Summer Love_ A Steamy Small Town Romance Anthology - Piper Rayne Page 0,150

Her painted-on jeans showed the most perfectly rounded ass he’d seen in a long time, the plunging neckline of her V-neck blouse showing just the right amount of cleavage. She was part of the group, yet alone, swaying to the music and singing the words—loudly and not exactly correctly—but she didn’t seem to care. She seemed so free, so loose, so completely comfortable with herself and unconcerned with the world around her.

She opened her eyes and met his stare, a half-smile playing about her lips and a faint challenge in her gaze. Something about her drew him in and he had to meet her, a woman who didn’t have the same calculating gleam in her eye when she looked at him but saw the man standing there and appreciated him.

Sierra Austin let the music wash over her and sweep away all of her troubles. The evening had actually been a lot of fun, celebrating Emma Holt’s upcoming wedding. Since it was Emma, the bachelorette party hadn’t exactly been tame or rated G either. In fact, it had only reminded Sierra that, while she was lucky to have found such great friends, she was being left behind again as they made their ways down the paths of marriage and motherhood. Meanwhile, Sierra continued her solitary pursuit of building her day spa business and making sure she always had her ducks in a row. And damn if that didn’t suck.

Of course, having her mother drop in unexpectedly and plan to stay a while had just about knocked all of that out of the water and threatened to completely skewer her plans. Now she had to keep an eye on good old Mom and make sure she didn’t get up to her tricks, even as she promised she’d turned over a new leaf after a short stint in prison. Yeah, she’d heard that story as a kid, and too many times to count. Usually just after she and her mother had slunk out of town in the middle of the night and into some new guy’s place.

This time will be different, Sierra. He’s the one.

Only it never was, and the men never stuck around.

Molly, her friend and fellow small business owner, had dragged her out tonight and refused to let her stick to soda. She’d handed her the first of several shots with the comment, “You’re drinking for two since I can’t. I’m still nursing the little guy. First night away from the baby and Momma needs some freedom.”

If Sierra wanted to be honest, she hadn’t really cut loose in years and whatever Zane put in those pink shots he served in the back room of The Rock packed one hell of a wallop. It didn’t help that they tasted good and everyone was passing them around like water. When Emma announced she was ready for some dancing, Sierra allowed herself to be dragged onto the dance floor to recreate her youth.

God, she sounded a thousand years old. She was just thirty-one, but she felt like she’d lived so much more than some of Emma’s friends. The other women Sierra knew, including Molly, had already all retreated home to their husbands and young children, but Sierra was feeling a bit reckless and needed to blow off steam, always a dangerous combination. It had gotten her into trouble when she was younger, but what the hell? She deserved a little break. Maybe she’d meet someone and have some fun for the night, though she wasn’t convinced there was anyone for her out there, at least not in Granite Junction.

It didn’t help that her friends had put romantic songs on the jukebox. That, combined with the alcohol and the upcoming wedding, made her regretful of some of the choices she’d made and made her long for . . . something else. At the bare minimum, she didn’t need the reminder of romance, love, passion, and, most importantly, sex. Then, one of her favorite Dierks Bentley songs had come on, twisting that knife deeper.

“Hello, pretty lady. Wanna dance?”

Sierra froze mid-grind and opened her eyes. The hottest man she had ever seen was leaning against the jukebox, his dark hair carelessly falling over one eye, dark jeans cupping what promised to be a truly fine ass, judging by the way they outlined a very nice front. For the first time in a long time, she felt the stirrings of desire and the interest in actually doing something about it. Or that could be the pink shooters she’d