Entice

Chapter One

Present…

February

Shelly knocked on the back door of Exquisite, and waited in the chilly February air. Coming from a hectic Monday at the hospital, she thought she’d be late but she still managed to arrive by 7:30.

Ever since Lena and Mason had gotten engaged, they’d moved the traditional Langley dinner down to the restaurant. It just hadn’t felt right to any of them to go back to the cottage without Catherine there.

So, they’d switched to the restaurant, which had worked out well since Exquisite was closed on Mondays. Somehow, ever since Lena had been welcomed back into the Langley family unit, Shelly, too, had found herself adopted by them.

Hearing the click of the lock, Shelly turned to see Mason pushing open the door.

“Shelly,” Mason greeted her as he reached out and pulled her into a tight hug.

Shelly gladly returned his embrace. After all, it was Mason Langley, and she wasn’t going to pass up a chance to get her hands on his sexy body, even if he was engaged to her best friend.

“Mason. How are you tonight?”

“Great, just great. Get in here. The food’s cooking, the wine’s open, and Lena’s at the bar making margaritas.”

Shelly smirked as he tugged her through the door.

Making her way inside, she walked down the main kitchen aisle that led them out to the dining area. Shelly looked to her left and saw her friend standing behind the huge mahogany bar that ran down the side of the restaurant. Lena raised a hand, waving at her.

Shrugging out of her coat, Shelly smiled as Mason took it from her.

“Full service tonight, Chef?”

As he grinned, matching dimples appeared. “Nothing but the best here at Exquisite,” he winked.

Nodding, Shelly tugged at her tight, little red skirt. “That’s actually true, including your alcohol. So, I’m going to go over to your woman and grab some.”

“Let her know I’ll be in the kitchen if she needs me.”

Already making her way toward the bar, Shelly called back over her shoulder, “Will do.”

Turning back, she stopped in front of her friend and colleague. “Where’s my usual Cosmo, huh?” Shelly grinned at Lena.

Lena arched a brow. “Sit down. Tonight, you’re trying Lena’s Margarita.”

“Oh, am I?” Shelly questioned, watching as her friend started to salt the four large glasses in front of her.

“Yep. You, Rach, and Wendy are my guinea pigs.”

“Lucky us.” Sighing, Shelly looked around at the now familiar bar and dining room.

“Hey, what’s up?” Lena asked.

Turning to face her friend, she shrugged, and then shook her head. “Nothing. I’m just feeling sorry for myself.”

Lena frowned and reached over the bar to grip Shelly’s hand. “Well, you shouldn’t. You’re wonderful, and we all love you.”

“I know you do, but I can’t have sex with you.”

Lena laughed, pulling her hand back to pick up the pitcher of margaritas. “Oh! I see. It’s that kind of feeling sorry for ourselves.”

Picking up a straw from the container on the bar, Shelly twirled it between her fingers. She blew out a breath and felt her blonde hair ruffle against her cheek.

“Yeah, it’s that kind of ‘I feel sorry for myself.’ I hate being sexually frustrated,” Shelly whined. “It sucks. Well, not literally, obviously, but you know what I mean.”

Lena rested a hip against the bar and pushed a margarita toward her. “Actually, no, I don’t. I’ve never felt like that.”

“What about before your sex god turned up?” Shelly asked, feeling a huge grin slide onto her face as Lena predictably stiffened slightly.

“Sex god? Really? Please don’t say that around him. The man already has a huge ego. You don’t need to feed it.”

Shelly picked up her drink, took a sip, and swallowed down the tart, icy liquid. Smiling, she nodded. “Okay, but I’m right, aren’t I?”

Grinning, Lena picked up her own glass, taking a sip. Looking over the rim at Shelly, she replied, “Oh yeah. He’s a god.”

“Lucky bitch,” Shelly accused, pouting, as Lena grinned from ear to ear.

Josh Daniels was having a bad day.

