have been more than twenty-two.
“He wouldn’t have bought you a drink if he wasn’t,” her friend responded.
Lorraine wet the paper towel, then started to carefully wipe around her eyes to remove the mess. She smiled as she listened to the friends chatter about the guy one of them liked. How long had it been since she’d been out like this with her own friends, happily scoping out the available men? Not in forever.
She frowned. What if the sexy stranger had been checking her out because of her black veil? She’d noticed curious looks from others tonight, but something about this man intrigued her. She hoped there was a connection between them.
The black streaks cleaned, Lorraine reached into her purse for her compact and started applying a fresh coat of powder.
Rosa exited the stall and approached a sink. When she looked at Lorraine she said, “Much better.”
“You mean the raccoon look isn’t my thing?” Lorraine joked.
“On Halloween, yes. But tonight, not so much.”
Lorraine laughed. Then, once again looking at her reflection, she asked, “Should I change my lipstick?”
“You actually have something other than the boring brown you’re wearing? That is the name of the lipstick, isn’t it? Boring Brown.”
Lorraine cut her eyes at her friend. She liked the brown color. It went with everything. And it was a good choice for her caramel-colored complexion. But as she stared at herself in the mirror, she had to admit that the color didn’t add any pizzazz. Compared to the two women at the other end of the mirror, wearing bright colors on their lips and their eyes, Lorraine’s look was...well, boring indeed.
Lorraine dug her other lipstick choice out of her purse. While Rosa went to dry her hands, Lorraine applied a coat of the red and pressed her lips together.
Her eyes widened. After her initial shock, her lips spread in a slow smile. What a dramatic difference. Her lips looked extra kissable.
Extra kissable... Good grief. Maybe it was the alcohol getting to her.
“Great veil.”
Lorraine turned to look at the two young women, who were staring at her in awe. “Oh, thanks.”
“Single and ready to mingle!” one of them said. “You go, girl.” Then, linking arms, they both headed out of the bathroom.
Lorraine smiled, then looked at her reflection again. The veil was great. Perhaps a little over the top, but she’d worn a veil when getting married. Why not now when she was out celebrating her divorce?
“What’s the name of that color?” Rosa asked.
Lorraine turned the lipstick container over and looked at the bottom. “One Night Stand,” she read. “Good Lord.”
Rosa beamed at her. “Perfect.”
“Perfect?” Lorraine’s eyes widened. “Girl, you’re crazy.”
“Hey, you never know. You already have a prospect...”
But Lorraine did know. Unlike the women who’d just left the restroom, she wasn’t looking for a hookup. She didn’t want anything tonight except a little harmless flirting, and a lot of fun with her friends. Tomorrow she would sleep in and recover from her late night out, because at thirty-two there was no way she could recover as quickly as she had when she’d partied at twenty.
Lorraine fixed the veil around her face and nodded at her reflection, satisfied.
“Gorgeous,” Rosa told her.
“Thanks.” Lorraine put her makeup back in her purse. “I still have to use the toilet. You don’t have to wait for me.”
“You sure?”
“Yeah. I’ll be fine. I’ll be out soon.”
Lorraine took a few more minutes in the bathroom. Right before she headed out, she decided to spritz herself with a little perfume. Just in case she and the sexy stranger spoke or danced.
Lorraine was securing the latch on her purse so her head was down as she exited the restroom. As she lifted her gaze, she saw a man ease his body off the wall and start in her direction, almost as if he’d been waiting for her. As he neared her, he grinned. Good God, was this stranger she’d never seen before actually approaching her?
“Excuse me,” Lorraine said, and sidestepped him when he put himself directly in her path.
“Not so fast,” the man said. He took her by the arm, forcing her to stop, then stepped in front of her. “Now that you have me alone, you don’t have anything to say to me? You playing shy?”
Lorraine looked at up at him, flummoxed. “Excuse me?”
“I saw you making eyes at me out there.”
Lorraine was confused. And then it hit her. This guy must have been somewhere close to the sexy stranger. He thought she’d been hitting on him.
“I’m sorry,” she said. “You’re mistaken.”
She made another move to step past him, but he surprised her by slipping an arm around her waist and pulling her against his thick body. “Come on, you don’t have to be bashful.”
“No, seriously.” She tried to extricate herself from his grasp. “I wasn’t flirting with you. Sorry if you got that impression.” She didn’t want to offend him, just in case he was irrational. She could tell by the slight slurring of his voice that he’d been drinking too much. Men who drank too much could be a problem.
“You’re beautiful,” he whispered into her ear.
He held her tighter as she continued to try to free herself, and that’s when she truly became alarmed. “Let me go.” She spoke in a firm voice. “I don’t want this.”
“I just want to get to know you,” the man said.
“This isn’t okay,” Lorraine said.
“Let the lady go.”
At the sound of the commanding voice, the man loosened his grip on Lorraine but didn’t fully release her. He looked beyond Lorraine to the man who’d spoken.
“What, is this your girl?”
Finally, Lorraine was able to pull herself free. She did and turned. And felt as though she’d been kicked in the stomach.
The man coming to her defense was none other than the man she’d been flirting with!
“When a woman tells you to let her go,” her sexy savior said, “you let her go.”
There was such an air of authority about him that he was even hotter to her now than he had been before. Was he a cop?
The man who’d been harassing Lorraine stepped away, raising his hands in a sign of surrender. He probably
