An Excerpt From: SEDUCTIVE REUNION
Copyright © VIRGINIA CAVANAUGH, 2012
All Rights Reserved, Ellora's Cave Publishing, Inc.
Andi slid onto a vacant barstool and crossed her legs at the knee. A man with shoulder-length blond hair stood behind the bar, a white towel draped over one shoulder. He commanded notice in that charming stud kind of way. He approached her with a sexy smile lifting the corners of his lips.
“What can I get for you?” He braced his hands on the bar in front of her.
“An amaretto sour, please.”
As he walked away to prepare her drink, she turned in her seat, her gaze roaming over the attendees. A man by the door caught her attention. There was something familiar about him that she couldn’t quite put her finger on.
His short brown hair had been cut in a fashion that most military men would wear. The strong line of his jaw gave him that rugged handsomeness she associated with the alpha males she read about in romance novels. He stood casually with one hand tucked into the pocket of his black slacks. No tie encircled his neck—instead the top two buttons of his white button-down shirt had been left undone.
“Who are you staring at?” Margo asked.
Andi jerked in her seat and spun quickly to look at Margo, who had come up behind her. “I wasn’t staring at anyone.”
“I beg to differ. You were staring at that prime specimen of beefcake over there.” Margo caught the bartender’s attention with a wave of her hand. “I’ll have what she’s having.”
“I thought you hated fruity drinks.”
“I do.” Margo sighed. “But it’s a little early to be hitting the hard stuff straight up.”
Andi’s attention went back to the man across the room. “Who is he?”
“Are you talking about the man you’re not staring at?”
Andi rolled her eyes as she turned back to her friend. “Seriously. Do you recognize him?”
Margo looked him up and down, lines creasing her brow. “I think that’s John Clayton.”
Andi drew a blank on the name. “I don’t remember a John Clayton.”
“Sure you do,” Margo replied as she accepted her drink from the bartender. “He transferred in during our senior year.”
Andi tried to access her memory from ten years ago as her gaze went back to him again. “I’m still not placing him.”
“He sat behind you in English class.”
The memory of a tall, skinny guy with acne on his chin and forehead popped into her mind. “Oh, wow. He’s definitely changed some.”
But she couldn’t refute Margo’s knowledge. She could see the resemblance now. He met her gaze. Andi’s heart rate increased as she snapped her head down, taking a newfound interest in her drink on the bar.
“Busted,” Margo said in a low, sing-song voice. “Don’t look now, but he’s coming this way. I’ll leave you two to catch up.”
“Margo…” Andi ground out through clenched teeth, before Margo retreated with a smile only a mischievous friend could give.
“Can I get an MGD?”
The low male voice sent a shiver of awareness down her spine. She fought the urge to turn and look at him.
“I believe you’re Andi Morgan, right?” he asked.
So much for not looking at him. She couldn’t be downright rude and ignore him. She turned her head and looked up at him. Big mistake. Perfect brows arched over amber eyes surrounded by light brown lashes. His nose had a slight hump in it. No doubt it had been broken at some point in his life, but it didn’t detract from his handsomeness in the least. In fact, it added to that ruggedness she had noticed from afar. His full lips were tipped up slightly as he waited for her to respond. “Yes, that would be me. And I believe you’re John Clayton.”
The corner of his mouth lifted as he accepted the beer from the bartender and saluted her with it. “Correct.” He took a drink from the bottle. “I’m surprised you remember me.”
“Well…to be totally honest, Margo remembered your name.”
“Ah. Well I would say my pride is wounded, but you made up for not remembering my name by the way you were staring at me.” He smiled before touching the bottle to his lips again, taking another swallow of the drink.
“I wasn’t staring at you,” she said, which earned her another smile.
A flutter ran through her chest and settled low in her belly.
The look he shot her clearly showed his doubt.
She looked down at her glass, then back at him, trying to fight off the smile that threatened to spread across her face. He was teasing her and she kind of liked it. It felt refreshing after all the years of wearing her serious game face around Steve and his family.
“Okay. So I wouldn’t call it staring. You did look familiar, and I was just trying to put a name with your face.”
He leaned one hip against the bar. “So, are you disappointed with your findings?”
This time she didn’t fight back her smile. “The jury’s still out on that one.”
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It should have been a simple evening. Go to the high school reunion. Have a couple of drinks. Share a few laughs. Easy peasy. Until Special Agent John Clayton walks in and turns Andi Morgan’s life upside down.
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