had an old-fashioned key hanging from it.
The redhead eyed Daisy and the receptionist with narrowed eyes, but the man smiled and winked at both Daisy and Rochelle, his white teeth flashing. He paused to tap a few numbers into an electronic pad beside a beautiful carved wood door. The door swung silently open, and the couple passed on.
Daisy’s tummy jumped with excitement. In a few moments, she was going to walk through that door, and her night would begin.
She turned back to the receptionist, only to frown in dismay. Rochelle’s café-au-lait face had gone pale, her lipsticked mouth quivering. “Hey, are you okay?”
The girl nodded quickly. “I’m—I’m fine,” she quavered. She stared down at the desk as if she’d forgotten Daisy was there. Something about the other couple had disturbed the receptionist. Ex-boyfriend, Daisy would bet. Only maybe Rochelle hadn’t known he was ex, quite yet.
“Are you sure you’re okay?” Daisy asked gently.
Rochelle gathered herself with an obvious effort. “Yeah. Um—you can go in, if you’re ready. Dack should be here soon. The bar is—is in the main room. Margaritas tonight.”
She pushed a button under the desk, and the big wooden door opened again.
“Enjoy y-your night,” the receptionist said with a shaky smile.
“Thanks. I hope yours gets better.”
Wow, just like that, she was in. She’d expected more of a spiel somehow. Maybe Dack would give her that. Dack—was he inside?
Daisy walked through the door, her heart thumping in tune with the music pulsing through the room beyond. She was in a large, shadowed room, the main reception area of the old house. At the back of the room, a staircase slanted up across the wall. The middle of the room had been turned into a dance floor, with several couples moving to the beat of a dance number. A DJ hovered over a small station with colored lights pulsing. Small tables ringed the dance floor, while a long, art deco bar straight from the 1920s lined the wall on the left.
There were two bartenders, a man and a woman, both attired in brief leather vests and white collars with little bow ties attached. Two couples perched on stools at the bar, while three single men leaned against it, one of them flirting with a barmaid. Daisy blinked and looked again. The barmaid wore only a bustier and a thong. Her ass was bare. It was a toned, tanned and really small ass, but it was bare nonetheless.
One of the men at the bar, a handsome blond in jeans and a leather vest, started across the room in front of Daisy, then veered toward her, a smile dawning on his face as he looked her over.
“Hey, gorgeous,” he said. “Here by yourself?”
She nodded, enjoying his admiration, especially as she had a lot more clothing on than the barmaid. “I am.”
“Great.” He dug in his jeans pocket and produced a key. But not just any key, it was large and curved at the top with a long narrow shank. Old-fashioned, as if it had been used to open this house when it was a home. He held it out to her on the palm of his hand. “I’m Kevin.”
Daisy looked at it. What was she supposed to do? Admire it? The receptionist had mentioned something about keys, but she hadn’t finished.
“Go ahead,” he urged, stepping closer. “Take it.”
With a shrug, Daisy took the key. “Um, thanks. I’m Daisy.”
“No, thank you, Daisy,” he said, his grin widening. “Listen, don’t go anywhere. I’ll be right back.”
He strode past her toward the right side of the room. She tracked him. Oh, right. Bathrooms were in that corner.
She strolled on toward the bar. She had to walk around a large bowl on an illuminated stand. The crystal bowl was partially full of small cellophane packages. At first glance Daisy thought the jewel-toned contents were candy. Then she blinked as she realized that the bowl contained condoms. She bit back a snicker. Okay…that was good, considering why they were all here.
Another of the single men, an extremely fit
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