The Big Sister - Part One Read Free Page B

himself than to me.
     
    “Were?”
     
    He smiled. “We always seemed to be traveling in two different directions. Ships passing in the night. We’ve always tried to keep up with each other. Keep in touch.”
     
    “So you’re in Miami for business or pleasure?” I asked, raising my eyebrows. I felt like I was prying, but if Marcus had a problem with it, I could always back off.
     
    “Can’t a man have a little of both?” he asked, his hand resting lightly on my knee. Would it be too forward if I asked him about why he wasn’t taking his pleasure with Parker if they cared about each other so much?
     
    Before I could shape my lips to form the question, the car pulled up to a swanky club I’d only ever seen from the outside. Clubs were as foreign to my vocabulary as sex. I never had the time or the desire. Why waste money on sweating with a few dozen other people on a dance floor when I could get paid for dancing by myself?
     
    “I’ve been here a couple of times before,” he remarked, taking his fingers from my knee as he looked out the window. “When I was mixing business with pleasure, of course.”
     
    “I’ve never been here,” I said, taking the driver’s hand as I stepped out of the car. Maybe I should’ve worn a pair of heels instead of my cowboy boots. I was decidedly underdressed if the women standing in line outside the club were any indication — all tube tops and miniskirts and micro dresses.
     
    “I think you’ll enjoy it,” Marcus said, offering his arm to me. What a gentleman! I couldn’t help but give a small, self-satisfied smile at the people ogling us as we cut ahead of the line and entered the club ahead of everyone else who had been waiting. Escorting an apparently rich and powerful man had its perks, and so far that included line jumping.
     
    “What can I order you to drink?” he asked, once we’d been seated in a comfy booth with a great view of the place. The dance floor featured panels that changed colors every time someone stepped on them. It looked like a writhing rainbow out there — and really fun.
     
    “A water would be just fine,” I said automatically. I felt like I drank gallons of it at work with how much I sweated after performing. Plus, it was free. Ah, reliable water.
     
    “Are you sure? No champagne? No cocktails?”
     
    I winced, feeling more than a little guilty. “I have something to confess.”
     
    Marcus paled even under all the flashing lights. “Are you pregnant?”
     
    “No!” I squawked, bursting into shocked laughter. “I’m just not of legal drinking age.”
     
    If possible, the man’s pallor grew even worse. “Are you at least eighteen?”
     
    I couldn’t stop my chortles, even by pressing my hand against my mouth. “I’m twenty,” I said. “Do you really think Parker would set you up with someone underage, let alone employ them?”
     
    Marcus finally laughed, signaling a waiter. “You’re right,” he allowed. “She wouldn’t do that to me. Sorry for doubting her — and you, for that matter.”
     
    “No worries,” I said, still tickled. Sex, clubs, and alcohol — all things I didn’t imbibe because they robbed me of my precious time and Luke’s precious tuition money. I would never forgive myself if he had to spend another year in the impersonal clutches of a public school, unable to get the attention and expertise he needed to thrive.
     
    Marcus ordered me a large ice water garnished with fat slices of lime, and a martini for himself, before asking for a couple of appetizer plates. My mouth watered at the prospect of hot, delicious food. I’d been so careful with money lately that I’d scrimped on groceries. Luke got most everything he wanted, of course, but I was going on my second consecutive week of peanut butter sandwiches.
     
    “Sure you don’t want a sip?” he asked, hoisting the glass. “It’s quite good.”
     
    I wrinkled my nose. “I don’t like olives.”
     
    “Suit yourself,” he