Dangerous curves, long blonde hair and bright blue eyes.”
“Whatever,” I said, not really wanting to hear about it. I angled James toward the door, grabbed the handle, and slapped him on the back. “Knock ’em dead, tiger.”
He stiffened and shot me a chilling glare.
“I’d better not catch you smiling, man,” Nick warned. “That’s my future stepmom, damn it.”
“I’ll only smile a fraction of the time,” James teased, and in the next second, he was gone.
Nick and I pressed our faces against the slats in the wood and watched as he swept carelessly across the bar, giving it a quick onceover before sitting down at a table alone.