“Besties since first grade,” Danielle said with a smile.
Stryker regarded both women for a long second. “Danielle, you never mentioned Easton.” His gaze stayed locked on Emerson.
She couldn’t look anywhere else. Her eyes were glued on him. His clothes, his hair, his face, that body. She could not stop checking him out, but it was the intensity radiating off him that was revving her engine.
“I don’t talk about my personal life,” Danielle replied. “What do you know about me?”
“You’re one of the best hackers I’ve ever hired.”
She beamed. “Exactly. And that’s all you’ll ever know. Ow.” She glared at her sister. “Stop kicking me.”
“Hi.” Claire-Marie held out her hand and Stryker shook it. “I’m Danielle’s sister, Claire-Marie. I love your club, by the way.”
“Thanks.” He directed his attention back to Emerson. “You doing okay?”
She raised her glass. “One more glass of the good stuff and I’ll be feeling no pain.”
“Stop by on your way out,” Stryker said. “If you ladies can’t drive, I’ll call you a ride.”
As he made his way toward the private room, Danielle went back to her food, but Emerson stayed locked on him. Turns out, she wasn’t the only one tracking him. His swagger had caught the attention of Claire-Marie, who had twisted around to check him out.
“That man is a walking hurricane,” Claire-Marie said to Emerson. “You’re a lucky gal.”
“Me? Oh, he hates me.”
Claire-Marie barked out a laugh. “Honey, he’s completelygagaover you.” Claire-Marie got busy on her phone. When she finished, she showed them the wine Stryker had sent over. “This three-hundred-dollar bottle of vino is him telling you that he’s interested. Definitely, definitely interested.”
Emerson shook her head. “We donotget along.”
Claire-Marie pushed her plate away. “Ever had a spite fuck?”
Emerson and Danielle exchanged glances, then burst out laughing.
“A what?” Emerson asked.
“I’d been dating this guy for a while,” Claire-Marie explained. “I thought he was going to ask me to move in with him, but he broke up with me instead. It crushed me. I really liked him. Anyway, I got in great shape, dropped twenty pounds, and spite fucked him.”
“Isn’t that just backsliding?” Danielle asked.
“I had no intention of getting back with him. I just screwed him to show him what he was missing.”
This time, all three women broke into laughter.
Emerson glanced at the owners’ table. All five men were staring in their direction. Under the table, Danielle nudged her. Emerson glared at her best friend and Danielle waggled her eyebrows.
“Do you think he’s handsome?” Claire-Marie asked her sister.
“Yes, but I’m not attracted to him,” Danielle replied. “He’s my boss. That’s like being attracted to Dad.”
“That’s just gross…and weird,” Claire-Marie said. “What about you, Emerson?”
She shrugged a shoulder. “He’s okay.” She really wanted to downplay this, but she wasn’t convinced they believed her.
“The man’s a god,” Claire-Marie said. “A freakin’ Adonis. He’s got muscles on his muscles. That shirt could not contain him. And my God, his hair must be gorgeous when he lets it down.”
“It is.” Emerson had to admit that.
“When was the last time you did something foryou?” Claire-Marie forked tuna into her mouth.