“Now you bea good little bean and make friends,” Lottie said to Cooper, the French bulldog, she was walking this afternoon. She unhooked the leash from his collar and let him run in the pricey, membership-only dog park in SoHo.
A dark gray blur of excited puppy beelined it to the small group of dogs on the far side already playing. Lottie gave the group of owners a wave before she joined Nessa on the bench under the trees. Nessa was more than a best friend, she was Lottie’s chosen family. Heronlyfamily nowadays.
Meeting Nessa had been a fluke. Lottie had dated Andy, a stockbroker, for a few months, a handful of years ago. Nessa had an on-again, off-again relationship with Andy’s good friend and coworker. The only thing good that came out of either of those relationships was meeting each other. And without Andy, Lottie would have never been taken to Phoenix. Her tiny world exploded into a sensual wonder when she walked through those doors.
“He is such a squish guy,” Nessa crowed, her green eyes flecked with brown lit up, as sunny as ever. Light practically radiated off her. Her honey-blonde hair only helped with that too.
“He’s a good pup,” Lottie agreed, crossing her denim-covered leg over the other. Early autumn had descended on New York City, bringing the falling of leaves. The sun began to set sooner, and the evening brought the chill of the coming winter.
“You really have such a great gig,” Nessa said. “Man, what I wouldn’t do to give up nursing to walk dogs every day.”
Lottie had been walking dogs for a year now. She had two dogs in the morning. Three in the afternoon, but Cooper was her last call of the night. Nessa often came on Cooper’s walk. “You’re too good of a nurse to give up,” Lottie reminded her. Nessa was an emergency room nurse and worked harder than anyone Lottie had ever met.
Nessa smiled. “I’m sure there are some patients who disagree with you.”
“They probably deserve a punch,” Lottie said.
Nessa barked a laugh. “Maybe.”
Lottie grabbed at the edges of her leather jacket, pulling it in tighter against the chill of the breeze. “Speaking of work, how are things going?”
“Everything is okay,” Nessa said with a slight shrug. “Dr. Dickhead is being his usual dickhead self.”
“I really don’t understand why you don’t quit and go work at another hospital,” Lottie said. For months, Dr. Dickhead had been undermining Nessa’s every move.
“Because I don’t have the money to quit.”
Lottie scoped out the area, ensuring no one heard their conversation. “There is an easy way to fix that. One night at Phoenix, Nessa. One night of the hottest sex of your life, and your entire world would change.”
Pink filled Nessa’s cheeks. “God, no. I’m not like you, Lottie. All bold and sexy. I can’t even have a one-night stand, let alone have sex with random people watching.”
“Then make the Phoenix your first one-night stand, and believe me, your life will be changed forever.” Phoenix had a way of changing anyone who walked through its door. For its members, it enriched their lives with passion. For the participants in the shows, after a thorough vetting and monthly sexually transmitted infections test, not only did they partake in a fantasy like no other, but they also received a gift for the show. Those financial gifts were what paid for Lottie’s chic two-bedroom condo in SoHo and how she continued to save money to eventually go to vet school and open her own clinic.
“I could never,” Nessa gasped, a hand flying to her bright red cheek.
“Don’t say never,” Lottie countered. “I never thought I could do it either. Until I realized how good it actually is.” And the money had given her a big step up in life. She’d been a waitress when she began dating Andy. That had been her ticket into Phoenix. Turned out she couldn’t stand him or his blinding arrogance. But she’d caught the eye of another member that night. Rhys had called a week after her appearance there and offered her a gift for taking part in a show. After that, members kept asking for more of her, and the rest was history.
Only, no one knew the reason her shows were so hot was because she imagined she was with Hunt.
“Okay, fine,” Nessa finally said. “I’ll keep in it in the back of mind, but it will most likely never happen.”
Lottie laughed. “Deal.”
Cooper came running over, tongue wagging. He nearly collided with Lottie’s legs, then took off chasing a golden retriever back toward the other owners.
“How’s the hunky detective?” Nessa asked.
“Still asking me to go out on a date.”
“Why don’t you just go out with him?”
“You know why,” Lottie said, the same thing she said every time this came up. Nessa was the only one who knew that Lottie had left an entire life behind before moving to New York City seven years ago. That her past was full of criminals, and she had no business dating a cop. And Nessa only knew that because she’d been the greatest person Lottie had ever met. Nessa was trustworthy, kind, all the things that reminded Lottie of her mother.
“I still think it’s silly,” Nessa chirped. “Just because your family members aren’t good people and run drugs for the mob doesn’t mean thatyou’renot a good person. You like him. He likes you. Nothing should stand in the way of that.”
Problem was she didn’tlikehim. Lottie was damn sure she loved him. Hunt had gotten inside her head. But she cared enough about him to not let her past touch him. Their worlds were so far apart. And no matter how much hethoughthe wanted her, they could never work. “Like I’ve said before, I can’t risk him learning about me. How can I date someone that I’m lying to?” She could never tell Hunt that she had stolen twenty thousand dollars of dirty money to pay for an illegal new identity so her family could never find her again. “I either can’t be truthful to him, which wouldn’t exactly make for a healthy relationship, or I can be truthful, but he would be obligated to follow the law and to tell Rhys, and I’d be done at the club. I need the money I get there to save for school and the clinic. I just can’t do it without it. It’s a no-win situation.”
“Maybe Hunt wouldn’t tell him?”
