Mackenzie’s confused expression melted into one of guilt. “Shit, Nick. Maybe it’s not you. I mean, not just you. We did get his cousin mixed up in some crazy shit, and none of us bothered to warn him. Someone broke into Kat’s apartment, and if it was Charles Talbot, or someone like him…”
“Maybe.” She exhaled and shrugged one shoulder, unable to dismiss the feeling that it didn’t have anything to do with Kat at all. “I wouldn’t blame him. Jackson told me she was terrified.” Nick hoped being able to unwind with twenty of her closest friends would raise Kat’s spirits.
“Poor kid.” Mackenzie resumed stocking the fridge. “Which one does she have the crush on? Derek’s partner?”
“Andrew,” Nick confirmed. “The tall blond guy. They have this…thing. It’s epic.” She checked her watch and sucked in a breath. “People should be arriving soon. Dinner’s been set up, right?”
“Yep. It’s all ready.” Mackenzie shoved the last two beers in the cooler and picked up the case. “I could stay back there and keep an eye on it, though.”
“Surely you’re not scared of Jackson’s mother.” He was due back from the airport with her any minute. “Seriously. She’s great.”
“So I’ve heard. What about you? If you’re giving up on Derek, what else have you got going on?”
“Not a damn thing,” Nick muttered darkly. “My love life is officially a barren wasteland, where sexual satisfaction is entirely reliant on a fresh supply of C-cell batteries.” To say nothing of the loneliness that had plagued her for months.
“You could stop throwing out flirtatious hints and ask him out,” Mackenzie pointed out. “I mean, before you resign yourself to dating electronics.”
Nick had been set to do just that on returning from Boston. Then Derek had started gritting his teeth whenever she got within ten feet of him, and it stopped seeming like such a good idea. “Maybe.” She waved both hands in the air and made a disgusted noise. “I don’t want to talk about my pathetic love life anymore. Let’s talk about you and Jackson.”
“What’s to talk about?”
“Moving in with him?” Nick snatched up a towel and started giving the bar one final polish. “That’s a big step.”
Mackenzie laughed. “C’mon, Nick. After the year I had? Not all that big a deal.”
“You make an excellent point. But I’m proud of you for getting past it and moving on with things. Like the dance studio.”
Her friend’s eyes lit up. “Have you seen it lately? The contractors Derek found for me, God, they’ve worked magic.” She hesitated. “You don’t think he found me contractors who actually work magic, do you? I still can’t tell.”
Nick tried not to laugh. “As far as I know, it’s all sheetrock, semigloss paint and mirrors. But I want to come by sometime next week and—” She broke off when she caught sight of Kat waving through the etched glass of the front window. “Guest of honor’s here.”
She hurried to unlock the front door and pulled Kat in past the standing sign which proclaimed the bar closed for a private party. “Happy birthday, sweetie.”
Kat took in the bar’s decorations with wide blue eyes that made her look young, even if she was almost Nick’s age. “Wow, it looks awesome. I haven’t had a birthday party in years.”
“Just wait ’til the booze starts flowing.” She winked at Kat. “I’m going back to start the music. Want some champagne?”
“Sure!” Kat bounced up to the bar, obviously overflowing with excitement. “Heya, Mac. Where’s Jackson?”
“Picking up his mother from the airport.” Mackenzie popped the cork from one of the bottles of champagne. “They should be back any minute.”
“Awesome. Mama Holt is the best. You’re gonna love her. Tell her, Nick.”
Nick leaned into the back office and flipped the switch on the speakers linked to the satellite radio feed. “I did. But she’s nervous because Jackson got shot. I told her that’s a depressingly normal day around here.”
“Well, I wouldn’t say Jackson gets shot every day. But, you know, he’s in some trouble or other, like, every time I turn around. That’s what happens when you hang out with Alec.”
“Amen to that.” Nick surveyed the room again, pushed her hair behind her ears and glanced down at her shorts and T-shirt. “I need to go upstairs and change. Do you guys mind?”
Mackenzie grinned at her. “No problem. I’ll hold down the fort.”
Nick barely made it out the back door before her easy smile faded, and she cursed herself roundly as she climbed the wrought-iron stairs to the unoccupied apartment above the bar. Of all the nights to fall into a depressive funk, this had to be the worst. Not only would she ruin Kat’s birthday, but everyone would know she was upset because…
Because why, Nick? Because you sleep alone? Or because you can’t breathe when Derek Gabriel smiles, but he won’t smile at you?
She stomped through the kitchen and into the bathroom, where she’d left the bag containing her spare clothes and toiletries. At this point, she’d be better off going to New York to let her father fix her up with whatever random, well-heeled werewolf he’d managed to scrounge up.
He’d been dropping hints again, ever since she’d gotten back from New England. “Come home, Nicole,” she mimicked as she tugged off her T-shirt. “You’re missing too many priceless opportunities by living so far away.”
Priceless opportunities to marry well and get ready to take over the family business, something he knew she couldn’t care less about. She didn’t want to be queen of the werewolves, or whatever.
So what do you want?
Nick dropped her shorts, snatched up her lightweight black slacks and stepped into them. “Tonight, I want to be the consummate hostess,” she whispered to her reflection. “I want everyone to have a good time, including myself, if at all possible.” She paused before shrugging into her sleeveless red silk blouse. “And I don’t want to think about the fact that I’m going home alone.”
Chapter 2
Nancy Desmarais Holt accepted the large paper box and laughed. “Now, Nicole, I want you to know I wouldn’t normally be so rude as to accept such a big piece, but that cake was mammoth.”
“Yes, it was,” Nick agreed with a smile. “Are you sure you won’t take more?”
The older woman glanced at Mackenzie, who shook her head while raising both hands. “Oh, no way. I’m not sure I can look at carrot cake again for at least a year.”
Kat’s voice drifted from the other side of the bar. “Hey! Don’t knock carrot cake.”
“Whatever doesn’t get taken home is going to the nearest shelter in the morning,” she warned over her shoulder, then rose on her toes to kiss Mama Holt’s cheek. “Don’t be a stranger. Come back tomorrow. I’ll make mint juleps and fill you in on all the latest gossip.”
She beamed. “That’s a deal, honey. Come on, Mackenzie. Let’s meet Jack outside. I think the party’s winding down.”
Nick kissed Mackenzie’s cheek next. “Be careful, and I’ll see you guys later.”
Mackenzie leaned closer and lowered her voice to a whisper. “Don’t be an idiot, Nick. Derek’s been making big eyes at you all night. Make a move now or I never want to hear you complaining again.”
Her cheeks burned. “We’ll see.” She waved as they walked out, locked the door behind them and turned toward the table where her remaining guests waited.
Kat sat sideways in the booth, leaning back against Andrew. He was finishing up a beer and grinning at Derek, who sat across from them. Nick’s breath caught, and she made a concerted effort to breathe in and out.
He’d dressed simply in jeans and a gray button-up shirt that made his eyes look unbelievably blue. Nick tamped down the lust that rose in her and grabbed a bottle of top-shelf tequila and a handful of shot glasses from behind the bar. She walked over, the low heels of her slip-ons clicking against the floor. “Shots?”