She pressed a soft kiss on his lips, then withdrew. “Later.”

He let out a frustrated sigh. “Fine, but one more attempt at seducing me like that, and I’m going to drag you to Zach’s bedroom and lock the door behind us.”

Sealing his promise with a searing look which he raked over her curves, he put his arm around her waist and steered her back toward the living room. “Let me introduce you to some of the guys.”

20

Many familiar faces greeted him as Daniel, holding Sabrina’s hand, walked back into the living area, where the majority of the party guests were congregating. He let his eyes wander around the room until he saw the person he was looking for.

“Come!” he said to Sabrina and pulled her through the crowd before stopping in front of two handsome men in black tuxedos, both dark haired, one with a permanent stubble around his chin, the other clean-shaven.

“Jay, Hunter!” he greeted them.

“I’ll be damned!” Jay slapped him on the shoulder. “Daniel! The workaholic emerges for a night out!”

“You make it sound like all I do is work,” Daniel complained, grinning.

Jay and Hunter exchanged a look, then nodded.

“Yep,” Hunter confirmed, then extended his hand.

Daniel shook it.

“Guys, I’d like you to meet somebody.” He turned to Sabrina. “This is Sabrina Palmer, my girlfriend. Sabrina, this guy here is Jay Bohannon, a transplant from the South.” He pointed to the man with the stubble, which Jay wore like a badge of honor. “And this is Hunter Hamilton. Both are old college buddies.”

Sabrina greeted them with a friendly smile. “Nice to meet you both.”

They ran their eyes over Sabrina, but were wise enough not to linger too long.

“You don’t sound like you’re from New York,” Jay remarked. “Another transplant?”

“San Francisco,” she answered.

“Ah, I should have guessed that you’re a California girl,” Jay continued.

“Daniel,” Zach’s voice came from behind him.

Daniel turned, having sensed alarm in his tone. “Yes?”

“We have a problem.” He motioned in the direction of the entry. “Thom just showed up with a date. I had no idea whom he was going to bring. But—”

“Shit!” Daniel ground out, when he saw Thom appear in the living room, Audrey on his arm.

Next to him, Sabrina tensed. “Oh no,” she whispered under her breath.

He placed a reassuring hand on her forearm. “Don’t worry, baby.”

So far, Audrey hadn’t spotted him, but it was only a matter of time.

“What do you want to do?” Zach asked, blocking him from Audrey’s view by turning his broad back to her.

Jay instantly stepped next to Zach, and Daniel gave him a grateful look.

“I’m afraid I can’t throw her out,” Zach said, lifting his hands in capitulation.

“I know that. It’s not your fault.”

Sabrina pulled on his hand. “Can we leave, please? I don’t want to see her.”

Daniel looked at Zach. “Can you distract her so we can leave unseen?”

“Are you sure you want to do that? She must know that you’re here. She’ll only see it as a sign of weakness if you sneak out now.”

“I don’t care what Audrey thinks.” All that mattered was to get Sabrina out and avoid an altercation. For Sabrina’s sake he had to avoid meeting Audrey. Besides, knowing Audrey, she would rub in the fact that they’d run into each other at Saks, and he was sure that news wouldn’t go down well with Sabrina.

“Fine, I’ll go and greet them and steer them toward the buffet,” Zach agreed and walked away.

“Well, it was nice seeing you. Maybe next time we’ll get to chat a little longer,” Hunter said.

“Thanks guys, I’m sure there’ll be a good occasion to get together soon. I’ll call you!” Daniel placed his hand on the small of Sabrina’s back.

Carefully, he steered Sabrina through the crowd, moving closer to the exit with every second. Just a few more steps, and they’d be out of danger.

“Daniel! Hey, what a nice surprise!” A heavy hand landed on his shoulder and made him turn.

Wade Williams, another college buddy and member of the Eternal Bachelors Club grinned broadly. His brown hair was cropped short and his brown eyes looked warm and friendly. The goatee was new, but then, Wade had always experimented with facial hair.

“Hey Wade, sorry, I’m on my way out.”