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She dragged out the necessary cash to pay her bill. Scott had found the courage to talk to his crush. He’d left with Harry from accounting thirty minutes earlier. It was already dark, and she needed to get home. Instead, she’d sat around, nursing her drink and hoping for another glimpse of Gabriel.
Now she wished she’d left sooner. He’d caught her staring. Of course, he’d been with a friend. The minute his gaze had found hers, she’d put her head down. When she looked back up, he’d been gone.
Was he waiting for her to leave? He might think she was some kind of creepy female stalker. If he was an actor or someone famous, he might have to deal with adoration from strangers constantly. It was definitely past time to exit. She just lacked the check. And damn it, there was never a waitress around when she needed one.
She glanced at her cell while she waited and found a text. The number came up as unknown.
I have the info about Crawford’s death I promised in my e-mail. I’ll contact you with a date and time to meet. Don’t tell anyone. Come alone.
A chill zipped through her. She wanted to believe the person contacting her was some whacked-out loon, but she’d received that mysterious, very lucid e-mail yesterday suggesting that she check into Maddox Crawford’s activities in the days before his murder. Not his unfortunate accident or his death. His murder. When she’d tried to trace the source, she’d come up with an e-mail sent from an anonymous account, the type anyone could grab off free mail sites. She needed more information to be able to track the person down.
If he wasn’t a deranged creep then . . . what? A sick jerk playing a prank on her? A vindictive coworker trying to trip her up to prove she couldn’t do her job? A creepy reporter fishing for a story? Or someone really trying to give her vital information about Maddox? Everly thought through the angles. The latter seemed far-fetched . . . but not impossible. She couldn’t brush it off. Since getting tipsy apparently wasn’t on her agenda tonight, as soon as she made it back to her loft, she’d start digging. Everly owed Maddox at least that much.
Part of her wanted to text the mysterious bastard back and ask what he was up to. But she needed to be smarter. If inquiries with her cell provider didn’t net her any information . . . well, she knew a few tricks to hack her way into obtaining phone numbers. This jerk could try to hide, but she had ways to peel back the layers and find the truth.
She shoved her phone into her purse and stood. Pay the bill. Get home. Start investigating. Maybe try to sleep. Her stomach growled. She should probably eat first, but she definitely wasn’t going to hang around and look like she waited desperately for Gabriel.
Everly marched to the bar. “I need my bill, please.”
Shockingly, the bartender stopped. “It’s already been taken care of. Thank the gentleman in the suit there.”
She turned in the direction of the bartender’s gesture, and there stood Gabriel. His tie was slightly undone and his hair was mussed as though he’d run a hand through it. He was just as stunning to her senses as he’d been before.
As he approached, Everly had no doubt this man could make her tingle from head to toe. “Um, thanks.”
“You’re welcome. It’s much quieter out here than before.” He glanced around the now half-empty bar. “What happened to your friend?”
“He left with someone else.”
His grin nearly took her breath away. “Did he find someone to spend the night with?”
“I’m sure he’s hoping so, though I’m not convinced that guy plays for his team.”
Was this stranger flirting? Why was she flirting back? She should stop. He was too good-looking and obviously rich. All she could boast was a decent loft in Brooklyn, one she would no longer be able to afford if she lost her job. She could be out on the streets in weeks.
Ugh, wasn’t she a bright ray of sunshine?
“So, where did your friend go?” she asked.
He glanced back toward the VIP room. “That party broke up. Everyone had to get home. But I was thinking about staying up for a while. What are your plans tonight, Eve?”
That was a loaded question. Her current plan included going to a lonely apartment where she could worry about her future and try to figure out if someone had murdered her friend. She could be alone with her fear and doubt . . . but she didn’t really want to. “I was getting ready to leave. What about you?”
“So was I. I thought I’d get some dinner before I called it a night. I don’t think the food here is going to be any good. Giovanni’s is one block over. Italian might be nice. I can promise you won’t have any trouble getting a glass of wine there.”
“You’re asking me out?” It was a little surreal. She saw much more attractive women still in the bar. Why had he chosen her? Maybe he liked a curvier girl. Some guys did.
His face settled into a polite mask. “I don’t know that I would call it a date.”
“What would you call it, then?”
He stepped closer, into her personal space. “Eve, I want to be honest with you.”
Eve. She wasn’t Everly to Gabriel. Which meant that he didn’t expect her to be a good, polite girl. She didn’t have to be shy about what she wanted.
She stood a bit taller and met his beautiful blue eyes. She could see the five-o’clock shadow darkening his jaw and wondered what it would feel like to brush her fingertips over his face, to run her thumb across that full bottom lip of his. “Honesty is good.”
She wasn’t being entirely honest with him, but it didn’t matter. They were sharing a moment out of time. She wouldn’t see him again. She didn’t even know his last name.
“I’m looking for an escape tonight. I can find it in the bottom of a bottle or I can take you out of here and try to make us both feel good. Why don’t you let me buy you dinner and plead my case?”
He was asking her to sleep with him. A one-night stand. She’d never had one. She’d slept with two men in her whole life, and they’d both been her boyfriends. Sex had been all right, but something about the look in Gabriel’s eyes told her this would be far better.
He wanted to escape. She wasn’t sure from what, but she glimpsed a world of worries and sorrow in his expression that drew her. She understood loss and longing. She knew what it meant to need a few hours of escape. Hadn’t she been wanting that herself?
A single memory pierced her in that moment. Two days before he died, Maddox had shaken his head over her nonexistent dating life. He’d tried to persuade her to let him set her up on a blind date, but she’d said she didn’t have time. She’d needed to get some reports done and go through the purchase orders on the new hard drives and security systems. He’d rolled those piercing eyes of his.
You need to live a little. Your whole life can’t be spent behind a computer screen. Life is often about taking risks. Sometimes you have to leave yourself to figure out who you really are.
She didn’t have to be herself. Not tonight.
“Kiss me.” The words were out of her mouth before she could stop them. She was never bold or brazen when it came to men. She’d never demanded anything sexually of a lover, but she wanted Gabriel to kiss her. She wanted to see if that spark she felt translated to something truly physical.
She expected some discussion, and when he hesitated, she was more than willing to admit that she’d been hasty. Everly was about to shake her head and try to laugh the incident off when he cupped her face and his body brushed hers. He tilted her head up and his mouth descended.
Soft. His lips were soft on hers. Gentle. He moved with pre
datory grace. His fingers sank into her hair, and her hands seemed to naturally find the lean muscles at his waist. Even through his crisp dress shirt, she could feel the heat of his body. It practically poured off him and into her, warming her skin and making her come to life.
He was gentle, but Everly knew precisely who was in charge. His lips locked onto hers, leading her. A little tug on her hair told her which way he wanted her to move.
Everything about him—scent, taste, feel—made her melt. She forgot where she was, forgot that they were in public. The noise of the bar receded until all she could hear was her own heart beating furiously in her ears. Nothing mattered at all but the feel of his body under her hands, the masterful way he moved her.
“Is that what you wanted, Eve?” He breathed the words against her mouth. “You wanted to see if I can kiss? I can give you more. I don’t simply want to kiss your lips. I want to strip you down and find out if you’re as sweet and soft everywhere as you look. I want to run my tongue over your skin until I memorize how you
