...“Fidgeting like that just begs for attention from all of the predators out there,” a deep voice with a faint accent to it rumbled behind him. It sounded amused. Startled, he jerked around to see another man standing there. He had golden-brown skin and shaggy black curls that fell almost to his shoulders. He looked East Indian, though the accent sounded closer to London.

Beau knew he was staring, but he didn’t care. The man had to be stared at. Like a work of art. He was beautiful without being feminine. Had Anna chosen this man for him? If she did, she had a remarkable understanding of his preferences. Well, of course she did. What else would he expect from the person who knew him better than anybody?

“It’s a nervous habit.” Beau brushed the pieces of napkin away. “I didn’t know it’d make me look like prey.”

The man flashed his teeth in a brief grin. “It makes you look nervous, at the very least.” His eyes flicked briefly toward the man on Beau’s left before making himself at home on the bar stool to the right. “And what do you have to be nervous about here?”

Beau almost blurted the truth, but remembered the rules of their little game and stopped himself in time. “Good question. That guy over in the corner…” Beau pointed to somebody sporting a black and white Disney T-shirt. “He looks pretty shady, don’t you think?”

The stranger turned his head slightly to glance in that direction, keeping his body facing Beau before he turned back to him. “I think you’re right.” His tongue darted out briefly, wetting his lips before he leaned in a bit. “I’m sure you intimidated him with your ability to shred paper, though.”

“Yeah, well, I figure if I’m ever cornered in a dark alley I can throw it in his face. Ever been to a New Year’s Eve party? Confetti can be very disorienting.” Beau knew he was babbling, but his brain didn’t seem interested in communicating with his mouth.

The stranger laughed, which could have been humiliating, but it had the warm touch of flirtation to it. Or, at least, it was what Beau thought flirtation might sound like coming from another man.

“I’ll keep that in mind the next time I’m cornered in a dark alley.” The other man paused a moment as though considering something carefully, then offered his hand. “Jai.”

His skin was smooth and warm, his grim firm. Beau shook dozens of hands every day. Thousands of hands in his lifetime. But this one felt different. Like Jai was branding his skin somehow. “Beau. Nice to meet you. What’s your poison?”

“Scotch, but I don’t know if I want to sit here all night sipping it and anything that doesn’t require sipping shouldn’t be served at all.” Jai smirked slightly, nodding to the rum and Coke. “That looks like a good start for the night, though.”

Beau gestured at the bartender. “Two more, please. So, Jai, what brings you to the Metro? Business or pleasure?”

“Pleasure. You?”

“If everything goes well, the same.”

As soon as the bartender finished with the two drinks, Jai set a ten down, leaning in toward him again. “Waiting for a woman?”

“Yeah. My wife.”

One black brow rose in response to that and the other man couldn’t quite hide his amused look. “Really? Never had one of those. Does it take a lot of waiting?”

Beau smiled and made a show of checking his watch. He sincerely hoped this was the man Anna had chosen for him, and not some random stranger, because he was really beginning to enjoy Jai’s company. “Well, I have been sitting here for a few years. But you know how women are. They like to keep a guy waiting.”

Jai chuckled as he raised his glass to his lips, then took a sip before setting it down again. “That is one thing that men always have going for them, you know. They never make another man wait. Unless, I suppose, a wife is involved.”

“What about you? Are you waiting for anybody?”

“Yes, but no one specific.”

Beau felt a mild twinge of concern at that, but decided to ignore it. “That must be convenient for you.”

“Mm, I don’t know about that. I mean, I could find someone I’d be willing to wait for and maybe he isn’t available.”

“Honestly, I’d find it hard to believe that anything like that has ever happened to you.”

“Stranger things have happened.” Jai paused, then reached out, very lightly skimming his fingers over the back of Beau’s hand. “There are more comfortable places you could wait. It doesn’t look like your wife is coming any time soon.”

He suppressed a shiver at the contact, and his throat tightened. Just enough to make speaking a little more difficult than it should have been. “No, I should probably wait. She’d be pretty upset if she finally showed and I was gone.”

He could feel the warmth radiating off of Jai as the other man leaned in close again. “So where is she coming from, then?”

Beau took a deep breath and tried to gather his thoughts. “She’s driving up from Anaheim. But you know how traffic is.”

“If the traffic is keeping her late, I think she’d understand if you stopped waiting down here.” Those fingers just barely brushed against his hand again. “Assuming she’s coming at all.”

Beau tilted his head. “You think my wife stood me up?”

“I don’t think a man looks that nervous waiting for his wife.”

Beau ducked his head to avoid Jai’s direct gaze. “You’ve got me there. I am married, but I’m not waiting for her.”

“Then what are you waiting for, Beau?”

“One of the predators you mentioned before.”