He’d just come from his lawyer’s office at Mitchell & Madison, and he was not happy. His last employer was trying to skip out on making their final payment, stating that Josh’s company had gone over by two days.

Stupid prick, he thought. If they hadn’t gone over, I would’ve ended up with shit work. Knowing the slimy little weasel, he would’ve sued for that, too!

He was definitely not having a good day.

Josh had decided to move back to Chicago after he broke things off with Melissa a little over six months ago. Originally, he’d moved to L.A. because she’d wanted to pursue an acting career. Cue the curtains and the eye rolling.

Turns out, the quickest way she saw to get to the top was by being on top—of the casting agent. Is it really so hard to find a nice, sweet woman who wants to settle down and marry? Apparently, it was because here he was back in cold-ass Chicago, which was currently rainy Chicago, making his way over to his friend’s new restaurant—alone.

Mason Langley. He hadn’t seen the guy for a little over two years. When he’d arrived back in town, he’d been so busy moving in and getting his business up and running that he didn’t have the time to track him down. It wasn’t until recently, when he’d caught a review on TV about Exquisite, that Josh had kicked himself into gear.

When they’d gone to school together and even through their college years at different universities, they’d been trouble with a capital T. He remembered many parties involving lots of hot girls and even hotter nights. They’d spent those formative years, as they liked to call it, “networking.”

Yeah, he thought, networking our way into girls’ beds, cars, dorm rooms, and parents’ holiday homes. Josh chuckled to himself. If you could think of a place, they’d been there and done that there.

Yep, Josh thought with a grin, it’s going to be good to meet up with my old friend.

He’d heard around town about Exquisite, which was Mason’s and Rachel’s restaurant, and after the TV piece, he was looking forward to checking it out for himself. After all, he couldn’t remember how many times Mason had told him that one day he’d be so famous all the women he wanted would be lining up around the block for him. Pretty-boy bastard probably achieved that goal, too.

Pulling up at the address Mason had given him, Josh parked his white Ford F-250 around the back in the tiny parking lot. Walking over to the back door, like he’d been told, he noticed a shiny red BMW convertible and rolled his eyes. It reminded him of a Barbie car. He chuckled. Should’ve parked the truck next to that just to piss off the owner. Stopping at the door, he knocked twice and waited.

Shelly and Lena made their way over to the table that’d been set for eight and took a seat. Lena had refilled her margarita, and she had to admit Lena’s Margarita was pretty damn delicious. As Lena took a seat, she beamed over at Shelly.

“Look, before everyone gets here, can I ask you something?” Lena asked quietly.

Shelly nodded and took a sip of her drink, noticing that Lena was keeping an eye on the kitchen doors. “Sure. Hit me with it.”

Lena licked her lips, and then blurted out, “Will you be my Maid of Honor?”

Shelly smiled so widely her face hurt. If you’d asked her not even a year ago if Dr. Magdalena O’Donnell would ever look so happy, she would’ve said that you were out of your mind. After the death of her sister, Lena had closed down, determined not to let anyone in—until Mason, that is.

However, as Lena smiled over at her with twinkling eyes, Shelly was hit with such joy at her friend’s happiness that she almost started to cry. Nodding quickly, she reached across the table and took Lena’s hand. Squeezing it gently, she answered softly.

“I’d love to be…” She paused. “But do I really need to be called Maid of Honor? It makes me sound so old and kind of stuffy.” Shelly grinned, wrinkling her nose.

Lena smiled as she sat back, lifting her glass to her lips. “Fine. I’ll call you that in secret meetings only.”

Shelly winked at her over the rim of her glass and took a sip. “Sounds like a plan. So, when’s the big day?”

“Oh, we haven’t decided yet. But guess what? One of Mason’s old school friends is back in town, and he’s coming here tonight. It’s so exciting! I’ve never met any of his school friends. They all moved away after graduation.”

