Page 1

Chapter 1

“Has she gone?” Sinead Murphy poked her head around the side of Vegas’s office door.

Kendra Hilton gestured her back into the office. “Not yet, and she looks mean, so wait a few seconds longer.”

“Diadora always looks mean.” Sinead pinched the bridge of her nose, wishing away her terrible headache. It was self-induced, so she only had herself to blame, but the Enchanted Captain did an amazing two-for-one cocktail offer, and she was never able to resist. She’d only meant to go in for one or two drinks last night. Six cocktails later, she was dancing around tables to her favorite eighties music and had forgotten she had work the next morning. It wasn’t the first time this had happened. It wouldn’t be the last.

“It’s safe,” Kendra whispered.

Sinead snuck out of the office and settled back in her seat. “I know she’ll moan if she catches me, and I just can’t face it today.”

Kendra’s expression was sympathetic. “Don’t take it personally. Diadora is only happy when she’s moaning.”

Sinead flipped her dark hair over her shoulder. “She needs to get laid.”

“That’s not the solution to everything.” Kendra arched an eyebrow.

“Hah! You can’t lecture me on my love life. Yours was broadcast for the whole star system to see.”

Kendra grinned. “It was so worth the humiliation.”

Sinead smiled. She was happy for Kendra. She’d found her perfect guy by accident after being forced to take part in a speed dating event. It hadn’t been plain sailing, but Kendra and Faron were so perfect for each other it made Sinead a little queasy. She didn’t believe in love, but she believed in loving every man she tangled with as hard as she could before letting them go. Once they both got what they wanted, there was nothing to stick around for.

Kendra tilted her head. “You need to be careful. You know Diadora and her rules.”

Sinead groaned. “I know. Never date the clients. She’s told me that so many times. I had one tiny slip-up!”

“You dated that Draxdan who signed up last month.”

“It was one date, and I didn’t know he’d signed to My Single Alien. When I checked with him, he was thinking about it. It’s not my fault he didn’t keep me up to date. As soon as I discovered he was a client, I cut all ties.”

“Not before Diadora found out.”

Sinead shrugged. “What’s a girl to do when there’s a hot, single alien asking you to dinner? I couldn’t say no. He had such a cute smile.”

“Some of our clients are super-hot. But you’re on your final warning. Diadora will fire you if you mess around one more time.”

“Oh, you know me. My heart rules whatever I do. I’ve always been the same, just like my mom.” Sinead kept a smile in place despite the trickle of worry running through her. She loved her job. It could be hard work, and Diadora was a scary boss, but she adored finding matches for other people. She loved nothing more than watching a happy couple together. It made all the staring at the database worthwhile. Sinead had always gotten a huge sense of satisfaction out of making other people happy.

“We need to get a move on,” Kendra said. “We’re in charge of the new arrivals.”

“I haven’t forgotten.” Sinead pulled out her compact, applied a new coat of lipstick, and fluffed her hair to give it more volume.

“Stop that. They’re not supposed to be looking at you when they get here,” Kendra said. “We’re professional women. Judged on our brains, not whether our lip gloss has smudged.”

“We can be professional and gorgeous,” Sinead said. “It does no harm if new clients think all the women on our books are as lovely as we are.”

Kendra chuckled and shook her head. “You’re the lovely one. I’m the taken one. And remember, they’re new clients, or they soon will be when they sign the contracts, so hands off.”

Sinead raised a hand. “Technically, they’re all free agents. If one catches my eye, I won’t be breaking any rules yet.”

“Don’t you dare,” Kendra warned. “That’s why they’re here. They’re getting the last information they need before they make the decision to sign. We’ve got twenty aliens arriving, and Diadora expects twenty contracts signed by the end of this week. No messing around with our wannabe clients in case one changes his mind and decides he prefers you to a woman on our database.”

“Would that be such a bad thing?” Sinead stood from her seat and followed Kendra out of the office.

“It absolutely would. You’d be in front of Diadora explaining why you pinched a client.” Kendra nudged her with an elbow. “That would be it for you.”

Sinead dodged around a crowd of red jumpsuit clad engineers. The sudden movement made her stomach churn and her eyes blur for a second. The next time she did a two-for-one cocktail night, she was sticking to four drinks maximum. “I’ll behave myself, no matter how stunning they look.”