I nodded to the picture. “Your girlfriend?”

King turned to see what I was referring to. “My ex, actually. Mila and I broke up about three months ago.” He shrugged like it was no big deal.

“I’m sorry to hear that. Breakups are tough.”

“They can be, but not this one. Our parting was amicable. She wanted to get married and start a family, and right now I’m married to my job. There are things I want to achieve, and I’m quite single-minded about them. Mila is a career woman, too, so she wasn’t hurt by my decision.”

“I can understand that,” I said. I could understand it, but I didn’t believe for one second that this Mila woman hadn’t been hurt. She’d probably just hidden it really well. I felt a bit sorry for King that he couldn’t see that, or maybe he just refused to see it.

Eyeing his side of the chess board, I could already tell he was going to be a tough opponent and I was probably going to lose the game. We played for a couple of minutes in thoughtful silence before King spoke up.

“What about you? Any special lady in your life right now?”

His question and curious tone took me off guard, and I was answering before I had time to think it through. “Yes.”

King rose an eyebrow. “Really? How long have you two been together?”

“Not long. It’s pretty new.”

“Do you think she’s a keeper?”

Jesus, what was with all the questions? I felt like I was under interrogation. Needing to lighten the mood, I answered, “Who knows. For now I’m keeping my options open. I mean, just ’cause I’m tied to the fence, doesn’t mean I can’t bark at the cars.”

He chuckled softly. “I’ve never had a lesbian for a friend before. I quite like it. It’s pleasant talking to a woman who’s essentially a man.”

“Hey!” I protested.

He raised his hands. “I didn’t mean it in a bad way.”

I scowled at him. “Whatever. Besides, I’m not exactly your friend. I’m your employee.”

King feigned a sad expression, like I’d just hurt his feelings. “You can be both.”

I shot him a grin. “Well, all right, then. Let’s try that. And since we’re being friends, you won’t mind me openly kicking your arse at chess.”

His answering grin was wicked, and combined with his handsome face and tousled blond hair, gave me some distinctly un-lesbian feelings down below. What, oh what, was I getting myself into?

“Bring it on,” said King.

Four

My mind was on my boss again as Karla and I walked to the nearby supermarket to do our weekly shopping. I’d stayed at King’s place for another hour the night before, drinking wine and finishing our game of chess. I really enjoyed talking to him. I mean, he was so unlike the usual sort of men I’d grown up with. King was sophisticated and urbane, and he represented a world I knew virtually nothing about. And, as expected, he was the one to kick my arse at chess. I had to hand it to him — he was an excellent player.

In order to preserve my job, I left before I got too drunk, and told him I’d see him on Monday. It was only Saturday, and already Monday felt too far off. There was something about being in his presence and talking to him that I craved.

“Oi oi,” I heard someone call as Karla and I were passing by a betting shop.

Talk about the sort of men I was used to. I turned my head to see Lee Cross, my ex Stu’s younger brother, standing in the doorway, wearing a cocky smile. Lee was a handsome little shit, and he knew it. He was about twenty-five, and was one of four brothers that made up the notorious Cross family. Despite being younger than Stu, Lee was the brains of the operation, and I was fairly sure the garage he ran was also a chop shop. He held a toothpick to his mouth, still grinning, as he took in me and Karla.

“Haven’t seen you around in a while, Clarky,” he said, stepping outside and walking toward us. “What happened?”

“Stu and I broke up,” I said, and remembrance lit in his eyes.

“Oh, yeah, I think I heard something about that,” he said, glancing over his shoulder and back inside the bookies. That glance told me all I needed to know. Stu was inside, and I had the sudden urge to flee. I definitely didn’t want a run-in with my ex right now, especially since the last time I’d seen him, he was being arrested for stealing cars. So yeah, their garage was most definitely of the dodgy variety. Lee’s attention wandered to Karla, his gaze skimming lazily over her body and then back up to her face. By the glint in his eyes, I thought he definitely liked what he saw.

“All right, Gingersnap,” he said, giving her a flirtatious wink.

Karla frowned and tried to hide a blush before looking at me. Although she’d met Stu a few times before, she’d never met Lee. And as I said, Lee was attractive in a bad boy sort of way. He had light brown hair, blue eyes, a muscled physique, and a perennially cheeky grin that promised pure naughtiness.

The supermarket was right next door to the bookies, and Karla sounded a little perplexed as she said, “I’m, uh, going to go inside and make a start. I’ll see you in a minute.”

And then she left, leaving me alone with the sexier, grown-up version of the Artful Dodger. Lee didn’t even try to hide the fact he was checking out her arse as she went. He also didn’t look away until she’d completely disappeared inside the supermarket, and that was when his attention returned to me.