Entice - By Ella Frank Page 0,3

of her sister, Lena had closed down, determined not to let anyone in—until Mason, that is.

However, as Lena smiled over at her with twinkling eyes, Shelly was hit with such joy at her friend’s happiness that she almost started to cry. Nodding quickly, she reached across the table and took Lena’s hand. Squeezing it gently, she answered softly.

“I’d love to be…” She paused. “But do I really need to be called Maid of Honor? It makes me sound so old and kind of stuffy.” Shelly grinned, wrinkling her nose.

Lena smiled as she sat back, lifting her glass to her lips. “Fine. I’ll call you that in secret meetings only.”

Shelly winked at her over the rim of her glass and took a sip. “Sounds like a plan. So, when’s the big day?”

“Oh, we haven’t decided yet. But guess what? One of Mason’s old school friends is back in town, and he’s coming here tonight. It’s so exciting! I’ve never met any of his school friends. They all moved away after graduation.”

Shaking her head, Shelly felt the hair at the back of her neck start to rise as she slowly lowered her glass. “Please don’t tell me you’re—”

“He’s going to be the Best Man, if he agrees. Wouldn’t it be great if you two get along and—”

“Stop, stop,” Shelly interrupted, sitting forward in her chair. Lowering her voice a little, she glared at Lena and shook her head. “No. No, no, no, Lena-I’m-so-in-love-O’Donnell. Do not try to fix me up. Ugh, I hate being fixed up,” Shelly said, faking a shiver.

Lena’s brow raised. “Need I remind you that you were the one who told Mason to come stalk me at O’Malley’s. Look at how that turned out.”

Shelly rolled her eyes and picked up her drink. She was well on her way to feeling relaxed. “Yeah, but look at him. We knew, or let me say I knew, from having seen him that he was smokin’ hot and that you should grab him and take a bite.” Shelly licked the salt off her bottom lip and finished by adding, “This guy could be balding and fat for all we know. You do not get to set me up with anyone until I see him first.”

Lena’s eyes had moved, looking past her shoulder. They widened slightly, and Shelly thought she almost looked comical in her shock as though her eyes would pop out of her head.

“Well, maybe you should turn around because, as far as I can tell, Josh isn’t fat or anywhere close to balding.” Shelly heard Mason say from behind her.

Shutting her eyes on a groan, she shook her head at Lena, who was now biting her lip and trying hard not to laugh. Putting her glass down, Shelly slowly turned, ready to face the music.

***

So, Barbie has a mouth on her. Big surprise, Josh thought as he watched the blonde’s back stiffening. He knew from what Mason had told him that the woman currently facing him, trying to contain her laughter, was Lena. Her green eyes were smiling at him, and her long brown hair was spilling over her shoulders in a riot of curls.

Yep, Mason had described her right down to the smirk appearing across her mouth, so he knew this was the woman who’d won his friend over. That left the blonde, who must be Dr. Shelly Monroe. Josh looked back to the woman who was slowly placing her margarita glass on the table and turning toward them.

The first thing Josh noticed about her was the hair. Man, she has some perfect-looking hair. It landed just beneath her shoulders in a completely straight line. The color was almost what he’d describe as platinum, but it had several darker shades of gold through it, which could’ve only been achieved through a very high-end salon. He knew that courtesy of Melissa.

The second thing he noticed was her cherry-red skirt. Not only was it short enough to show off a good portion of her thigh, it was the same bright shade as, what he was presuming, was her Barbie convertible out in the parking lot. When she finally faced them on spiked black heels, she smoothed her matching black blouse and lifted her face. That was when he noticed her eyes. They were such a startling deep cerulean blue that he could barely take his eyes away from them, so he just stood there and watched as she flicked her now amused gaze to Mason.

“Didn’t anyone teach you it’s not nice to