Shaking her head, Shelly felt the hair at the back of her neck start to rise as she slowly lowered her glass. “Please don’t tell me you’re—”

“He’s going to be the Best Man, if he agrees. Wouldn’t it be great if you two get along and—”

“Stop, stop,” Shelly interrupted, sitting forward in her chair. Lowering her voice a little, she glared at Lena and shook her head. “No. No, no, no, Lena-I’m-so-in-love-O’Donnell. Do not try to fix me up. Ugh, I hate being fixed up,” Shelly said, faking a shiver.

Lena’s brow raised. “Need I remind you that you were the one who told Mason to come stalk me at O’Malley’s. Look at how that turned out.”

Shelly rolled her eyes and picked up her drink. She was well on her way to feeling relaxed. “Yeah, but look at him. We knew, or let me say I knew, from having seen him that he was smokin’ hot and that you should grab him and take a bite.” Shelly licked the salt off her bottom lip and finished by adding, “This guy could be balding and fat for all we know. You do not get to set me up with anyone until I see him first.”

Lena’s eyes had moved, looking past her shoulder. They widened slightly, and Shelly thought she almost looked comical in her shock as though her eyes would pop out of her head.

“Well, maybe you should turn around because, as far as I can tell, Josh isn’t fat or anywhere close to balding.” Shelly heard Mason say from behind her.

Shutting her eyes on a groan, she shook her head at Lena, who was now biting her lip and trying hard not to laugh. Putting her glass down, Shelly slowly turned, ready to face the music.

So, Barbie has a mouth on her. Big surprise, Josh thought as he watched the blonde’s back stiffening. He knew from what Mason had told him that the woman currently facing him, trying to contain her laughter, was Lena. Her green eyes were smiling at him, and her long brown hair was spilling over her shoulders in a riot of curls.

Yep, Mason had described her right down to the smirk appearing across her mouth, so he knew this was the woman who’d won his friend over. That left the blonde, who must be Dr. Shelly Monroe. Josh looked back to the woman who was slowly placing her margarita glass on the table and turning toward them.

The first thing Josh noticed about her was the hair. Man, she has some perfect-looking hair. It landed just beneath her shoulders in a completely straight line. The color was almost what he’d describe as platinum, but it had several darker shades of gold through it, which could’ve only been achieved through a very high-end salon. He knew that courtesy of Melissa.

The second thing he noticed was her cherry-red skirt. Not only was it short enough to show off a good portion of her thigh, it was the same bright shade as, what he was presuming, was her Barbie convertible out in the parking lot. When she finally faced them on spiked black heels, she smoothed her matching black blouse and lifted her face. That was when he noticed her eyes. They were such a startling deep cerulean blue that he could barely take his eyes away from them, so he just stood there and watched as she flicked her now amused gaze to Mason.

“Didn’t anyone teach you it’s not nice to sneak up on people?”

Mason crossed his arms, looking down at the petite blonde. “Don’t try and wiggle your way out of this, Shel.”

Mason smiled and turned to face him while Josh watched her red lips tip up in return. “Josh, this is Dr. Shelly Monroe, and that gorgeous woman over there is my doctor, Lena.” Mason paused, and then looked back to Shelly. “This is my non-balding friend, Josh Daniels.”

Josh focused on her as she turned and looked him in the eye. Not only did she seem unembarrassed about what’d just happened, but she also seemed to be challenging him to make it an issue.

“Yes. I can see that,” she almost purred.

Josh felt her voice skate up along his spine. Oh, holy shit, this is not good.

He was not in the market for upper class and high maintenance. He wanted middle class and low maintenance. However, as Dr. Monroe ran her incredible eyes over his body, he felt all the blood in his brain disappearing quickly. Trying to stop the inevitable, he held out his hand to her. She looked down at it, and then reached forward with her own, sliding it gently against his. Her eyes moved up from their joined palms to meet his again as she bit her bottom lip slowly and continued with a grin.

