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Chapter 2

ISABELLA

"Here's to your divorce!" Alex raises his glass and I toast with him, my heart not really in it. I don't understand what there is to celebrate, I've failed miserably. I couldn't even keep my husband interested in me.

Freddie kept his promise and it only took a couple of months to settle everything and even though I didn't care about the money, I won it all. The proof of the infidelity was obvious, and at his place of work no less and he was fired too.

"Isn't it a bit weird to toast to that?" I ask him before taking a sip of my Cosmopolitan.

"Seriously? You're finally free of that narcissistic perverted husband of yours. Plus he showed up in court with the fucking redhead... that jerk. And I took a picture of his face during the verdict if you want to see it." He says, taking his phone in his hand.

"No thanks." I cut him off.

I shake my head, stifling a laugh. His face was indeed worth millions.

It's been ten minutes since we arrived at this bar and I already feel like going home. I was thinking of celebrating my divorce with a bottle alone, at home eating junk food in front of Harry Potter, but Alex was so insistent I didn't have the heart to refuse.

"Anyway, tonight we're just having a drink to celebrate the start of a new life. And Saturday night, I want you all dressed up at 7 pm sharp for a night out with your friends to go on the hunt for a one-night stand."

I cough, nearly choking. "What? I've just gotten divorced and you want me to fuck a stranger?"

"Divorced from a husband who didn't wait to be divorced before banging someone else." He tells me matter-of-factly.

"True, but..."

"There are no buts. Isabella, you're the hottest girl I know and I refuse to let you believe otherwise just because some jerk made you. If I wasn't gay, I'd have taken a chance on you... which would have made my parents happy, believe me."

I smile as I listen to him-it's true that Rebecca has often said that she dreamed of seeing us married one day. I can always agree to go out on Saturday night, but as for a one-night stand, nothing's certain.

ASHER

The music, the people bumping in my chair every time they try to get near the bar, fuck, I want to go home.

"Remind me again what we're doing here?" I ask Jackson, my brother.

"We're trying to have a good time like normal people." He replies with a fucking grin on his face.

"We're not normal," I tell him before taking a sip of whiskey.

" Says who?" He says with a smirk. "It's been years since we've been out together for a drink. You need to let off some steam."

At the same moment, I hear the same sentence coming out of a guy's mouth. We turned our heads towards the person who spoke at the same time. He's tall but not as tall as us, but he's probably about 6 feet tall, blond-haired, blue-eyed and pale-skinned. The exact opposite of us. What attracts my attention is the person he's talking to. Long black hair and a red dress embracing her curves. My eyes drift down to her rounded ass. I feel the need to see what she looks like up close, but I don't know why.

Out of the corner of my eye, I see Jax get up and walk toward her. What the fuck is he doing? I clench my fists and jaw and concentrate on erasing the other voices and focusing on my brother's voice. He hit her from behind 'by accident'.

"Oh I'm so sorry...did I hurt you or..." If I didn't know any better I'd say he seemed nervous.

"No, you didn't. Well, I just emptied my glass on my friend." She replies in a soft voice.

"I'll buy you one, then," he says.

"No, it's not..."

"She accepts." Her friend answers firmly in her place and I hear Jax laugh.

They both approach the bar and he immediately attracts the attention of the bartender, who serves them in the nick of time. Then she turns around and the air seems to leave my lungs. I'm drawn to her green eyes and everything becomes clear to me. Mate. The word rings in my head. The closer they get to me, I can smell her strawberry scent. She has a slight bump on her nose, which I notice when she turns her head slightly to speak to Jax. It's the only thing that makes her face less than perfect, but she's perfect in my eyes.

It looks like something out of a dream. She smiles at Jax and suddenly I wish all her smiles were for me. They stop in front of our table and I stand up.

"Isabella, I'd like you to meet my brother Asher." He tells her and she extends her hand in my direction. At the same time, someone pushes me from behind and I bump into her. I quickly restrain the hand holding her glass so she doesn't spill it, and she places her free hand on my chest.

Her breath catches in her throat.

"You've got good reflexes." She says softly and raises her eyes to look at me, then licks her upper lip.

Fuck me now! Oh goddess I could fuck her on this table in front of everyone. Just to make sure they all know she belongs to me.

Jax clears his throat, bringing us both back to the present. "Shall we sit down?"

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