Love Discovered in New York (The Washington Triplets) by Danielle Allen Page B

shoulders.
    “What?” My tone echoed my confusion at her idiom.
    “If the only reason you’re not going to have sex with him again is because you don’t want to get close—”
    The door swung open and Kelsey and I jumped, halting all conversation. “The caterer and event planners are here. Let’s go!” Nicks announced before turning on his heel and returning to the front.
    “We’ll talk more about this later,” Kelsey informed me before walking out behind Nicks.
    I rolled eyes and sighed, “I know.”
    The time flew by. A few minutes after setting up the food, guests started arriving. As usual, the bar filled steadily and then suddenly, it was packed. The time seemed to move at warped speed as the cast and crew trickled in. Working effectively together, I maintained my end of the bar and Kelsey maintained her end. Jessica floated between the two of us, learning to make the signature drinks from Devin.
    “I got it,” Jessica said as she whipped up a Grasshopper on demand. Jessica had been bartending for the last five years and she was good. Although the splattering of freckles over the bridge of her nose made her look at least five years younger, she was actually a year older than me. “Here you go. I made it special for you,” she flirted demurely, batting her eyelashes at an A-list celebrity that I couldn’t remember the name of.
    “Thanks, Red,” he said, winking at her. “I’ll be back for another…and your number.” And as smoothly as the words fell from his lips, he turned and walked away.
    “Jessica’s a little flirt,” Kelsey teased playfully.
    “I’m just following the lead of my gorgeous coworkers,” Jessica countered, tucking her red hair behind her ear.
    I smiled. “I think you are going to fit in well here, Jessica,” I complimented her before taking the drink order of the director.
    Devin quickly made the drink I needed and handed it to the director. He turned around and stared at us. “You got that right. If there’s one thing Nicks does well, it’s hire beautiful women.”
    “Awwww,” we said in unison, wrapping our arms around Devin in a four-way hug. Devin’s black Mohawk was combed forward, giving him a long bang and covering his almond-shaped eyes as he laughed.
    “Okay, okay, okay… I don’t want any of these famous actresses to think I’m with any of you so…” He laughed as he squirmed out of the hug.
    When Nicks, Stephen and Rhiannon swapped places with us, the four of us split up and worked our way through the VIP sections at each corner of the room. I had just finished talking to and taking the order of R&B superstar Chambers, when I heard a deep voice call my name. I turned around and my stomach plummeted.
    “Mya! I thought that was you,” Eric Black bellowed, roughly grabbing me and pulling me into a quick hug.
    Giving him a tight smile, I couldn’t figure out my next move. I was caught off guard and I was completely lost. Staring at Eric, it made me uncomfortable. But then again, Eric always got under my skin.
    I knew it was only a matter of time before I ran into someone from the past. I figured it would be a college classmate or something. I didn’t expect it to be someone from the neighborhood. I didn’t expect it to be someone who knew my family, I thought as anxiety-fueled energy swirled around me.
    I scanned the crowd to see if I could spot Kelsey nearby, but I didn’t see her. I shifted my weight from one foot to another anxiously and I knew deep down in my gut that the nerves I felt weren’t derived from the fact that he weirded me out even as a child. Uneasy, anxiousness stemmed from the fact that I hadn’t had to talk to anyone except Kelsey about my family since I moved to New York. And I could already tell the conversation with Eric was going to go south—fast.
    If I walk off, he’s annoying enough that he’d follow me. If he follows me, he may start running his mouth about me and my family. I don’t need anyone in my business so