Betting on Bailey

“Yes he is,” Katie agrees smugly. “I have impeccable taste.”

Gabby shakes her head, a smile on her lips. “And from the sounds of it, Daniel and Sebastian seem pretty good too. Don’t be so eager to find a problem, Bailey. Listen to your instincts. Do you think you can trust them?”

Last week, Sebastian had bought me a piece of jewelry, a silver and amethyst bracelet he said he found in a Tibetan shop in SoHo. “You don’t have a lot of amethyst,” he’d said as he handed it to me. “I thought I’d rectify that.”

I think about that bracelet right now. It hadn’t been an expensive gift, but it had been a deeply personal one. As had the vodka. Sebastian and Daniel are both ridiculously wealthy, but the gifts they give me show they pay attention to my needs. My desires.

“I can absolutely trust them,” I say firmly. “By the way, Madam Pot Calling the Kettle Black, have you ever tried to find the guys in your own ménage situation? Carter and Dominic?”

She flushes, and I know I have her. Gabby won’t admit it, but she can’t forget her one-night stand. “No,” she replies. “I haven’t, and I’m not going to. It was just a one-time thing. Not all guys are good and trustworthy, Bailey. Some of them are jerks. Just like Trevor was.”

I want to push her on this, but I notice the expression on her face, and I back off. Gabby is, unusually for her, looking close to tears. Piper notices too, and changes the topic.

“Talking about good-looking guys,” she leans forward and fixes me with an accusing look. “Tell me about Wyatt Lawless and Owen Lamb.”

I give her a puzzled look. “Who are they?”

“Two guys who’ve eaten at my restaurant every day for the last two weeks,” she replies. “Every single day. I’m not at the front of the house all the time, so it took me a few nights to realize it. Then last night, they offered to become my partners.”

Oh. These must be Sebastian’s friends, and shit, I forgot to mention our conversation to Piper. “Okay, don’t be mad,” I tell her. “I yelled at Sebastian for upsetting you, and he felt so bad that he said he was going to talk to a couple of his friends about your restaurant.”

Piper gives me a peculiar look. “Bailey, do you know who these guys are?”

“Not a clue. Should I know?”

“I guess not, you don’t work in the industry. Lawless and Lamb are legendary. They have something of a Midas touch. Their restaurants are very popular.”

“That’s good then, right?” I ask nervously. I can’t make out if she’s mad at me or not. “You aren’t irritated with me for telling Sebastian?”

She shakes her head. “No, of course not. You did what you thought was a good thing.”

“So what’s the problem?” Katie asks. “They are good at what they do and you need help. Do they want too much money? Or equity?”

“It isn’t that.” Piper doesn’t meet our eyes. “They just rubbed me the wrong way, that’s all.”

Wendy’s been fiddling around on her phone during this conversation. She whistles as she looks at her screen. “Is this them?” she asks, handing her phone to Piper. “Seriously, what am I doing wrong with my life? The only guys I meet are smarmy lawyers. Bailey finds two studs, Gabby decides to hook up and voila - she finds a couple of hotties, and now you as well?” She shakes her head and gulps down her drink. “Life is so unfair.”

“Pictures can’t reveal personality,” Piper retorts. “These two are smug, self-satisfied and annoying as all fuck. You can have them.”

We exchange glances. Piper sounds entirely too heated, and it appears that Sebastian’s friends have got under her skin. “You don’t have to work with them if you don’t want to,” I assure her. “Do you want me to ask Sebastian if he knows anyone else who can help?”

“No,” she replies. “I’ll suck it up. These guys are really good.”

“And really hot,” Wendy adds, her eyes still on her phone. She sighs. “You have no idea how long it’s been since I kissed someone, let alone anything else.”