Page 8 of Twisted Beauty

She turned around, expecting to see a couple of aspirin and maybe a tall glass of ice water. Instead, Katie carried two huge margaritas toward her. The frozen kind, piled high in blue-tinted margarita glasses with green rims.

“You’ve got to be kidding me. No.”

Katie giggled. “Hair of the dog, right? The next round’ll be strawberry.”

Liv closed her eyes and wished for just a few hours alone to clear her head. When she opened them, Katie was still standing there, grinning. Liv glanced between the two drinks, wondering if there was any truth to that hair-of-the-dog thing. Finally she gave in and took the one that looked slightly less full.

She clinked her glass against Katie’s and took a sip.

“Oh my god. This is so good.” She took a bigger sip and closed her eyes, enjoying the feel of icy liquid sliding down her throat. The perfect contrast to this heat.

“It’s all fresh-squeezed juice. No fake stuff and no mix. Breakfast!”

“Right. That’s kind of a stretch. But it’s really, really good.” Which had to be very, very bad. It was barely afternoon, and she’d only been awake for what, an hour, tops? That, and she hadn’t eaten. Now that she’d tasted it though, she wasn’t about to stop. Besides, she dreaded the day ahead of her too much.

Katie unhooked the bracelet from her wrist and handed it to Liv. “I have to go find something sexy to wear now that you’ve stolen my dress. Listen for the door, kay?” She took a long slurp through her straw and then set her drink down on the patio table before walking away.

“Kay.”

The bracelet was even prettier up close. Liv fastened the band to her wrist and ran her fingers along the beads. She’d look like an ass if she said anything more about the party now.

Still, there was always a chance she’d pass out drunk before anyone arrived. If this was daily life in Mexico, she needed to build up her tolerance for alcohol fast or she’d never even remember her trip.

Just as she settled onto the patio glider, someone rang the doorbell six or seven times in rapid succession. Liv dragged herself off the seat and headed inside, setting her drink down on the console. She made her way to the door as slowly as she could, stopping to look down the hallway toward the bedrooms. “Katie! Your harem is here.”

She waited for a moment, hoping she didn’t have to greet these new people alone. But Katie didn’t answer.

When she turned back toward the front door she smacked into a wall of solid muscle and let out a surprised shriek. Strong hands wrapped around her upper arms and steadied her until she regained her balance.

“Sometimes it’s fun to watch where you’re going,” said a deep, amused voice.

Liv looked up from a set of broad shoulders into a pair of milk chocolate eyes. Holy shit. This guy had rich, olive skin, a dark shadow of stubble along his jaw, and he was tall enough that she had to crane her neck to see his face. None of which was helping her stay upright. He was the quintessential Latin lover type, fresh off the pages of GQ, but he spoke in perfect English with no accent whatsoever.

She took a tiny step back and he released her arms. “Um…what? How did you…how are you…?”

Smooth, Liv. She was seriously going to strangle Katie.

His lips quirked up into a cocky grin, but he didn’t have time to answer.

“You’re early!” Katie’s voice came from behind her. She brushed past Liv to throw her arms around a second man standing in the center of the living room. Someone Liv hadn’t even noticed.

“So I’m part of a harem now, am I, Kat?” said the taller, lankier man just before he leaned down and planted a chaste kiss on her lips.

He was fair-skinned with hazel eyes, and looked suspiciously like every single one of Katie’s exes, right down to the sun-bleached tips on his dirty blond hair.

Katie snaked her arms around his waist and turned toward Liv. “This is Zach.”

Zach flashed her a genuine smile. “You must be Olivia. Kat’s been talking nonstop about you moving in.”

Moving in? Was that what Katie was telling everyone?

“Just Liv,” she said, regaining her powers of speech and reaching out her hand to shake his. At least the blond one didn’t leave her tongue-tied.

He pulled her into a quick hug instead. “Good to finally meet the new roomie.”

“I’m only visiting for a month.” Liv threw a questioning look at Katie.

“You might change your mind,” Katie said. “You might fall in love and stay forever like I did.”