One Night Forever (The Cinderella Chronicles) Read Free

invitation he needed.
    * * * * *
    Lauren’s drink appeared
on the table in front of her, forcing her eyes up. Her breath
caught in her throat, because there stood, in front of the table,
her sexy stranger, the one she had spotted as she entered the bar.
Tall, dark, and handsome just like her best fantasy man. She
swallowed, her mouth suddenly feeling extremely dry.
    “ Hi,” he said
in a deep, resonating voice. “I’m Matt.”
    He wore dress pants, and
a button-down white shirt, open as if he had discarded a tie. Very
GQ and worldly. Unable to help herself, her eyes made a quick sweep
of his body. Taking in the broad shoulder, tapered waist and
powerful thighs.
    Eyes returning
to his face, she forced her voice. “Uh, hi. I’m Lauren.” And you are
gorgeous .
    “ Nice to meet
you, Lauren,” he said, with a slight incline of his head. His gaze
shifted for just a moment to the chair beside her. “Mind if I join
you or are you expecting someone?”
    Unbelievable. It was as
if she’d willed her best fantasy to life. “Please,” she said. “Feel
free. My friend is late and I could use the company.” Lauren
silently reveled at the cool way she’d managed to
respond.
    Without another word, he
occupied the chair to her right. Nervous, and needing something to
do, she reached for her drink and sipped. The tangy taste of lime
filtered into her mouth. And she wondered how he tasted. The pure
heat of the thought made her set her glass down.
    “ I’ve never
seen you here before,” he said. “This tends to be the same crowd
over and over.”
    Lauren glanced at him,
debating what she should say. For this to be a fantasy night, her
red hot secret, she needed to live it to the fullest. That meant no
personal information. No temptation to make it more than a
delicious retreat from her focused, career-driven world.
    Decision made, she
smiled. “I’m visiting from out of town. An old college buddy lives
here and we’re hooking up tonight. It was her idea to come here.”
Now she just had to make sure Cat went along with her story. Not
that she was overly concerned. Cat loved little games and would
take a quick hint if offered. Lauren glanced at her watch hoping to
deter him from asking much about Cat. “She’s very late.”
    “ I can’t say
I’m sorry,” he said in a low voice. “If your friend wasn’t late, I
wouldn’t be sitting here with you…alone.”
    “ Funny how
things work out,” she said softly, unable to hide a hint of a
smile. This little flirtation was fun. It had been so long since
she’d allowed herself the freedom to enjoy a man.
    “ So—” he
started to speak, but Lauren’s cell phone rang, interrupting his
sentence.
    “ Sorry.”
Lauren held up one finger, reaching inside her purse for her phone.
“It’s probably my friend.” He nodded as she answered her phone.
“Hello.”
    Cat’s panicked
voice greeted her. “Oh, God Lauren, I am soooooo sorry. I
didn’t even know what time it was. My computer crashed and burned
my article for tomorrow morning’s publication. I have been in a
total panic mode trying to get it rewritten. I can’t believe this
is happening tonight of all nights.”
    A flutter of fear raced
through her stomach. An escape route from Mr. Sexy had just darted
out of reach. It would have been nice to know it was there if she
wanted it. “I understand. Business comes first. It has
to.”
    Cat exhaled loudly into
the phone. “You are too damn nice and understanding, I swear. I
deserve to have you go off on me. I hate that you’re there
alone.”
    “ Uh, sort of,”
Lauren said.
    “ Sort of? Is
someone with you?” Cat asked in a disbelieving tone.
    “ Yes,” Lauren
replied.
    “ Oh God, tell
me he’s cute. No. Not cute. Tell me he’s gorgeous. Hot. Worth a
good romp in the sack.”
    “ Very,” Lauren
said in a carefully bland tone. Matt was watching her. A tiny smile
playing at the corner of his mouth as if he knew that she was
talking about him.
    Cat