The Matchmaker's Replacement [Kindle in Motion] (Wingmen Inc. Book 2) by Rachel van Dyken Page B

else?”
    “You think about it,” he slurred, and then he winked—or tried to, but it was really more of a blink.
    “Yeah, I’ll do just that,” I lied and walked off toward the bar. It wasn’t very busy for a Friday night, and I was thankful. I’d only been working a few days, and my feet already ached.
    What I wouldn’t give for a massage!
    I reached into my apron and pulled out a candy bar. For the past three days I’d been getting baskets of food, mainly junk food and the odd protein bar or Red Bull here and there, but beggars couldn’t be choosers.
    Every time there was a note. And every time it said,
    From your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man.
    Just kidding. I’m way hotter—EAT!
    Every. Single. Time.
    I was too tired to research it, too tired to set a trap. I was just thankful I had enough Pirate’s Booty to cause the rumbling in my stomach to cease, at least for a few hours.
    “So,” a familiar voice said above the music. “New job?”
    Damn it! “I didn’t even say your name three times!” I whined, turning around to face Lex. He was wearing a tight vintage black T-shirt with low-slung jeans on his hips and the ever-present sex-oozing smile.
    “Three times?” He smiled wider. “You said my name three times out loud? Is it your new curse word? You know, like ‘Oh, Lex! Holy Lex! Mighty Lex . . .’” His eyebrows drew together. “Somehow all of those sound like very familiar noises women make in my presence.”
    “Die, Lex,” I said in an annoyed tone. “How about that one?”
    “That’s new.” He snapped his fingers. “But it’s growing on me. Maybe it’s the way you say it, like you want me to die in your arms all Romeo and Juliet style . . .”
    “Wow, ten at night and you’re already wasted.” I slapped him on the shoulder. “Take a cab.” I tried to move past him, but he grabbed my wrist and pulled me back, pressing us together. Whether it was on purpose or not I wasn’t sure, but he was warm.
    And he felt . . . safe, familiar. My body was playing tricks on me; it was because I was vulnerable.
    Like that night when . . .
    I locked down my memories, especially that one, and threw away the key. “Lex, what do you want?”
    “You,” he said in a serious tone. “Now get up on stage and take off your clothes. I paid for a show.”
    I rolled my eyes. “Waitress, Lex. You’ll have to call one of the many numbers on your phone to get a free lap dance.”
    “What if I pay?” His breath tickled my ear as my eyes burned with unshed tears. Normally, I wouldn’t let what he did affect me. Normally, I brushed him off, but my armor had already been stripped. Call it exhaustion or maybe just the last remnants of pride I had toppling to the floor.
    But I couldn’t hold them in any longer.
    One tear fell.
    Then another.
    I tried to wipe them, tried to jerk free from Lex’s strong arms, but he turned me so abruptly that all I managed to do was soak the front of his shirt with my tears and smear it with mascara.
    “Gabs?” His voice rasped as he hugged me tighter. “Come on, we’re going.”
    “No.” Panic surged through me as I tried to pull away. “You don’t understand!” I’d given the last of my paychecks to my mom so she could pay the bills at the house, leaving me completely broke for this week’s rent check. I was hoping to make enough money in tips for the rent.
    Lex’s eyes crinkled at the sides as he took one look at me and the rest of the seedy bar. I knew what he saw: girls dancing on poles, guys getting drunk and shouting at the girls while they threw dollar bills onto the stage, and a scared, stupid girl clinging to him like her lifeline.
    Finally, he released me. “Gabs, I’m sorry, I was joking. We always—” He licked his lips and glanced down at the filthy floor, cursing. “Where’s the money going?”
    “Money?”
    “New girl!” Dean, my boss, never called me by name, the idiot. “You working or flirting? If he wants time with