Party for Three

Party for Three

Missy Lyons

Party for Three

A Hot Tropica Books
Publication

August 2011

Copyright © 2011 Missy
Lyons

Cover illustration copyright ©
Missy Lyons

ISBN Not Assigned

All rights reserved.  No part of this book may
be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means,
electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by
an information storage and retrieval system-except by a reviewer
who may quote brief passages in a review to be printed in a
magazine, newspaper, or on the Web-without permission in writing
from the publisher.

All characters in this book have no existence
outside the imagination of the author and have no relation
whatsoever to anyone bearing the same name or names. They are not
even distantly inspired by any individual known or unknown to the
author, and all incidents are pure invention.

Published by: H
ot Tropica Books

Previous Works

A Warrior’s Woman

Blood Slave

Blood Ties

Bound by Desire

Boyfriend for Hire

Closing the Deal

Cowboys Don’t Dance

Dragon Heat

French Kiss

Gold Fever

I’ll be Home for Christmas

One Touch, One Glance

Sex and the Single Shoe

Sex on the Beach

Straight Up

The Frog Prince

The Rapture

Thor’s Hammer

Weekend Getaway

PARTY FOR THREE

Chapter One

"W
hy do they say you are over the hill when you turn forty?"
Sherry's voice held a note of despair in it. A sense of worry
accompanied her voice that knotted the pit of her stomach. It was
something she couldn't shake with her own impending fortieth
birthday coming up on Saturday. She didn't feel over the hill and
yet that birthday always had a stigma attached to it, forty was the
dreaded over the hill age. The black birthday. The halfway mark to
death.

She never really cared before, and didn't
feel old now, but her friends were not going to let her escape this
birthday without celebrating in a way she would rather forget.

"I don't know. You are only as old as you
feel." Karen picked up a cheesecake for her lunch tray in the
cafeteria line.

"Well I feel like I am still in my twenties.
Can I still tell people I am twenty when they ask me how old I am?"
Sherry questioned.

"Only if you think you can get away with
it.”

"They won't believe me if I ever stop dying
my hair jet black. I used to just highlight my hair for fun. Now it
is to cover those stray gray hairs."

“We all get gray hairs eventually. I got my
first gray hairs in my early twenties." Karen held a lock of her
long brown hair between two fingers. "A gentleman should never ask
you your age anyways."

“I hate getting old Karen. I don' want to
get old. It's not fair, and I feel like it's hitting me all at
once. Now that I am forty, it's official. I don't even want to go
to my own over the hill party. Remind me why I am going again?"

"Because you love your friends enough to
show up." Karen said with a smile.

"I didn't feel old before but Sean
threatened to get me some black roses and all kinds of cheesy over
the hill party supplies." Sherry let out a sigh but her voice was
resigned. She knew she was still not going to miss the party.

“You shouldn't let Sean get to you too much
when he teases you about your age."

"I guess not. After all, he will turn forty
too one day."

Karen laughed. "Yeah in twenty years." Sean
was the office know-it-all, straight out of college, too cute for
his own good. He had a cocky grin that said he knew exactly how he
made the women feel.

He was one of those men who could look at
you and make you weak in the knees, and your hormones would go up a
notch just looking at him. Maybe he wouldn't have that effect on
everyone, but he had that affect on her. Sherry's heart always sped
up a little when she snuck glances at him, but she was old enough
to know it was only lust and such thoughts should not be
entertained for long. He was far too young to consider seriously
and far too immature to consider for anything more than a passing
dalliance. So she had kept it friendly but she kept all of her
hidden desires and feelings secret.

As if on cue, Sherry felt a pair of
masculine hands grip her waist, pressing her to the side. Sean's
voice interrupted their conversation. "You ladies weren't talking
about me were you?"

Sherry's cheeks turned pink. He would have
the nerve to interrupt a conversation about him. "Yes, we were just
saying how I would much rather go to celebrate my birthday dancing
in a nightclub or drinking." Anything but some cheesy party with
black deathlike decorations mocking her age.

"Don't worry you can have drinks with me on
the veranda and we'll dance to our own music, Sherry." Sean caught
her eyes with his and then he teased her with a cocky grin, "As
long as you can stay awake."

Sherry sniffed in disdain at the insult. Was
he insinuating that she couldn't stay awake past ten? Sure she had
a schedule, she went to bed at nine and got up early every day but
there was no need to go there. His lighthearted teasing was always
irritating. Sometimes she wondered if he really liked her as a
friend, but he wouldn't be pestering her like this if he didn't. He
wouldn't be constantly coming into her cubicle and saying things to
get a rise out of her, or cracking jokes to get her to laugh. If he
didn't like her, he would be ignoring her.

Which she sometimes would prefer.

"I am sure I can stay awake until your
curfew. What is it ten?" She said tartly.

"That is why it will be at my home, I won't
have to worry about a curfew." He teased back with a chuckle.
Sherry had been there a couple of times now, just to pick up some
papers for work, nothing personal. Sean had a very nice home that
overlooked the Cumberland River and it had been a long time since
he lived with his parents.

Sean moved Sherry to the side, oblivious to
his friend's moody expression. He eyed the dessert tray hungrily.
"You did save a piece of the chocolate cake for me, didn't
you?"

