Stiletto Safari by Kate Metz Read Free Book Online

already thinking about patenting it. See, I do learn something from hanging around with you lawyers! The only downside to my experimentation is that I’m already totally drunk.”
    As if possessing a sixth sense, Henri looked up from the makeshift bar and gave me a lopsided grin and a slightly drunken wave.
    Mental note: if I was to have any hope of getting on that plane tomorrow, I was going to have to limit my “Zartinis.” Emi could drink like a fish, so if she was feeling the effects this early, I could be in real trouble.
    I wandered over to Sal, who was chatting to a group of work friends. They were all colleagues that I really liked, but I hadn’t seen most of them since my departure, so I was feeling a bit awkward. I needn’t have worried; they all seemed really happy to see me and filled me in on all the work gossip.
    The hottest gossip—well, complete scandal actually—was that George’s wife had busted him and evil Clare exchanging sexy e-mails and had kicked him out of the house. According to nice Clare from work, George was screwed because all of his assets were in his wife’s name. Hopefully his wife was smart enough not to take him back.
    By this time, some of my Aussie friends had joined the group. While I hadn’t met that many Aussies in NY, the ones I had met I loved. Australians are so laid-back and fun to be around. In next to no time one of my friends, Craig, was spinning Sal around the room. Apparently she had been looking too uptight. Sal at first looked mortified, but after several spins and one dangerously low dip she was all smiles.
    Watching them, I couldn’t believe I’d never thought of setting them up. I’d basically tried everyone else I knew for Sal. But no, Sal was on a self-imposed man freeze and I should respect her wishes…
    “Zara.” Emi was pulling me away from my friends by the elbow. “Nick is downstairs and he wants to talk to you for a minute.”
    For a moment I didn’t think I’d heard Emi right. Nick, downstairs? Slowly the implication set in and my heart started pounding. This was going to make things complicated. I hadn’t seen or spoken to Nick since our breakup, and while I still thought about him all the time, I was starting to feel a bit stronger.
    Seeing the panic in my eyes, Emi said, “It’s okay, Zara; I’ll tell him you’re not quite up to it. I’ll be really nice about it, I promise.”
    I could feel my head slowly nodding at Emi’s suggestion, but curiosity or the Zartinis got the better of me and I stopped her.
    “No, Emi, I’ll go down quickly and see him.” Seeing Emi’s unease, I added, “It might be good closure, you know.”
    The fresh air slapped me in the face and I shivered involuntarily as I stepped outside. Stupidly, I’d left my coat upstairs. I peered around and for a few moments couldn’t see Nick anywhere. Then I felt a hand on my waist and I spun around.
    “Thanks for coming down, Zara; I wasn’t sure if you’d want to see me.” Nick’s voice was husky and sexy.
    He was dressed casually in faded jeans, a navy sweater, and a jacket. Damn, he looked good. The tightness had gone from his eyes and he had more color in his cheeks.
    “Nick, what are you doing here?” I exclaimed.
    “When I heard that you were going away, I just really wanted to say goodbye. I’m being eaten alive by how things ended between us.”
    For a few moments I just stood looking at Nick. “You know, I didn’t know whether I should come down and see you…”
    I could see him swallowing hard.
    “But I’m pleased you came. It would have been weird not saying goodbye. It’s freezing; why don’t you come up to the party? The drinks are good, Emi has made Zartinis, and there are plenty of people up there you know.”
    Nick gave a rueful laugh, “No. As tempting as the Zartinis sound, I only break my self-imposed exile for special people! Plus, I’m still a bit too infamous at the moment and I don’t want to ruin your party. But if you can