Billionaire Bad Boys of Romance 2(67)

“Mom is on another one of her trips.” Looking a little pathetic, Sasha plunked her elbow on the table and dropped her chin onto her hand. “And I don’t want to go home to an empty house tonight.” She tipped her head toward a group of male newcomers, crowding around the bar to watch the last few minutes of the hockey game. “Maybe I can find me some company.”

“Hey, what am I, chopped liver?” I asked around a mouthful of soggy iceberg lettuce. “I told you I would stay the night.”

“Oh, honey. Of course you’re not chopped liver.” Sasha gave me a little pat on the shoulder. “But, no offense, spooning with you just doesn’t cut it.” Her smile was slightly wilted around the edges, like my salad.

How I hated salad.

Deciding I’d eaten enough, I set my plate to the side. “I told you to come into the office and I would hook you up.”

“I don’t need any help picking a man. I do just fine on my own, thankyouverymuch. Hey, that one over there, with the dark eyes and wavy hair has promise. And look at that, he has a tattoo. That makes three hottie points in my book.” Sasha slid forward in her seat as the waitress trotted over with two longneck bottles of their best Canadian beer, set them on the table, and took my half-eaten dinner away. Sasha took a swig out of one then set it down, the glass clunking against the polished wood table. “I think I’ll go out to smoke later.” She dug into her purse, returning the cigarette to its case and producing a pack of gum. “How’s my lipstick?” She puckered. “I’m going in for a ring-check, instead.”

“Hold on.” I leaned over, getting a look at her target’s backside. “Forget it. Your three-point hottie is wearing jeans from Wal-Mart. You might as well go out and smoke.”

“What? Damn.” Sasha popped a couple of pieces of gum out of the foil pack and dumped them in her mouth. “Are you sure? How can you tell?”

“It’s my job. I can spot a pair of Wranglers from fifty yards.”

“You continue to amaze me.” Sasha leaned forward, her breath reeking of mint and beer. “Show me, oh wise one.”

Trying to look inconspicuous, I motioned to Mr. Wrangler whispering, “You can’t miss the big, ugly tag on the waistband.”

“Ah, but what if he’s wearing a belt?”

“Then, you can check the back pocket. But you’ve got to get closer to do that. The pocket tag is a lot smaller.”

“Mmmm, mmmm.” Sitting back again, Sasha snatched her beer up. “I wouldn’t mind getting closer to that tush.”

“Which is exactly why you need me to pick your next man.”

Bottle at her mouth, Sasha shook her head, setting her dangly earrings into a violent swing of silver flash. “You can’t. I don’t meet Premier’s minimum requirements, remember? What a joke. Who says a zillionaire can’t fall in love with someone like me? The girl next door. It happens all the time.”

I cringed. There was no denying the hurt I heard in Sasha’s voice whenever we talked about my job. But the truth was I wouldn’t meet Premier’s minimum requirements either. In Sasha’s case, though, it was only a matter of a few minor fibs. I was a total lost cause. “Like I said, I’ll lie about your smoking. Your job. Your--“

“Everything,” she interrupted.

“Not everything. You’re gorgeous. In shape, athletic--”

“No. You’d have to lie about practically everything but my name and my dress size. You can’t do that.”

“You’re exaggerating. But for you, I would lie. Yes, I could. And I would.”

“No, you won’t.” Sasha pointed the mouth of the bottle at me. “Because I won’t let you. And I know you’ll be fired if you do any matchmaking outside of work, so forget it. I’m on my own.” She checked her reflection in her compact mirror then stood. “And now I’m going to talk to Mr. Wal-Mart Pants because he has great dimples and a hot tattoo. Don’t go anywhere. I’ll be right back.” Smiling, she trounced off, a girl on a mission, target in sight, and all guns locked and loaded.

She returned less than five minutes later, her quarry trailing behind her, Mr. Wal-Mart Pants and a second guy, who was seriously cute, in a rough, slightly mussed kind of way. As they came closer, I noticed the friend’s hair was a riot of blond-tipped waves, the roots a deep brown. Sexy dark stubble shadowed his clefted chin. When he stepped up to our table, a stunning smile spread over his nicely angular face, the brilliant white of his teeth a stark contrast to his deeply tanned skin.#p#分页标题#e#