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“How did he even find you?”
“He didn’t.” This is the bomb I’ve been itching to drop on her. “I called him and offered my services.”
Sloane’s mouth falls open. “What? Why would you do that?” She’s sputtering in the most un-Sloane-like way. “How did you even know?”
I lean back and stretch one arm across the back of the booth. Fingers drumming on the sleek leather as I consider her. “New Haven isn’t that big, Sloane. Word travels fast, and when your contractor quit, I got a call from a mutual friend about the situation. I happened to have an opening in my schedule, and James was happy to use me.”
Liar.
“To get on my last nerve,” Sloane grumbles, taking the freshly mixed drink the waitress is offering her.
I accept my drink and wait for the starry-eyed girl to leave us alone. She’s been flirting with me all night. Brushing her fingers against mine while she hands me drinks, batting her eyelashes when she asks if there’s anything else she can do for me. The innuendo is clear, but I’m not interested. My days of taking random women home from the club are long over.
“To finish a job you couldn’t do without me.” I correct, getting a kick out of the fury in her eyes, swimming around with the flecks of gold in her irises.
“Business must be pretty slow if you’re calling around begging for jobs.” She shifts in her seat. The piece of fabric she calls a skirt slips up her thigh.
Now, that is funny, and I don’t even try to stop the amused sound that escapes my chest in a huff. Who cares if I end up wearing the fruity pink concoction she’s sipping?
“You and I both know my business is doing very well.”
I don’t need to elaborate. The regular deposits I make in her bank account prove Archway Construction, the company Eric and I started together, is doing just fine. We certainly aren’t hard up for work. I had to move several projects around just to be able to personally oversee the hotel job. Alex, my assistant, was livid when I told him what needed to be done. No one in the office understood why I’d taken a special interest.
Hell, I can’t even admit the answer to myself, but looking at Sloane now, all pissed off and on the brink of throwing something at my head, makes the aggravation worth it.
Okay, so I do get a sick satisfaction out of fighting with her. Is it really that surprising?
Sloane opens her mouth to respond, but before the words come out Mallory slides into the booth accompanied by the random I saw groping her on the dance floor. Their sudden intrusion forces Sloane to slide down and around, following the curve of the booth until she’s right beside me. Her thigh touching mine, and her elbow brushing my ribs since I haven’t moved an inch. I’m crowding her out. She tucks her arms into her body and tries, but fails, to put some space between our legs. A decent man would have noticed her discomfort and shifted to give her room, but I’m not a decent man.
Not where she’s concerned.
“Are you guys playing nice?” Mal asks, in an annoying sing-song voice she only uses when she’s drunk.
I glance down at Sloane. Her back is ramrod straight, hovering over the part of the seat my arm is resting on. “For once, yes. Sloane’s been on her best behavior.”
“Was that before or after I threatened to murder you?” Hard hazel eyes meet mine. A perfectly arched brow cocked at me like a loaded gun. She never knows when to holster her weapon. And I know if I give her cause, nothing, not even her promise to Mal, will stop her from pulling the trigger. I hold her gaze, letting her see I’m more than willing to make a mockery of her word if she is.
Mallory and the random laugh, and the drunken sound breaks our trance. Sloane snaps to attention, clearing her throat and laughing too. She doesn’t feel it though. I can tell because her body doesn’t vibrate with the sound, and the smile never reaches her eyes the way it does when she’s really amused.
That’s part of the problem with knowing your enemy so well: becoming familiar with the information you never have a reason to use like how to make her eyes shine with happiness or the right thing to say to entice her lips to pull into that dazzling smile she gives to everyone but you.
“Nic? Did you hear Chase? He was asking what it’s like to work in construction.” Mal’s voice filters through my reverie, pulling me back to reality. Everyone at the table is staring at me, including Sloane. My face warms where her hard gaze settles. Her scent, something sweet and fruity, is clinging to the air between us, and her bare thigh is still pressed to mine. Even through the fabric of my jeans, I can feel the heat coming off of her.
And it’s distracting as hell.
I clear my throat, making eye contact with Chase for the first time. The guy doesn’t look like he gives a fuck about construction. He’s just being nice to Mal’s friends in hopes of talking her into sleeping with him.
“The money’s good and the hours are hell.” The words sound rough and agitated, even to my ears. The pleasure I felt at crowding Sloane out just a moment ago is gone. Replaced by my confusing reaction to her proximity. I take another sip of my drink. “But I like what I do. Getting to be my own boss isn’t too bad either.”
Chase’s head bobs up and down with feigned interest as he mutters something about entrepreneurship being cool before turning his attention back to Mal. Greedy eyes bouncing from her lips to her chest and then her legs like he can’t decide which part of her he wants to look at most. It’s annoying to watch.
Just annoying, huh? Where’s the outrage from yesterday?
My heartbeat is a fierce and insistent pounding behind my rib cage. Exacerbated by the question posed to me by my own fucked up brain and Sloane’s nearness. I almost pass out from relief when my phone starts to light up on the table, alerting me to an incoming call. I snatch it up quickly, barely even noticing Sloane’s quick intake of air when my hand sweeps across the curve of her bare shoulder.
“Excuse me, I’ve got to take this.” I don’t have to, but I still hit accept on the call and stride away from the table before anyone can say anything.
Not that a single person at the table would have protested my departure. Mallory and Chase are eye-fucking each other, and Sloane is…well, Sloane. She never actually wants me around.
