Sultry Sunset by Mary Calmes Read Free Book Online Page A

escort.”
    “You’re splitting hairs,” I argued. “Everybody loves you, you know that, but do they want a guy who paid to fuck you doing their legal work?”
    “Why should that matter?”
    “Come on, be serious.”
    “Uptight much?”
    “The town is open-minded,” Kelly sighed, “but still small. Use your head.”
    Lazlo shrugged.
    “Maybe you should have asked questions before you rained down righteous anger on the man.”
    “Yeah, maybe, but it was an honest mistake. Lots of guys follow me ’cause I’m scary hot in bed.”
    Both Kelly and I groaned.
    “What? I am!”
    I shook my head. Thank God I wasn’t twenty-two anymore.
    “So what now?” Kelly asked. “Are you going to fight the restraining order?”
    He shrugged. “He can keep it, I don’t give a fuck. What the hell would I need to see him about? Ever? It’s not like what I do in New York is legal anyway, so I’m not going through some screening process to have a job or keep it. I don’t care about this, and it messed with my vibe anyway.”
    “Your vibe?” I asked, trying not to sound condescending.
    “I like to relax when I’m here. I want to create my chimes and veg. I need the downtime before I gotta hustle again.”
    “Laz,” I began gently, “you know there are other ways to—”
    “Don’t start with the whole ‘you can do so much more than fuck to make money,’” he mocked, shutting me down. “This is easy for me, and obviously, I’m not that bright or I wouldn’t have had to do that to begin with.”
    I opened my mouth to argue.
    “Stop. I have a sister in college who loves me and a mother in Vegas who hates me and they both need money to live. Just let it alone.”
    I nodded.
    Lazlo’s smile was seriously something, the way it made his dimples pop and curled his lip. Sexy wasn’t a good enough word. Breathtaking was a better one, though my Mike could give him a run for his money.
    “Who wants to have a drink to my restraining order at The Lighthouse?”
    “I’m buying,” Kelly announced, then started asking Lazlo about a custom-made wind chime for a customer.
    We started down the street, back toward the seashore where most of the bars were, and I was enjoying listening to the two of them discuss what Kelly thought he wanted to install for a customer, when it hit me.
    What had I thought?
    What had crossed my mind?
    It had been so fast, so fleeting, but still, the thought had been mine.
    I was on the back patio of The Lighthouse when I had to grab hold of the railing for dear life.
    “Wait,” Kelly said, chuckling. “I think someone is having second thoughts about a drink.”
    “Oh man, I was only kidding.” Lazlo snickered. “I can’t drink in the middle of the day. I meant let’s have some ice tea or something.”
    “Yeah, me neither,” Kelly teased. “It’s okay, lightweight; it’s actually just about the company, not the alcohol.”
    What had I thought?
    “Hutch?” Lazlo said gently. “Are you okay?”
    “You look weird,” Kelly confirmed. “Well, weirder than usual.”
    Had I thought…. My Mike?
    “Maybe you should sit down,” Kelly offered.
    “I think he might need some water,” Lazlo threw out, and then because we were all now standing at an outdoor bar, he yelled, “Can we get some water over here?”
    My Mike? My Mike?! When had Mike Rojas become mine? And when had he gotten better-looking than Lazlo Maguire?
    “You’re turning gray,” Kelly said worriedly.
    I was going to hyperventilate.
    “I think he needs to put his head between his legs,” Lazlo suggested.
    I let Kelly lower me into a chair and bend me in half as I thought about Mike. When was the last time I had thought of him as separate from me? Why was I really bothered about all the women coming and going out of my guesthouse? And it wasn’t actually my guesthouse anymore, it was his residence? Mike’s residence, and had been so for quite some time, so why was I still thinking about it as mine? Yes, it was on my