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too loud and too late. Brooks’ gaze landed on Liam before swinging back toward him. Ryan watched all the color drain from her face.
    “Oh,” she whispered.
    Ryan could hear the pain behind the single syllable and he fought against the urge to walk across the room and beat the hell out of her so-called boyfriend.
    25
    Mari Carr
    “Crap,” she said, glancing over her shoulder once more before turning back around to face him. She picked up her martini and drained it. She cleared her throat and he could see anger in her gaze. “Do I have the word ‘frigid’ written across my forehead?”
    Ryan shook his head slightly, certain he’d heard her question wrong. “Excuse me?”
    “Frigid, Travers. F-R-I-G-I-D. Is it tattooed up there in some way that only men can see?”
    “I don’t understand what you’re asking, Brooks.”
    “What is it about me that makes the men I date think I’m not worth waiting for?
    What the hell is wrong with getting to know someone before you hop into bed with them?”
    “I’m not sure,” Ryan answered slowly. Her question had caught him off guard.
    “I mean, even you didn’t think I could handle one night in a lousy sex club. What’s wrong with me? What vibes am I sending out?”
    Ryan stared at her for several seconds, his mind whirling over how on earth to answer her. How could he tell her that until tonight, he’d seen her—or maybe he should say he’d failed to see her—the same way as the asshole across the room? Shit. Bringing her here had been a mistake of mammoth proportions and things seemed to be spiraling continually downhill.
    “There’s nothing wrong with you.”
    “Oh stuff it, Travers! After nearly twenty years of friendship, the least you could do is level with me. Clearly men don’t view me as sexy. Am I right?”
    She thought she wasn’t sexy? Christ, he’d been sporting a hard-on since she’d opened her damn front door. Even now, he was silently reciting his times tables in an attempt to stop thinking about exactly how he’d like to peel that tight leather skirt off her. Ryan picked up his drink and followed Brooks’ example by tipping it up and chugging it down…fast. The strong liquor burned his throat and when he tried to speak again, his voice sounded gruff, guttural.
    26
    Sugar and Spice
    “Brooks, I can honestly tell you that right now, you are the sexiest fucking woman in the room.”
    His answer seemed to take the wind out of her sails and her anger quickly turned to something worse—sadness.
    She nodded for a moment and he waited patiently as she seemed to try to pull herself together. If there was one thing he loved about her, it was the fact she didn’t wallow in self-pity. She was a confident woman with none of the usual hang-ups his past lovers seemed to suffer. She knew her value and didn’t need constant reassurances about her appearance, her intelligence or anything else, for that matter.
    After several tense, quiet moments, she took a deep breath. “Thanks…again.”
    “You’re welcome,” he replied, relieved to see the return of her composure. God, she was a graceful woman. How had he missed this for so long?
    “Well, I think I’m ready for my tour now. Let’s get the hell out of here.”
    Her words washed over him like ice-cold water. “What tour?”
    “Of the club. Surely there’s a hell of a lot more to this place than just the bar.”
    “I’m not taking you on a tour. Shit, you’re lucky I brought you this far.” The words flew out of his mouth and he cursed his thoughtlessness, especially when her eyes narrowed in anger again. This time her fury was directed at him.
    Somehow he preferred it when she was pissed at the idiot lawyer.
    “I see,” she said through clenched teeth. “So you lied to me.”
    Ryan refused to crumble under her anger. She’d tried to use intimidation on him since they were kids. He’d never let her get away with it then and he sure as hell wasn’t starting tonight. “I told you I’d