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He nodded as we moved out of the way so East could take his photos and videos for the final nail in Joey’s coffin. Once he wasdone, he looked back at the rest of us with an evil gleam in his eye.
“Well, I believe our work here is done.” As he stepped back to join the group, I heard a moan and looked over to see Joey’s head lolling on the door and his eyes starting to open.
“Wait.” I walked over to the motherfucker who had put his hands on Gavin againafterI’d had the good grace to leave him alive the first time around. Then I crouched down and slapped the side of his face a couple of times until I had what little attention he could muster.
Satisfaction wasn’t something I was used to feeling, unless it came in the form of knocking out my opponent. But as I looked down at Joey’s pathetic form and saw the fear in his eyes—the same kind he no doubt delighted in when terrorizing Gavin—a sinister smile curled my lip.
“You’re waking up alive this time,” I said, then growled out a solemn promise. “But if you touch him again, I’ll fucking kill you.”
FOURTEEN
gavin
“THE CAVIAR BRIOCHE donut and Toro sashimi and crispy rice.” The waiter at Zero Bond set two elegant appetizer plates in the center of the table and gestured toward my almost-empty cocktail. “Another gin and dubonnet for you, sir?”
I nodded. “Yes, thank you.”
“I’ll try one of those too,” Trevor said, winking at me as he moved his glass aside. “Gavin tells me they were Queen Elizabeth’s favorite.”
“Is that right?” The waiter raised a brow at me in question.
“It’s true,” I said. “They say she had one every day, and considering she lived well into her nineties, I figure it’s a safe choice.”
He gave me a polite smile that told me he couldn’t care less. “Very good, sir. I’ll have those right out.”
As he walked off, I chuckled and laid my napkin across my lap. “I don’t think he appreciated my knowledge of useless information the way you do.”
“Then it’s a good thing you’re on a date with me right now and not him.” Trevor’s smile was blinding, and it was easy to see why he was such a rising star in Hollywood. What wasn’t as obvious was what he was doing on another date with me. Mypersonal life was a mess, and I had a knack for choosing the wrong men, like every one of my exes. If Trevor knew what he was really getting into, he wouldn’t be looking at me like that.
God, that was some serious pity-party thinking right there. That wasn’t me, at least not usually. Here I was, though, on this amazing date with a great guy, and in the back of my mind I was stressing—worried about what I faced almost daily at Astor and wondering when that would stop. Worried about Daire running off to bust a few faces, and maybe even his own. It was ridiculous to even care, since he’d flat-out told me not to.
That was easier said than done, though. My one bit of relief came from the fact that at least he didn’t know Joey and his crew were still messing around with me, or I’d have an even bigger issue on my hands.
For fuck’s sake, stop thinking about it. Be here, with this amazing guy who’s actually interested.
I shoved all thoughts of Daire and the others out of my mind and turned my attention back to Trevor. With the candles flickering between us, his eyes glittered a darker green than they did in the light, still gorgeous no matter what shade they were, and I smiled despite myself.
“You’re right,” I said. “You’re a much better date than I imagine he’d be.”
Trevor chuckled and reached for my small plate, loading it up with our appetizers before handing it back to me. I hadn’t planned on trying the caviar brioche thing, but now that it was on my plate, it’d be rude not to.
I waited to see if he’d pick it up with his fingers or cut into it, and when he picked up his fork and knife, I did the same.
To my surprise, it wasn’t bad at all, just not something I’d usually go for. But hey, maybe that was a metaphor for what I needed in my life. To go for things I usually wouldn’t. Like Trevor. His manners were impeccable, and sometimes I’d heara hint of a Southern accent that was pretty adorable. Since I’d never dated an actor before, I’d done something out of character and scoured the gossip sites to make sure there weren’t any red-flag stories about him out there. I couldn’t afford another asshole in disguise, but so far it seemed like I’d actually found someone relatively normal. At least normal in my world. He was used to red carpets and so was I. Neither of us needed the other financially. And if the worst thing he did was get me to eat something I wasn’t crazy to try, then I would be a very happy guy.
“What do you think?” Trevor asked.
“About what? Oh, the food, right. It’s…interesting.”
He laughed and brought his napkin up to his lips. “Is that your way of saying you hate it?”
“Hate’s a strong word.”
“Loathe? Detest entirely?”
I shook my head and decided to take another bite. “Would I do that if I thought it was terrible?”
Trevor smirked as I suppressed a shudder from piling way too much caviar on my fork. “You might if you want to prove a point or please the person you’re with.”
