The Mistaken Escort's Pleasure: A Liaison Novel Read Online Free Page B

she had no idea why.   She wrapped Nina in her arms and hugged her tight.
    “How long have we known each other?” Nina mumbled as she pressed her face into Ellie’s shoulder.   Nina squeezed her before she stepped back, her face serious, waiting for an answer.
    “Five years.”
    “And it’s taken you this long to tell us you love us?” Ben shook his head, before he ruffled her hair.   “We love you, too, kid.”
    She couldn’t remember the last time someone had told her that they loved her, and already feeling off-kilter because of Lucian, she burst into tears.   Ben wrapped her up in his arms, and surprised her when he kissed the sensitive spot underneath her ear.   She could’ve sworn she heard a low rumble deep in his chest but she pulled away from Ben, unsure why he kissed her, and turned toward Nina, wiping the tears from her eyes with the back of her hand.
    Nina pulled her against her side, and Ellie threw them both a confused look as Nina glared at Ben.   Ben’s eyes were down cast, and she could feel the tension between the two of her best friends.
    She detached herself from her friend’s hard grip and walked to the sink to splash water on her face.   The water soothed her heated cheeks, and after patting her face with a clean dish towel, she threw it aside and turned to see her friends.   After blowing out a breath, Nina turned her back to Ben and focused on Ellie.
    “You never answered my question,” Nina said.
    She walked around the kitchen island to the fridge, opened the door and hid behind it for a moment as she stared at a six-pack of beer that she kept for Ben and the bottle of white wine that Nina preferred.
    She wasn’t thirsty, but the cab ride home wasn’t nearly enough time to figure out what happened at Liaison between her and Lucian.   She loved that her friends waited until she gathered her thoughts.   When she was ready to talk about it, she shut the door and turned to face both of them, her hands gripping the counter behind her.
    “I told them I would think about it,” she said.
    “Them?” Ben asked.
    Ellie nodded.   Ben was a details man, and of course he would pick up the topic she didn’t want to discuss.   She could see that his fists were clenched at his sides, as if the entire subject disturbed him.
    “Rebecca, the owner of Liaison, and Lucian, who offered to get to know me and be my date for Tim’s wedding.”
    “Lucian?” Nina purred.
      She pulled herself up on the counter and crossed her legs, reaching for an apple in the bowl to her right.   She took a bite, enjoying the sweet tartness on her tongue, and debated for a split second on what to tell them.   She went with the entire truth.
    “He’s like no one I’ve ever met.   He’s over six foot, broad shoulders, sculpted chest, a woman’s dream, but to me, he doesn’t look like an escort.”   She shook her head before she continued.   “Not that I know what an escort looks like.”
    “Why would you tell him you wanted to think about it?” Nina screeched.   “You don’t want to go to the wedding alone.”
    “He’s…gorgeous.   I would feel inadequate next to him.”   Ellie shrugged.
    Nina stepped out of her killer heels and stepped up to the counter, reaching for Ellie’s arms.
    Ellie wasn’t deceived by her friend’s pasted smile.   She braced herself and waited for her friend’s true feelings to show.   She didn’t have to wait long.
    “Are you fucking kidding me?   You have breasts that I would die to have, your hair is beautiful, and your eyes are spectacular.   You have curves that drive men wild—just ask Ben,” Nina demanded.
    Ellie’s eyes widened and she turned to Ben, who leaned casually against the island in front of her, nodding his head in agreement while his eyes raked down her body and back up.   She cleared her throat and looked down at her apple, not sure how she should interpret Ben’s perusal.   When Lucian had looked at her that way, her body