Karen had covered her mouth, attempting to
hide her laughter as she watched the interchange between Sherry and
Sean. Sherry rolled her eyes, he knew she would be skipping
dessert. She was on a diet. She shook her head in frustration,
before paying for her meal and walking to their usual table they
ate together at. She sat down, not even waiting for her friends to
join her.

Sherry picked up her fork and began to eat
the chicken salad she picked out in line. She wasn't a big girl,
but at her age, she had to watch what she ate. Her body didn't have
the same metabolism it used to. It was a fact she hated. Getting
older was not fun. She went to the gym, she ate right, she took
vitamins, and she used all the right cosmetics to fight the natural
aging process. Being reminded of her turning forty was not going to
be fun.

This was going to be the longest night of
her life. It should be her night. It should be her party and
somehow it had grown into something else altogether.

Chapter Two

When Sherry pulled up to Sean's house, the
street in front of his house was already packed with cars. The
party had already been going for a while now. She slammed the door
to her silver Pontiac Grand Am, and looked up at the formidable
house on the hill. Sherry was dressed in a tight black dress, her
legs clad in black pantyhose, she was slightly taller with her 3
inch stilettos. It made her an inch taller than Sean which made her
happy for some reason. Her classic black dress made her feel
elegant and refined even if the black over the hill decorations
littering the house wouldn't.

She could hear music coming from the house,
as she walked up the winding sidewalk to the house. The landscaping
was neat and clean. Just like Sean. He liked everything to be kept
in certain order, and he always liked to have things his way. For
someone so young, he was one of the most irritating men she
knew.

Sherry frowned to herself as she knocked on
the door. She waited there a minute, looking down at her gold
watch, and knocked again when no one answered.

It had to be the music. No one could hear
her knocking. She tried the knob, slightly self conscious. It
wasn't like this was her house, even though she knew she was
welcome, it felt kind of weird going into someone else's house
without permission.

It seemed that most of the party had
gathered in the back of the house, or in the backyard. Which was no
wonder, with that spectacular view. It was a nice place to relax
and watch the boats as they passed down the river.

Sherry wandered to the back of the house and
then began to say her hellos to the groups of people. She plastered
a smile on her face and waved amiably. Bill from accounting was
there, she rattled off a hello and when he began to speak numbers
she tried to keep the blank expression off her face, and made her
excuse to leave, noting she had not yet said hello to everyone
yet.

Sean made good on his promises to decorate
the entire house in the cheesy decorations. His house was decorated
in modern contemporary furniture. It was very masculine and classy
at the same time. Even with the cheesy decorations that screamed
over the hill in glaring black letters. Not too many people were
here, mostly friends and co-workers from work.

One day she would have to get even with Sean
for this. Even if it meant sticking around as his friend for twenty
years it would take, so she could throw an over the hill party for
him. She smiled to herself imagining the expression on his face. It
would be worth it. Even if she would be 60 years old with gray
hair.

Eek.

Gray hair.

Wrinkles.

Being sixty years old.

That was something she would rather not
think of. Not until it happened.

Someday she would have to learn how to grow
old gracefully. Sherry was interrupted in her thoughts as a
wineglass was thrust into her hand. She looked up from the glass to
see Sean's smiling face.

"Wow. You look great. Thanks for coming
Sherry." He tipped up on his tiptoes to kiss her on the cheek. That
was new and almost European to greet her by kissing. It made her
stomach turn with butterflies, but she knew he didn't really like
her. He might as well have kissed her on the forehead. She was
kidding herself if she thought it was anything else. That was a
friendly kiss.

Nothing else.

Yet she couldn't help her body's reaction to
his body being so close to hers. Her cheek was still warm where his
lips brushed her skin. She brought her hand up to the spot he
kissed her.

She tried to maintain a lighthearted note to
her voice when she spoke, but her voice wavered slightly, "I can’t
miss my own party."

"You had threatened to miss it. I was
beginning to worry you just might not show up tonight."

Sherry looked at him curiously, arching one
brow high. It was difficult to see him outside of the office, not
joking constantly. It was almost like he meant it. His eyes held a
sparkle of concern as he looked deep into her eyes. He would have
missed seeing her.

"Well anyways, I am glad you are here." He
took her hand between the two of his.

"Thanks Sean." She looked down at their
paired hands, not wanting to pull away.

"Come on." He said pulling her to a pair of
white French doors.

"Everyone is out on the veranda."

Sherry smiled and waved at the group of
people that dotted the veranda. She recognized most everyone from
work, but there were a few faces she didn't know. They must be
Sean's friends. Some very hot guys were there. Sherry took one long
sip from her wine glass with the sweet red wine, appraising the eye
candy in front of her.

They looked to be about the same age as
Sean, perhaps they were college buddies. The three young men looked
back at her with warm smiles, one even winked at her
suggestively.

Perhaps this party wasn't
a total waste of time
. She thought
smugly.

They said hello to everyone and then Sean
introduced her to the three men she didn't know. Turned out that he
knew all of them for years, some from all the way back to his
elementary school years. How did she guess? Two had been friends
from high school and two more had been friends of the family for
years, Jeff and Andy. Sean knew Alan since kindergarten.