“It’s no problem,” he said still holding onto her hips. “Did you twist you ankle or anything? Did you need to sit down?”

Lexi paused sucking her bottom lip in between her teeth and giving him a doe-eyed expression as if she were contemplating the question. “I’m not sure,” she conceded.

“Here. Take my seat. Do you need ice or something?” he asked not taking his eyes off of her as she slid past him and occupied his stool.

“Oh no, I think if I just sit a minute, I should be fine.”

“At least let me get you a drink,” he said flashing her an award-winning smile.

Lexi giggled checking that off her list. “That’d be great.”

“What’s your guilty pleasure?” he asked, his voice laced with seduction. “You seem like a Sex on the Beach kind of girl.” Lexi blanched at the words. Sex on the beach. No, she wasn’t supposed to be thinking about Jack. “Or are you more of a whiskey girl. I hear a Southern accent in there. Did you want a SoCo or a Jack and Coke?”

Lexi gulped hard. This guy was supposed to be helping her forget Jack. Not continuing to bring him up even if it was an accident, even if he had no idea who Jack was. She sighed and pushed the thoughts out of her head. He was flirting with her, and if she had been in a different mood, then the comments might not have bothered her. She needed to just relax and know that he wasn’t attempting to make her stomach knot.

From the way his green eyes were boring into her brown ones, she could tell that was certainly not on his mind. He had the look of a guy who always got what he wanted. His head tilted in a way that was almost a poker tell on him. He was thinking that this was going to be easy, and soon enough he would be heading out of here with her drunken ass on his arm. Even as drunk as she was feeling, she wasn’t prepared to lose herself in some guy. She couldn’t do that while her mind was clouded with Jack Howard.

“Shots,” she yelled over the music that escalated in the room.

“Do you care what of?”

“Anything but Jack,” she stated firmly.

He smirked at her answer, and then nodded his head. A minute later two shots were placed before them. More replaced that round and then another round after that. Lexi melted into Armani Guy as all thoughts seeped out of her mind. The alcohol was taking a toll on her tiny body, and she was very pleased with herself for accomplishing her mission so quickly.

“So,” she slurred, “what do you do?”

Armani Guy looked at her glazed eyes and leaned in closer to answer her. “Live off a trust right now.”

“Oh?” Lexi asked dryly, immediately unimpressed. She never understood why people didn’t work themselves. Who cares if your parents left you a fortune? She one hundred percent believed in making your own way in life.

“Yeah. Not really my thing, but it helped me when I was in a pinch,” he answered shrugging nonchalantly.

“Well, what are you doing here, Mr. Trust?” she asked giggling at her alcohol infused humor.

“Daddy’s work,” he said coldly. “Just trying to get a feel on a guy they’re thinking of interviewing for a job, and he’s in New York. I happened to already be in New York. It was a win-win for them.”

“Oh,” she said nodding along as if she cared. “Where are you supposed to be meeting this guy?”

“Here, actually. I tend to feel more comfortable in clubs, but he hasn’t showed yet,” he said his eyes leaving her for the first time to scan the VIP area one more time. “Guess he got caught up.”

Lexi pulled his blue and white striped tie between her fingers and tugged lightly. “Well, then it’s your lucky day, isn’t it?”

He smiled wide, obviously enjoying her advances. “I suppose it is. How’s your ankle? Can you dance on it?”

“It’s just fine.” Lexi nodded checking off number two in her head and wondering if Chyna had beat her to it.

Armani Guy pulled her onto the dance floor. Typically with all the years of formal dance and gymnastics training she had, it made it rather difficult to find a good partner. It seemed that she had lucked out with this one. He moved with her perfectly in time with the music. He anticipated her change in direction and would even guide her hips to his own rhythm when the music took him. She was starting to get disappointed that she had set the rule that they wouldn’t be taking anyone home. This guy, whoever he was, was actually helping her forget about Jack, and that was a feat in and of itself.

Lexi didn’t know anything about him except that he was obviously wealthy. And though he seemed like a genuinely nice guy, he helped her when he thought she was injured, she simply couldn’t let herself get swept up into an imaginary attraction to someone she just met. That never ended well for her.

She needed to take this as far as her drunken brain would allow her. This guy was just like most other men. He wanted one thing and one thing only. When he realized that she wasn’t willing to give him what he was looking for, and she kept telling herself that she wasn’t, then he would find someone who was.

“Do you want to get out of here?” he questioned into her ear.

She leaned her head back against his chest and swayed to the music. She wanted to leave with him, but she had promised Chyna. She hadn’t even thought about Chyna for ages which could mean that she had already ditched her for someone else except Chyna was usually good for her word. If she agreed no guys for the night, then she would find Lexi by the end of the night and they would both go home alone. Lexi sighed…both go home alone. She needed to find Chyna. “I’m here with a friend. I can’t leave without her.”

He located her much more quickly than Lexi would have been capable of alone. His height gave him a distinct advantage. “Chyna, time to go,” Lexi commanded peeling her off of some guy she had locked lips with. Whoever he was didn’t look too pleased, but after seeing Armani Guy he quickly backed off and vacated the premises.

“Alexa,” she shrieked, “the love of my life!”

Lexi giggled as Chyna tackled her, forcing them both back into Armani Guy’s hard chest. “Oh, excuse us,” Chyna trilled batting her long lustrous eyelashes.

“It’s not a problem. I was just helping, Alexa, find you,” he said smiling politely at Chyna.

“Ohhhh,” she said her eyes moving from Lexi back to Armani Guy. “Well, thank you for that. She’s hardly ever able to find me on her own.”

“So she told me.”

“It is time for me to go,” Chyna said faking a yawn. “I guess I should check out. I’m sure you can find your own way home, right chica?”

Lexi knew this act. It meant that Chyna approved of her choice. “Can you excuse us for a minute?” she asked Armani Guy. As he nodded, she yanked Chyna out of earshot from him. “No guys, remember?”

“Yeah, but did you see that Armani suit?” she asked, her eyes leaving Lexi’s and glancing back at his build.

“Yes, I did,” she said snapping at her to get her attention back on her.

“Did you see those muscles?”

“Yes, I did,” Lexi growled.

“Did you see the way his green eyes blazed at the sight of you?” she purred.

“Chyna, cut it out. I saw, but it’s a girl’s night. I can hook up with him another night.”

“You are insane, but I love you!” she exclaimed planting a drunken kiss on Lexi’s lips.

Lexi rolled her eyes. “Yes, I know, dear.”

“Just for the record, I think you should go for it.”

“Well, I’m not going to. Some other time,” she said as she turned towards Armani Guy. “Sorry, we have to get out of here.”

“We?” he asked incredulously. She pointed between her and Chyna and his face transformed at the realization that she was going to leave without him. He had put in all that work for nothing. She could tell he wasn’t pleased. They had hit it off, but she wasn’t ready to go home with him yet. Not tonight at least.

“Sorry. I know you have that meeting,” she quickly improvised. “Maybe we can meet up some other time.”