A 21st Century Courtesan by Eden Bradley Read Free Book Online Page A

boy,” he teases.
    “No, not necessarily. I think it's nice.”
    He shrugs. Wide shoulders beneath the dark fabric of his shirt. “I'm a nice guy.”
    “I'm sure you are.”
    He locks his gaze on mine. His eyes are glittering in the low lighting of the bar. “Oh, I'm not
too
nice,” he says, his tone full of dark promise.
    I shiver. Clear my throat. “Tell me about your family, Joshua.”
    “You can call me Josh, if you like. Most people do. Except for my family.”
    “I like Joshua. I always call people by their full names, for some reason. I get the idea you're close to your family.”
    “I am. We lost my dad about fifteen years ago, so it's just my mother and my younger sister, Lanie.”
    “I'm sorry. That must have been hard.”
    He shrugs again. “It made me grow up a little faster. I had to take over the family business. But I don't regret that part.Too many young people have no sense of responsibility these days. Turns them into slackers. The world is too easy, in some ways.” He pauses, laughs. “I sound like some old man, don't I? Some old curmudgeon bitching about today's youth.”
    “No, not at all. And I happen to agree with you. The hardest things in life teach us the most.”
    “Sometimes. Sometimes it just teaches us to be pissed off. It takes more than just the hard part to channel all that into something else.”
    “Yes, that makes sense.”
    “You should see these kids I work with. All of them from the worst parts of the city. Broken homes. Drugs. Absent parents. A lot of these boys have spent their whole lives having to fend for themselves. And when they first join the team they're out there trying not to slip on the ice and trying to bash the hell out of anyone who comes near them. But after a while, they get it. Every single one of them. Just having someone give a damn about them transforms them.” He pauses, laughs. “I'm sorry. I'll get off my soapbox.”
    “No, I like it.” And I do.
    He smiles, nods, and I sip my drink, enjoying the heat of it going down my throat. Enjoying talking with him. He really is an incredibly good guy, which makes me yearn for him all the more in some perverse way. Perverse for a woman like me, anyway.
    “So, you became a businessman at an early age,” I prompt him, wanting to understand him, his life.
    He nods. “Real estate. Dad had been prepping me since I was a kid, and I was already studying business in college, so I wasn't completely unprepared. It was rough for a while, but now it's just… my life. I even enjoy my work sometimes, which is more than most people can say.”
    “And your sister? Are you close with her?”
    He pauses for a moment, his gaze wandering, as though he's really thinking about his answer. “In a strange way, we are. Even though she has a tendency to drive me crazy. Classic little-sister syndrome. And she hates that I'm always telling her what to do. Classic big brother syndrome.” He flashes a quick, devastating grin at me and I go hot all over. “She's always been spoiled. By my parents. By me, to be honest. Lanie's an unbelievable bundle of energy. Luckily she lives in D.C. with her husband; she's his problem now. He's a great guy; I know he takes good care of her. But I miss her. I don't get to see her enough.”
    So sweet, the way he talks about his family. His affection for them shines through everything he says.
    “It must be lovely to be close to your family.”
    “You're not close with yours?”
    “No.”
    “Do they live in L.A.?”
    “My mother is still here, but my father … I honestly don't know. That sounds pathetic …”
    “No, it doesn't.”
    I shrug. “I never really knew him, anyway. He wasn't a part of my life even when he was around, so there's nothing to miss.”
    “And your mother?”
    “We're … estranged.”
    I'm sorry.
    “No, don't be. It's fine. Fine.”
    Don't think about her now. Don't let her ruin this evening.
    “So I guess that means you grew up here in L.A.?”
    I nod, take a