The Dangerous Thief (Stolen Hearts #3)(30)

Just then, she saw a familiar blonde at the bar and she cut her way through the crowd. Sininen was set up to encourage dancing, with a DJ in the front and myriad blue lasers shining into the crowd and bouncing along the walls. The border of the dance floor was a series of scalloped couches and low tables. Each of the couches came complete with a sheer curtain that could be wrapped around the couch to give the illusion of privacy. Stephanie was just about to those couches when Willa caught up with her. It was so loud, Willa didn’t bother saying her name and tapped her on the shoulder instead.

Stephanie whipped around and her eyes widened in joy when she saw Willa. “Girl! Where have you been?” With the arm not holding a drink, Stephanie leaned in for a hug.

Willa returned the hug and found herself genuinely smiling at the touch of a friend. She thought about honestly answering for a second before she realized how much trouble that would throw at Stephanie’s feet. “You wouldn’t believe me if I told you. Where’s AJ?”

Stephanie shrugged. “Somewhere around here. The second he walked in, the vultures were swarming. I swear, I don’t know what he does to make these girls so crazy.”

Willa raised a brow. She couldn’t put her finger on exactly what made Stephanie’s twin brother so attractive to the opposite sex, but she couldn’t deny that the guy was gorgeous. Even worse than that, he knew he was gorgeous, and that was a dangerous thing. Both of the twins had light, airy, blonde hair. Where Stephanie was tall and model-thin, AJ was strong and lean, like a swimmer or runner. When he wore a suit, he wore it perfectly. Even though he was a blond, it didn’t diminish the little bit of dangerous edge he had. When Willa had first started hanging out with the two of them, he’d asked her out. She had been tempted and even asked Stephanie whether it was okay. And even though Steph had said she was fine with it, there was the barest hesitation in the answer. And in that hesitation, Willa realized she really didn’t care whether Stephanie didn’t want her dating AJ.

And why bother risking friendships when she really didn’t care either way? She wanted to go out with AJ for the same reason AJ wanted to go out with her. Boredom. So Willa had politely turned him down and he’d moved on to the next attractive woman. Stephanie was a lot more choosy with her relationships. She talked a good game, but Willa never saw her go home with any guys. She never even saw her go on dates.

As nice as it was to be young, pretty, and rich, somehow it didn’t make finding quality men any easier. If anything, it just brought out the crazy and greedy ones in droves.

“Is Jules with you?” asked Stephanie.

Willa hoped that the dim lighting of the club would keep Stephanie from seeing how pale she got at the question. “I haven’t seen her lately,” she said dismissively while averting her gaze to the ground.

Stephanie moved on quick enough. “Your bodyguard is here,” she said, abruptly pulling Willa out of her thoughts.

Willa looked around, looking for any sign of James. “He’s here? Where?”

Stephanie put a hand on Willa’s shoulder, turned her until she looked in the back corner, and pointed to the guy who was looking obviously uncomfortable in the crowd. The guy who was definitely not James.

“Oh,” said Willa dejectedly.

Stephanie noticed. “Expecting someone else?”

Willa shrugged it off. “Nope.”

“So what’s with the guard duty? Did you piss someone off? Is that why you’ve been MIA? I called you like ten times.”

“I’ve had the week from hell.” Willa dodged the question. “What’s going on with you? What have I missed? Tell me everything.”

She knew Stephanie was smart enough to know when her questions were being evaded, but she rolled with it as she led Willa back to the table. “You know how it is. Boring. Bert has been calling me nonstop. I think I need to leave the state to make him realize I’m not interested.”

Willa scrunched her face. “Bert? Come on. He knows you’re like a million miles out of his league.”

“Right? I swear, he sleeps with one supermodel and all the sudden he thinks he’s a Casanova. The dude is still married and twenty years older, but he thinks I’m going to fall at his feet because he has money? I bet you my bank account is twice the size as his.”

Like Willa, Stephanie and AJ were also trust fund babies. Their parents were a tad more functional than Willa’s—they were at least still together. Though they had taken on the royal method of raising children and the twins hadn’t really had parents. More of a series of nannies and boarding schools. They had never wanted for anything, but now that they were older, their parents suddenly wanted to be friends and business partners.

It was an issue that few people would understand. Another reason Willa just seemed to get along with them.

“Hey beautiful,” said a deep voice from behind her.

Willa turned to see AJ behind her. He wore a black v-neck T-shirt and black slacks, each of which were perfectly fitted to his slim frame. They were loose but just tight enough to reveal the muscle underneath. Willa smiled at him and leaned in for a quick, friendly hug.

“Hey yourself,” she said. “I heard you already have a fan club here.”

He held a hand over his heart. “Me? You know I’m just saving myself for my true love.”

Willa cocked her head and pursed her lips. “Umm hmm,” she said skeptically. “You’re a true paragon of virtue.”