The chair’s arm is sharp and unforgiving against my backside. Before I realize it, I’m sliding down onto Jack’s lap. His arms go around me, but unlike the old man, his hold doesn’t feel confining. It feels protective, comforting. Like sinking into bed.
“My name’s not Mia,” I tell him. “It’s Holly. I’m sorry I lied.”
“Nah, you’re smart not to advertise your real name. I bet most of the girls here are going by some kind of alias. Now, how old are you really?”
I laugh softly. “That, I didn’t lie about.”
“Thank fucking God.” He touches his temple to mine. I probably shouldn’t have told him my real name. He’s a stranger, no one special to me. But part of me hated the thought of lying to him.
“Seems like you’re the only man here who cares to ask how old we are.”
“Oh, they care,” he says, with an edge to his voice. “They’re just hoping for a different answer.”
A cold chill runs down my back and settles in my stomach. Jack must feel it, too, because he’s suddenly holding me tighter. I tuck my face into the angle of his neck and jaw. If I close my eyes and tune out the party around us, I can pretend we’re somewhere far away from here. Just the two of us.
“I think your friend wants to talk to you,” Jack says.
I glance at the bar where Kenzie stands waving and beckoning.
Sighing with frustration, I straighten my posture. “I should go see what she needs.”
“Hold on a sec, Holly.” Jack reaches into the breast pocket of his jacket and pulls out a scuffed-up pen and a small notepad. He clicks the point down and writes something on a piece of paper, which he then tears out. “If you ever find yourself backed into a corner, I have friends in the Knoxville Police Department who can help.”
“Friends?” I can’t say Kenzie and I have ever put much faith in cops. In fact, we’ve spent the last three years going out of our way to avoid them.
“People I trust.” He folds the piece of paper into a small square, which he then tucks into my cleavage.
Before my body even registers that he’s touching my breast, his fingers are already gone.
“If you’re ever in trouble,” he says, “ask for Caleb Larkin. Say it for me, will ya?”
“Caleb Larkin,” I echo.
“Good girl.”
Chapter Four
Holly
It’s a struggle to disentangle myself from Jack’s embrace. Not because he won’t let me, but because part of me wishes he wouldn’t let me go. My chest flutters at the longing in his gaze as I glance over my shoulder at him. He must be able to feel it, the string that tethers us, even as I make my way across the room.
At the bar, Kenzie wraps her arm around my shoulders.
“You two looked cozy,” she says with a grin. “What was that about?”
“He was nice.” I shrug. I don’t know why I let myself get so close to Jack, but I know I’m not ready to dissect my reasoning now.
“Most of them seem pretty okay. You’ve just got to lean into your daddy issues.”
“Who?”
“I don’t know, but she says he’ll pay me a thousand dollars just for the pleasure of my company. A thousand dollars, Hollywood. On top of the two hundred.”
I tear my gaze from Jack’s to look at her.
“What do you have to do?”
“I don’t know yet,” she says. “But there isn’t a lot I wouldn’t do for that kind of money. I want you to meet him, too.”