"He looks like trouble."
Hayley followed Tina's gaze to the man who'd just walked into the bar. A shiver danced down her spine at the sight of the tall, muscular man clad in well-worn jeans and a leather vest, tattoos cascading down one arm. His face was shadowed with rough stubble and his wavy brown hair tousled. He glanced around, seeming to gauge his surroundings.
"Yeah, the kind of trouble I'd like to find myself in." Marianne, one of the other five women sitting at the table with Hayley, stroked back a lock of her short, curly brown hair as she watched the man stride toward the bar.
Hayley didn't usually ogle men in bars, but there was something about this one. Rough, dangerous-looking, and oozing with raw sexuality. If he were to make direct eye contact with her, she was sure she would melt into a puddle on the floor.
Hayley sighed. "Mm. Me, too."
Marianne snorted. "Yeah, right."
Hayley's gaze shot to the other woman.
"Little Miss Goody-Two-Shoes, who always follows all the rules, never missed a class at school, straight A's all the way. Like you'd ever get involved with a bad-ass like that." Marianne snorted again. "More likely, you'd wind up doing his taxes."
Hayley pursed her lips. She and Marianne had never been close at school. She'd never really been close to anyone but Tina, but Hayley was back in Willow, their hometown, for a wedding this weekend and Tina had wanted to get together with the old gang to catch up. Back in the day, the others had tolerated Hayley in the group because they'd all liked Tina and Hayley had been Tina's best friend since before preschool. Basically, if they'd wanted Tina, they got Hayley, like it or not. And they all wanted to be Tina's friend, because Tina was popular, rich, and the nicest person you'd ever want to know.
"Marianne, be nice," Tina said.
"What?" Marianne said defensively. "I said she did well at school and is not a slut. Isn't that a good thing?"
"Me. I'd jump in the sack with that guy in a minute," Brooke said.
The others jumped in and started sharing salacious fantasies involving the man who now sat at the bar nursing a beer.
Hayley gazed at the man. A part of her wanted to march over there and strike up a conversation with him, and let him know in no uncertain terms she was interested. But who was she kidding? Marianne was right that Hayley always played it safe. She wouldn't know how to begin talking to a man like that. And if he did show an interest in her, she'd probably go running in the other direction.
Tina stood up and walked around the table to Hayley. "Hey, come with me to freshen up, okay?"
Hayley followed Tina to the ladies room. Once inside, Tina turned to her.
"I'm sorry Marianne was such a bitch to you."
Hayley pursed her lips. "It's not your fault."
Tina shrugged. "Yeah, I know, but I dragged you here to spend the evening with them."
Hayley smiled. "It's okay. I can put up with it for one night. I know you like to see them. And it's worth it to spend time with my best friend."
Tina smiled and turned to the mirror. She pushed back a stray lock of her long, blonde hair, then checked her lipstick. "That guy is pretty hot."
"That's for sure. Man, he could shake the humdrum out of my life."
Tina arched an eyebrow as she glanced at Hayley in the mirror. "Yeah? Things getting you down lately?"
Hayley gazed at her own reflection. Her smoky eye makeup, which accentuated her olive green eyes was fine, but the deep plum color on her lips had faded. She opened her purse and pulled out her lipstick.
"Life has been pretty lackluster lately." Hayley pushed her long, black hair behind her ears, then leaned forward and reapplied the color to her lips. "Predictable and boring. I've been thinking of doing something radical."
Tina grinned. "Like what?"
Hayley shrugged. "I don't know." She put her lipstick on the vanity and ran a brush through her hair, then dropped it back in her bag. "Maybe go to grad school. I could get my MBA."
"And then what? Do more boring stuff?"
Hayley glanced at her friend, a little hurt at the Marianne-like remark.
Tina turned to her. "Oh, Hayley, I didn't mean it like that. And I'm not knocking higher education. It's just that, I know you're searching for something in life. You have been ever since we graduated. Going back to school will just give you more of the same. It won't satisfy that need."