“Not an ounce of fat either,” Shelly whispered seductively.

Beside him, Mason cleared his throat with a small laugh and shook his head. “Okay, Shel, leave the poor man alone.”

Letting go of his hand, she shrugged, turning back to her friend. She must’ve done something when she faced her because Lena let out a small giggle, and Mason sighed. Josh turned to find Mason shaking his head.

“Ignore them. Most of the time, they act like they’re in high school instead of behaving like two of the smartest women I’ve ever met.”

Josh nodded silently, still trying to work out what had just happened.

Shelly turned on her heel to face Lena, who was looking at her with a giant smirk. When she arched a brow and mouthed “no,” it sent her friend into a fit of giggles. Rolling her eyes, Shelly sat down and reached for her drink.

Delicious. That’d been the first word that came to mind when she’d seen him. The second had been a very loud no. No way was she going to get herself involved with a man like that. He was everything she swore she’d never go back to.

Wearing worn jeans with a rip across the knee, he had big broad shoulders that looked so strong and powerful he could possibly lift her above his head in a bench press. Add in all that amazing wavy brown hair that was just long enough to come down and curl behind his ears, she thought, Crap, I’m screwed.

Sitting very still and sipping her margarita, Shelly continued to discreetly watch him as he walked around the table with Mason. Even the way he walked was sexy. She closed her eyes, letting out a small groan.

“Something wrong, Shelly?”

Her eyes snapped open, and she glared across to her friend, who was now grinning with pure glee. Shelly decided right then that if she could’ve reached she would have kicked Lena right in the shin. She was about to respond when her phone buzzed. Looking down, she turned it over and noticed a text message from Lena.

Lena: You’ve seen him. So?

Shelly raised her eyes to see Lena had turned to face Mason and Josh, pretending to listen to their conversation. Sneaky little shit.

Hitting reply, Shelly lied.

Nope, not my type. You know me—suits and ties all the way.

Shelly put the phone back on the table, watching as Lena looked down at hers when it buzzed. As Lena arched her brow and typed back, acting like they actually were the teenagers Mason had accused them of, Shelly looked at the two men who were now discussing what sounded like a job proposal.

Mason caught her eye and winked while Josh reached forward for his glass. With an arched brow Mason cocked his head toward his friend in a so-what-do-you-think kind of way.

Shelly rolled her eyes, shaking her head, when Josh sat back up. Mason’s eyes went right back to his friend like he hadn’t been doing anything mischievous. Another sneaky little shit.

He and Lena deserved one another.

Again, her phone buzzed. Looking across to Lena, who was once again pretending to pay attention to the boring man conversation, Shelly picked up her phone. She’d just taken a sip of her drink when she looked down and read.

Lena: Corporate’s not fixing the issue. Time to hire a handyman to flush out the plumbing.

That’s when Shelly sputtered on Lena’s Margarita, almost choking.

“You okay over there?” Shelly heard Mason ask.

Glancing up, Shelly saw Lena grab her drink, grinning as she took a sip. Looking back to Mason and Mr. Delicious, Shelly smiled slightly.

“Yeah, just went down the wrong pipe,” she stressed, noticing Lena pick up on the pun.

Shelly was about to say something else when the double doors behind her whooshed open, and Rachel squealed. Looking over her shoulder, Shelly watched as the currently purple-haired pastry chef zeroed in on Josh—aka Mr. Delicious Handyman.

“Joshua Daniels! Oh my god! You are even hotter now than you were back in high school!”

Hot, he definitely is, Shelly agreed.

Shelly turned to watch Josh stand, and then he pulled out his biggest weapon of all. Across his face slid a smile so slow and so sexy, it could’ve dropped a woman’s panties in five seconds flat—hers in particular.

Rachel ran across the room, launching herself at him in a huge hug. Shelly watched those powerful arms wrap around Rachel, and for the second time that night, she thought, I’m screwed.