“Sure you didn’t,” she says as she rolls her eyes dramatically. “If you never saw him watching you for the rest of the entire night, you’d have been blind or dead drunk. You were neither and I know that you definitely knew he was watching—you just pretended not to. I’ve never seen you so affected by a man before. Normally you just brush any signs of interest off without so much as blinking an eye. Not this time.”

Waving a hand in the air dismissively, I shake it off. “It hardly matters, Rina. It’s not like we’ll be running into each other again.”

“Well . . . about that. He called Dante last night and asked for your phone number. And just so you know—his description of you was hot.”

My heart is pounding so hard right now that I am surprised that Rina isn’t saying anything about how loud it is. I’m dying to know what his description was, but right now I’m too freaked out that he called Dante and asked about me. What the hell am I going to do if Dante gave him my number? “Oh my God,” I croak out in a panic. “Please tell me that Dante didn’t give him my phone number!”

“Of course he didn’t sweetie,” she assures me calmly. “Dante would never do anything that would make you uncomfortable. You obviously didn’t realize this but Exton is one of Dante’s best friends—they went to college together.”

Don’t judge—my first reaction to the news that Dante didn’t give him my number isn’t one of relief. Instead, I feel . . . almost let down. At least I do until I think about the fact that they went to college together and immediately perk up as I wonder if maybe I’ll see Exton again anyway.

What the hell is wrong with me?

Oblivious to my inner dialogue, Sabrina goes on. “But,” she says sweetly, “He did tell him your first name and that you work here. So I’m fairly certain that he’s going to search you out.”

So, so many butterflies are in my stomach right now. How would Exton look for me? Will he call and ask to speak to all of the Ardens in the building until he finds me? It wouldn’t take long—there’s just me.

Actually, let me take a reality check on that. I bet he’d do something real douchey like have an assistant troll the building, and I bet they’d pick up other prospects along the way. Exton Alexander looks for no one himself, I’m certain of that. And that’s if he bothered to look at all. I’m surprised he asked Dante for my number. I’d say it’s a safe bet it was just because he isn’t used to being turned down.

“He might be a great friend for Dante, but overall he’s not good news,” I say firmly. “He’s a man slut to the extreme and I’m not going to fall all over myself to be treated like shit. You read TMZ, Rina! You know he’s got a different Victoria’s Secret model under his arm every few months. They don’t call him Triple X for nothing, you know . . . He’s a pig.”

For whatever reason, my assessment cracks her up. “Generally speaking, all men are pigs at some point. As for the Triple X thing, take that with a grain of salt. You know how LA is—there are more rumors than truths, not that I’m saying that he hasn’t had a bad track record up to this point. I hope you’re not judging him on that tape bullshit because no one deserves to have their privacy violated like that and I hate that people think they know what he’s about because of that. I think that Exton just hasn’t found his match yet, but when he does, he’ll be great. You should see him with my kids. He’s fabulous—he’s going to be a great dad some day. Our kids love their Uncle E and Vivi especially absolutely worships him.”

Holy hell—Exton Alexander is Uncle E? Sabrina’s kids talk about Uncle E a lot. Like, a whole lot. This whole time I’ve just assumed Uncle E was one of the bazillion and five extended family members they’ve got all over the place.

“Of course I’m not judging him because of the tape—trust me, I’d be the last one to judge having some asshole betray your trust—but it’s more than that with him. Being nice to children doesn’t make him date material. You’ve had it so easy with Dante that you believe in fairytales, but that’s not real life. This guy is a player, Rina. A player! Players. Don’t. Change.”

Letting out a snort of disbelief she says, “Um—how do you imagine that Dante and I got together?”

This is an easy one. “You came in for an interview. The second you sat down in the chair, he was in love. Five minutes later he was sending truckloads of flowers to your house and he probably wrote love letters by the dozen. Anyone who sees the two of you together knows that there was never any question. I say this with love, but you’re that annoyingly perfect couple that fell in love at first sight. Easiest love story ever.”

Now she’s straight out laughing like a crazy person. “Oh my God, Arden! You could not be more wrong! I hate to burst your bubble but Dante was an enormous man-whore when I met him. For the first few months that I worked here he went through women so fast that I hardly had time to remember their names. He had a three-week rule and he stuck to that like it was the eleventh commandment. It was so ridiculous that Damien and Spencer called his women the Dante-bots, not that they had any room to talk. A bigger bunch of love em’ and leave em’ offenders you’ve never seen. When Dante and I first got together, it was meant to be a temporary thing for him—the scratching of an itch. Eventually that blew up and it got so bad that I left because I didn’t think it was going to work out.”

I’m stunned. I can’t imagine Dante Hart with anyone but Sabrina, ever. “How is that even possible? And are you seriously telling me that Damien and Spencer were like that too?”

“Yeah, I actually think they were worse. They didn’t even do the three-week thing because that was too much of a commitment. Anyway, it’s possible because that’s life. People don’t realize that they need something deeper until they meet the one person that changes their perspective on everything.”

The Harts all make it look so easy though . . . I hardly know what to say. “You, Brooke and Delilah need to share your secret because the men you have today are the farthest thing from commitment-phobic that I’ve ever seen. I’d hate you all for being so damn lucky if I didn’t like you so much. You’ve each got a gorgeous man who worships at your feet. What kind of voodoo is that?”

After taking a sip of her soda, Sabrina lets out a soft sigh. “It’s love voodoo I guess. All of them just needed love—a partner to be there and support them through good times and bad. They were good men to begin with—but they didn’t know that. I believe that Exton is the same way. He has this ridiculous reputation that makes him seem one way, but when you see him with his walls down, he’s not like what’s reported. It doesn’t have to be him—I’m just saying that I think you need to get yourself out there. What’re you so afraid of?”

Now that question, I can answer easily. “Falling for more bullshit,” I say truthfully. “You know I don’t like to discuss my past—mostly because I wish it had never happened—but once upon a time I was a giant moron and I have regretted it every single day since then. I can’t ever go back to being that weak, stupid girl.”

Reaching out, Sabrina settles her hand on my shoulder. “You’re not weak and you’re not stupid. You can’t avoid living your life because of something that happened in the past, either. I’m not saying that Exton has to be the guy you take a chance on. I know the age difference could be an issue for you, so there’s that. But what I am saying is that you can’t lock yourself away forever. If it’s been more than three years since the last time date night wasn’t battery operated—and I know it has been because you never date—then it’s time to get back out there.”

This woman is a nut! Sticking my tongue out, I blow a raspberry at her. “You are so forward,” I giggle.