Hayley sighed. "That's the problem. I don't know what I need."
"What you need is that man. Or someone like him. You need to live on the edge for once. To really step outside your comfort zone and test your limits." She rested her hand on Hayley's arm. "Even if just for one weekend."
"Are you suggesting I throw myself at the guy? Do you really think a one-night-stand will satisfy the restlessness I've been feeling?"
Tina grinned. "Well, it would be a good start."
Rip glanced around the bar, ensuring he knew who was around him, where the exits were, and various avenues of escape if he needed them. His training as an undercover cop stayed with him, even though he'd left the job behind.
He was in town for a wedding.
Originally, he had decided not to come-who needed to be thrown back to high school days?-but his brother, who was the best man, had pressured him to change his mind. It was important to Clay, so he'd said yes.
Since Clay was busy with the wedding all weekend, Rip had come up a few days early and they'd spent time together. It had been great catching up, and Clay had succeeded pretty well at hiding his concern for his brother's life choices.
Tonight, Rip was on his own. He glanced around the bar, keeping an eye for anyone he might know. Not that most people would recognize him from the old days. He didn't exactly look like the quiet, clean-cut, model student he used to be.
He saw the black-haired beauty he'd noticed earlier returning to her table with her blonde friend. They had gone into the ladies' room a few minutes ago, following a path along the side of the bar, and were now returning to their table near the south corner where their four female companions sat chatting.
He'd noticed the woman as soon as he'd walked into the bar. One of her friends had spotted him first, then she had glanced his way and his body had tightened at the sight of her wide, sweet, innocent eyes as she'd gazed at him.
Damn, she was gorgeous in her short, snug dress, outlining every curve. He watched the sweet sway of her hips as she walked to her table, then sat down.
He turned back to the bar. He'd already pegged the others as the type who would sleep with him, given the chance, because the idea of sleeping with a bad-assed biker excited them. And it's not like he would turn them down, ordinarily. He was a man, and he'd had his share of biker groupies. Hell, if they were giving it away, why not?
But the black-haired woman … she was something else. He'd be happy to fuck any of the other ones, but that one … Her he'd like to make love to all night long. Sweet and tender. Or hot and hard. Whatever she wanted. But it would be passionate. And meaningful.
Somehow he knew a night with her would be one he would remember. Not one of the many forgettable conquests he was used to. Women who just wanted to let loose and experience a sense of danger by being fucked by a tattooed, leather-clad stranger.
When Raven-Hair had looked at him, he'd seen desire in her eyes, though whether that was wishful thinking on his part or not, he wasn't sure. But he wanted it to be desire … for him as a man, not a nameless, bad-boy biker trophy she could brag about to her friends.
To her, he wanted to be special. He wanted her to want him.
He tipped back his bottle of beer and took a deep swallow. What the hell had gotten into him? He was mooning over some woman like a teenager.
He grabbed a handful of peanuts from the wooden bowl on the bar and popped one into his mouth, then found himself turning to look around the bar. He glanced toward her table again. His peripheral vision told him she was watching him, so he avoided looking at her, instead scanning the faces of the women around her.
As Hayley was watching the man, he turned and glanced around the bar. She sucked in a breath as his gaze scanned across the faces of the woman at the table, assessing.
Oh, God, was he looking to pick up a woman? And would he come over here?
His gaze seemed to skim right past her face and settled on Tina's, then continued around the table.
Great. She was totally invisible.
She shouldn't be surprised. Hayley always felt invisible. No matter what she said or did, people just didn't seem to notice her. That's why she often dreamed of being a little wild and crazy. To attract attention. To feel more alive than she did in her nine-to-five, number crunching existence.
She opened her purse and pulled out her phone, then checked the time. She'd love to go back to the hotel right now, but she should hang around for another hour or so. As she put her phone back in her small clutch, she realized her lipstick was missing. Had she left it in the ladies' room?