Striptease. Alison Kent

manly meat business.”

      Eric sulked. “But I thought you liked my manly meat business.”

      Chloe rolled her eyes as Renata laughed and let her old friend drag her away. “He’s such a doll. Wherever did you find him?”

      “It was one of those six degrees of separation things. I knew Lauren, Lauren knew Anton, Anton knew Eric. Hmm. I guess that’s only three degrees,” Chloe amended, then shrugged and grimaced. “Five minutes. I need five minutes off my feet. I’ve been running like crazy for hours.”

      Skirting the newly installed swimming pool, the women settled on opposite sides of the patio’s glass table beneath an umbrella of cream-and-green stripes. Propping her feet on the seat of a third chair, Chloe sighed in relief. “Anyway, Eric and I ended up paired for one of Macy’s gIRL gAMES. The rest, I suppose you can say, is history.”

      Renata saw no need to hide her approval. “A period of history I wouldn’t mind studying in the least.”

      “Oh, yeah?”

      “Oh, yeah.” Renata looked toward Eric and smiled. She took a deep breath and shook her head appreciatively. “One of these days I am going to have to get myself one of those.”

      “Shopping?” Chloe asked with a laugh.

      “Definitely in the market. Though not in any sort of desperate, beat-the-sales-crowd rush.” Settling back into her chair, Renata turned her attention back to Chloe. “I’ve made it this long on my own, and don’t see any need to be stupid.”

      “Hey, no one said you had to be stupid, though you’ve got to agree that we’re all entitled to a bit of questionable behavior between here and there. I’ve definitely been guilty of my fair share.” Chloe glanced in Eric’s direction again and Renata couldn’t help but wonder what thoughts were going through her girlfriend’s mind.

      She followed the direction of Chloe’s gaze, skipping over Eric and frowning when she caught sight of a guest she couldn’t place from Chloe’s earlier introductions. A guest Renata had a hard time believing belonged.

      He leaned against the trunk of the backyard’s massive oak tree, a Shiner longneck dangling from his fingers. His complexion brought to mind the Mediterranean, as did his dark hair, long and loose, hanging in twisted strands to skim his shoulders.

      His attitude, however, made the biggest impression, his insolent expression that of the defiant boys Renata saw so often at school. Yet it was more. A sort of wary regard, as if he was protecting his back while keeping a distrustful eye on the enemy camp. She found it hard to look away—a strange response, because she’d never been taken in by the renegade type.

      “Who is that?” she asked, nodding in his direction when Chloe looked back to see who she meant.

      “Oh. Patrick Coffey, Ray’s brother. You met Ray, right? Sydney’s Ray?” And that was all she said.

      Renata wanted to know more. “Hmm. He looks like he’d rather be swimming in the comfort of shark-infested waters.”

      “He’d definitely be more at home if he were.” Chloe frowned. “I’d say he’s harmless but I’m not sure that he is. And it’s really a long story.”

      “Shortcut it for me.” Now Renata really wanted to know more.

      Chloe pulled her feet close to her body and wrapped her arms around her bare knees. “I see you’ve still got that dog-with-a-bone thing going on.”

      “A skill that comes in handy for divining deep dark secrets.”

      “I’m keeping track here, you know. A month of gUIDANCE gIRL mentoring for every sordid detail.”

      “We’ll talk contract issues later. Just tell me about Patrick.”

      Chloe rolled her eyes and gave up. “Patrick’s been home about a year now, I guess, after being held by—get this—real-life Caribbean pirates. I kid you not. It was really a rough few years for Ray.”

      “And for Patrick, too, I’d think.” Pirates? How out of this world was that?

      Chloe shrugged. “I’m guessing so. But since he hasn’t said a word about it, no one really knows.”

      “He hasn’t talked to anyone?” This couldn’t be a good thing. “It’s something he ought to consider doing, to an impartial professional if he doesn’t want to talk to his brother.”

      “Well,” Chloe began, slowly tightening her persuasive noose, “since he shows up at the office with Ray from time to time, you could make him your first gUIDANCE gIRL subject.”

      Renata laughed. “In case you haven’t noticed, Chloe, there’s nothing girlish about Patrick.”

      Chloe waved her off. “Yeah, yeah. That’s beside the point.”

      “You’re not going to take no for an answer, are you?”

      “Not a chance. Not after being subjected to your all-night, Rennie-knows-best sessions in high school.” Chloe’s teasing expression grew serious, her wide violet eyes misty and warm. “You were there when I needed you, and I’ve never forgotten.”

      Renata reached across the table and squeezed her hand. “I’m so glad you ran into Jacob. I can’t believe I haven’t been around for so much of what’s happened in your life. I’ve really missed you.”

      Chloe squeezed back. “Me, too. And I didn’t even realize that you were probably a lot of what I felt was missing in my life before I found Eric. But now that I have the both of you…talk about the best of both worlds.”

      Renata laughed. “Well, I hope you continue to think that way after you’ve worked with me. The kids I deal with? I know better than to involve myself too much in their problems. I have to be able to sleep at night. And that means I end up taking out my frustration on close friends.”

      She said it with a quirk of her mouth, thinking back to friends who were now enemies, as well as those who were no longer lovers for that very reason. Then she wondered if she’d learned her lesson, or if she was now putting Chloe into a direct line of not-so-friendly fire by agreeing to work with her.

      Chloe only smiled, her lips frosted her trademark pink. “Isn’t that what friends are for? I know I’ve unloaded on Mel more than a few times. She usually smacks me around until my head’s on straight and then we move forward.”

      “I guess I’m just giving you fair warning. If I claw your eyes out after a particularly rough day, don’t take it personally.”

      “Oh, but clawing is on Chloe’s list of fetish favorites,” said a deep male voice from above her head.

       4

      THE MAN RUFFLED A HAND over Chloe’s hair, lowering his body into the chair where she’d rested her feet only minutes before. Renata could do nothing but calmly look on and try to remember to breathe.

      He stood a good head taller than the other men here, but it was neither his height nor his impressive build that rendered her speechless. Her tongue had been tied by no more than his presence, by that indefinable quality allowing powerful men to command attention with no effort at all.

      She did seem to be the only one starstruck, however. Chloe wasn’t the least bit hesitant or shy; she barely let the man get seated before shoving him hard in the chest. He didn’t budge or flinch or even wobble in his seat.

      So she shoved him a second time for good measure. “You scare me like that again and you won’t be able to walk for a week, buster.”

      All the man did was grin. “You and your cotton candy threats.”

      Chloe’s glare finally withered. She rolled her eyes, her mouth twisting into one of her genuinely rare smiles. “Cotton candy, my ass.” Shaking her head, she made introductions. “Rennie, this is my brother, Aiden Zuniga. Aiden,