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girls are so mean.” He crabbed as
he walked away.
    There was a brief silence after Max walked
away.
    “Come with me to Abel’s this evening.” Trina
said.
    Melissa was already shaking her head. Abel’s
was a bar and nightclub which they had frequented before Melissa’s
marriage to Jeremy. It was a Friday night and Abel’s would be
hopping. She already had plans for the evening anyway. She had a
date with the bathtub and a bottle of wine. Plus, there was that
Barbara Freethy novel she wanted to read. Then it suddenly struck
her. Is that what her life had become? She was only twenty-nine! On
the spot, before she could change her mind, she made a
decision.
    “Fine, I’ll come. But I’m not going to stay
very long.”
    Trina stared at her wide eyed. “Are you
serious? You’re actually coming to Abel’s with me?”
    “Yep, maybe that will finally get you to shut
up and leave me in peace.”
    “Not a chance.” Trina’s smile was a mile wide
and she looked like her birthday had come early.
    Melissa was glad she’d put a smile on Trina’s
face. Since the other woman had lost her Mom and fiancé almost in
one go, she’d battled depression and won. “Ah well, I can hope.
Meanwhile, how’s that gorgeous friend of yours? Are you finally
going to do something about the way you feel about him, or is it a
case of physician heal thyself?”
    Trina made a face, “I’m going to seduce him.”
She stated with determination.
    Melissa looked at her with respect. “Good for
you!” There and then, she decided that if Trina could battle her
setbacks and actually go about seducing a man, she could at least
go to a bar.
    As she focused on her work, Melissa could not
deny the small thrill of excitement she felt at going out again.
She still didn’t feel ready to date, but maybe it was time she
began to put herself out there, like her older sister would say.
She felt a small frisson of fear, but the anticipation was greater
than the fear and it remained with her through the working hours
until it was time to close. Then the doubts hit.
    As she stood in front of the mirror in the
ladies, she gazed at her reflection and wondered if she knew what
she was getting herself into. Was she really ready for this? She
could just go home and have an early night. At least, that way she
could wake up really early and do the laundry, then scrub her
bathroom and…
    “This is pathetic, Melissa, just pathetic.”
She murmured as she ran her hands beneath the faucet. “It’s just an
evening with your best friend, sipping on a cocktail. You’re not
going to let that SOB steal that from you as well.”
    With renewed determination, she wiped her
hands with a paper towel and ran the still damp hands over her hair
before marching out.

    Chapter Two

    Adrian scanned the bar and shook his head at
the scantily clad women. “What on earth made you believe that I’ll
find a life mate in a place like this?” He muttered with a frown at
his two closest friends.
    “It’s a nice place to begin your search.”
Cassel replied.
    Kaine just grunted, but said nothing.
    Adrian was slouched on his seat, his posture
relaxed as he surveyed the organized chaos around him. He cast a
sidelong glance at his friends and hid a smile at the fierce scowl
on Kaine’s face. The six foot tall dark-haired man looked like the
warrior that he was. Cassel, the guardian angel who had gotten them
all into this fix in the first place, just had a calm air around
him. Since they were off duty, they could each relax with a glass
of wine.
    “How do you know it’s a nice place?” Adrian
queried.
    “Trina comes here a lot and she’s bringing
one of her friends. Maybe one of you can hook up with her.”
    Kaine only snorted, not saying anything.
Cassel turned to look at him.
    “All right Kaine, just say what’s on your
mind.”
    Kaine shot him an annoyed look but went back
to his glass of wine.
    “I know you’re upset and you should know, I
wouldn’t do this to you, to any