That single night with Thomas made me moody. Shakespeare had it right—“much ado about nothing.” I was bitchy and whiney for the entire week. I couldn’t wait until Friday. I tried to stay in during the week because Haven had pointed out I was getting a little too old for that lifestyle. Hardly. I fully planned to blowjob myself into a convalescent home and then some.

I spent many weekends attempting to persuade Haven to go out with me. She thought I needed her for my wing woman? Hardly. I wanted her to spread her wings and fly. I would rather have her spread her legs, but I didn’t see that happening anytime soon. She was too wrapped up in the bookstore, and her sexual needs were being met by Earl. Oh, how she adored her B.O.B. I’d never had use for vibrators. Once I had the real thing, battery-operated was out of the question. Besides, Haven needed the real thing. It had been seven years, and that cocksucker Jared was still fucking with her head. She had zero self-esteem.

What I didn’t know was my BFF had a secret. A big one, and his name was Latch McKay. I knew who he was. Rich, gorgeous, notorious man whore, and younger than her. The one and only night I finally convinced her to go with me… she ended up with him. I’d intended her to start slowly, not race right to the finish line. I would never set my sights on a man like him because my third rule was never suck a guy who was prettier than me.

And he was. Wild, lawless, ripped, and best friends with the one man I would love to fuck and suck all at once. There weren’t too many men I daydreamed about, but that one. Oh. Yeah. Keenan Stone was a model. He not only did runway and print ads, but he was also the embodiment of Jake Coy, the meanest badass character in the world’s number one video game. Blood Vestige was Latch McKay’s claim to fame, and once he introduced Jake Coy to the world, Keenan Stone’s career took off like a rocket.

I had lusted for him the first time I saw him in Vogue, modeling some timepiece. I couldn’t have cared less about the twenty-five thousand-dollar watch he promoted. I was too busy drooling over his body and face. Haven knew him because he graced every book cover of her favorite romance series. I might have loathed the content, but I coveted the covers.

I might actually get a chance to have my way with Keenan now that Haven was blowing Latch McKay. The closest I’d ever come to swallowing my tongue was when I ran into Latch in the kitchen. My fucking kitchen. In my PJs. With no makeup and my hair looking, holy shit, worse than his. But he could get away with it. The sexy bastard had no clothes on, except for jeans still open at the top. It was all I could do to keep from stumbling over my own feet and falling to the linoleum and worshipping him. His looks were dazzling. Between the body and that accent, I could see why Haven had submitted to him. I was ready to concede, and he wasn’t even on my radar other than he was just a means to get to Keenan.

Haven fell hard. She didn’t have to tell me; I could see it on her face. When Latch was in her universe, the dark world she lived in had light. I’d made a vow to myself that if he hurt her, I would seriously cut off his sack and sell it on eBay. But it seemed he was as enamored with her as she was with him. They were quite sickening to be around. I wasn’t sure if I approved of him because of what the media printed about his past escapades, but by that time, it was too late. Haven loved him. Anything I said to her now would be futile. I cared solely for her happiness, but I also had a selfish motive. I hoped whatever was between them would last long enough for me to meet Keenan Stone.

Latch invited Haven and me to his mother’s yearly charity gala. This was the event of the year. The guest list included artists of all media, retired politicians, royalty, as well as diplomats from all over the world. I’d been going out of my mind for days trying to figure out what to wear. I would be meeting Keenan for the first time. I wanted my dress to be exceptional enough to parlay it into an evening of sexual conquest.

My expectations were high for the evening. It was a night that almost didn’t happen. Latch had proved to be a bigger asshole than I thought. His behavior was bizarre to say the least and it took quite a bit of finagling on his part to get Haven to go. I was curious at that point to see if his best friend Keenan was a jerk like him.

The fucking gala. When I met Keenan for the first time in my life, I was speechless. I almost told Haven to call Guinness World Records because this in itself was an event. Keenan was just as tall as Latch but very blond and fair. He had piercing blue eyes and a British accent that made him sound elegant and sophisticated. For the first time in years, I felt out of my league. I was awestruck.

And he was nice. Fucking kiss of death. Nice men. I knew it when he gently cupped my elbow and walked me through the gala. My senses became aware of the way he smelled, the warmth of his skin, and how his tuxedo accentuated every inch of his body. I’d heard Haven refer to Keenan Stone as a Greek god. I’d never been religious, but in that moment, all I could think about was how I would love to pray at his altar.

I had no idea our first meeting would be chaotic from the start. That one night should have been an omen for both of us. We should have run in opposite directions. Shocker, I’m no nun, so in order to mask my complete enthrallment with Keenan, I drank. I couldn’t keep up with Latch though. That man was on self-destruct mode, and there was no dialing him back. Heavy tension stretched between him and Keenan.

I did a few more shots, trying to ignore what was going on around me. Keenan got frustrated with Latch, and we finally left and walked out to the garden where there was dancing. Within thirty minutes, Latch’s mother verbally accosted Haven and Jared showed up. Latch almost killed him; then he and Haven had an extremely loud confrontation. The night had not worked out as I planned. I wanted to comfort Haven, but she and Latch had taken their argument elsewhere. Keenan and I were together, but his mood had been clearly spoiled by his best friend’s actions.

I never got a definite picture of what happened in the garden. Haven never told me in specific detail, but her dress was torn and covered in vomit. When I saw marks on her arms and neck, I went into shock and denial. I remembered Keenan asking me to stay back as he went to talk to her. Even though we’d just met, I witnessed a gentle and kind man return with violent intent on his face. He told a limousine driver to make sure both Haven and I got home safely. He helped Haven into the car as he whispered to her, and I watched as she kept shaking her head. The more she spoke, the more rage I saw on his face.

When he finally looked at me, he took my hand in his and pressed a kiss to my knuckles. It was as if a rush of heat spiked through my entire body as he spoke. He told me he would call me, and I told him yes. What the hell? Between being tongue-tied and what had just happened to Haven, I no longer maintained any willpower. Truthfully, I never got a chance to show him my talents, so of course I wanted to see him again. I wasn’t breaking a rule. I just hadn’t claimed him yet.

During the next two weeks, my entire life turned upside down. I was now frustrated by both Haven and Keenan. She was sick, distraught, and pregnant. We had no idea how that occurred. Sure, we knew fucking caused it, but Haven had been told years before she could never have children. Haven had sworn me to secrecy, which sucked because lying wasn’t one of my virtues. So I had two traumas to face. The first one, my knocked-up best friend. The second, an actual date with Keenan.

Since the night of the gala was a disaster, Keenan had called and asked me out. I was hesitant. I didn’t get anywhere with him the night we met. Sure, there were severe circumstances, but even before all the dramatic events, it was obvious he wasn’t going down without a fight. Oh hell, I didn’t even get a chance to go down. I didn’t charm the hot Englishman at all, and it pissed me off.