Burn (Breathless #3)(73)

Music reverberated through the air, invading Josie’s blood, pumping along in time with her pulse. Her feet were already hurting, and she knew there was no way in hell she’d dance with these shoes on. She’d probably kill herself. But the shoes were more for Ash’s benefit. He’d actually been quite vocal about his choices when they’d gone shopping. She’d spare her feet for the evening, but when she headed back to Ash’s apartment, they’d go back on.

When they reached the table, a waitress stood there with a tray full of drinks. Mia smiled and turned to explain to Josie and Brittany.

“She always brings us two drinks to start the evening. We drink one down immediately after a group toast and then we sip the second until she gets back with more. Bethany and I weren’t sure what your preferences were so we went for girly drinks. Cosmos and amaretto sours. The sours are Bethany’s favorite and one of the few things she can drink to the point of intoxication. If you let the waitress know what you like, she’ll swing by with another round later.”

“I like Cosmos,” Brittany said over the music.

“I don’t drink much,” Josie said ruefully. “I’m kind of making an exception for tonight. Ash was so eager for me to go out that I couldn’t disappoint him.”

Bethany and Mia both laughed.

“That’s because Gabe and Jace have tortured Ash with all the details of what the man gets out of girls’ night out,” Bethany said with a roll of her eyes.

“Try an amaretto sour, Josie,” Bethany said, shoving one of the drinks into her hands. “I don’t drink much either, but this one is really good. Sweet and fruity without too much alcohol. I still manage to get wasted on them though.”

When everyone had their drinks, they gathered in a tight circle as Mia made introductions between Chessy, Gina and Trish and Josie and Brittany. Once they were done, they all held their drinks up.

“To Caro!” Mia yelled. “And that big ass rock on her finger!”

“To Caro!” the group chorused.

They clinked glasses, sloshing the drinks over the rims. Then they gulped them down, chugging until the glasses were empty. The waitress emptied her tray of the second-round drinks and with a smile left the tables to go get refills.

“Let’s dance!” Caro yelled.

Josie allowed herself to be pulled toward the dance floor. She liked to dance. Was actually pretty good at it. It had been a while, though. Michael wasn’t into dancing or clubbing. She could shake her ass with the best of them, and tonight was as good a night as any to let loose and have some fun.

She liked Mia and Bethany’s friends. Brittany did too judging by her big smile and dancing eyes.

“We have a precedent to follow,” Mia yelled.

“Oh?” Josie inquired.

“Yeah,” Bethany interjected. “We get really sexy on the dance floor, make all the men’s tongues hang out, and when whoever’s drawn guy duty for the night gets here, we pull out all the stops and give them, Brandon and the rest of the guys a show they won’t forget.”

Josie burst into laughter. “Okay, I’m starting to see where Ash is coming from with the girls’ night out thing.”

Mia’s eyes twinkled merrily. “Oh, Bethany and I will fill you all in after we’ve had a few drinks and are taking a break at the table.”

That sounded fair enough. Until then? She was going to let her hair down. Just a figure of speech, however. Bethany had spent a lot of time upsweeping Josie’s hair into an “elegant messy bun” as Mia had called it. The result was sexy if Josie had to say so herself.

Soft tendrils escaped the pins holding the bun in place. Mia had used a lot of eye makeup on her, for that matter a lot of makeup in general, but the effect was stunning. The entire package was pretty awesome. Josie wasn’t vain, but she knew she looked hot tonight.

Bethany had called her a bronze goddess. The dress Josie had chosen was a bronze/gold color that went perfectly with her hair and skin color. Skintight, strapless and short. There wasn’t much of it there, but it accentuated her legs and then with the four-inch heels she’d chosen? Yeah, her legs looked great.

The collar really stood out with her hair upswept and the dress being strapless. She’d seen both Bethany and Mia eyeing it on the ride over, a hundred questions brimming in their gazes. Josie wondered how long it would take before they started prying.

Brandon checked in with them often. He and three other guys Josie surmised were also bouncers. Though one of them looked too . . . Well, she wasn’t sure what he looked, but he wasn’t a bouncer. Of that she was certain. While Brandon and the others were dressed casually in jeans and polo shirts, this other guy was wearing an expensive suit, silk shirt, diamond cuff links that did not look fake.

The interesting thing was that while Caro had introduced Brittany to the three bouncers who worked with Brandon, the guy in the suit had walked over and asked Brandon to introduce him to Brittany. And now? Brittany and mystery guy were standing off to the side, talking. Brittany had a glow about her that could only mean one thing. The guy was interested.

Josie nudged Mia and dipped her head in Brittany’s direction. “Who’s that with Brittany?”

Mia followed her gaze and then frowned as she studied the couple. “No idea, but Brandon will know. I’ll ask.”

Before Josie could tell her it was okay, Mia gestured for Brandon to come over. He came, Caroline tucked into his side, his fingers splayed possessively over her upper arm.