“Jared and Sugar, sitting in a tree…” Nicola spun on her heels, letting the music drown her out.

Sugar grabbed her arm and beelined to the bar. A gaggle of uber-rich men parted, eyeing her like fresh meat, despite their current arm candy.

Maybe she wasn’t into this scene, after all. She could be upstairs, talking that UN babysitter into more time with Asal. They could chill out to SpongeBob or whatever the kid was feeling. But it was probably close to bedtime. Dang, what do I know about kids? She could figure out kids if she wanted to. She shrugged to herself, still intent on reaching a bartender.

Once she got the bartender’s attention, she ordered. “Two shots. Make ’em burn.”

“Awesome.” Nicola nudged a guy out of her personal space. “Thanking you in advance for my hangover tomorrow.”

Sugar rolled her eyes. “I’ll take yours if you don’t want it, princess.”

“Oh, there it is! Just like Jared.”

The bartender slid over two shot glasses filled with amber-colored who-knew-what. “You two are cute. Really.”

“Grab your shot, friend.” Sugar pushed it toward her.

“With pleasure.” Nicola laughed. Then they each downed a shot.

Whoa. Burn all right. Christ. Sugar breathed out. Her eyes watered.

Nicola slapped the bar.

“That’s what I needed.” Not some silly notion of her and—

“Jared.” Nicola smiled.

Exactly. Wait. “What?”

“You get this screwed up look on your face at the oddest moments. It’s gotta be Boss Man. What happened after we left?”

“He threatened to make my life miserable.”

“He said that, huh?” Nicola flicked her empty glass and let it slide down the bar. “Probably his equivalent to, ‘Let’s go to dinner. Here are some roses. Can I hold your hand?’”

The pack of men around them grew tighter. The scorch from the liquor felt great, but the tight quarters made her want to knock a few faces. “Let’s dance.”

Nicola nodded and shoved a guy who had stepped too close. “Timely change of subject.”

Feigning innocence, Sugar “accidentally” let an elbow stab at an overly friendly bystander.

They pushed out of the human testosterone knot and toward the dance floor. Pulsing music. X-ed out dancers with glow sticks. The place wasn’t her definition of party central, but it would get the job done. She could blow off the extra tension, then eventually pass out. With the shots coursing through her blood, surrounded by the thumping of music and the bodies, her body demanded to dance.

“Over here.” Nicola grabbed her arm, pulling her toward the center, where there was open space.

Better to be here and not with Asal. She was growing seriously attached to that kid, hard and fast. The same was happening with Jared. She had two people to guard her heart against.

Hands wrapped around her waist. Probably some oil baron or gulf prince. A jerk of her shoulder caught his chin, and her message that she wanted to be left alone got across as loudly as the awful music. She laughed, and Nicola smiled, blowing a goodbye kiss.