“Is it really considered gossip if it’s true?” Lawson shrugs. “And that’s?—”
“Keller. Just Keller,” he interrupts.
“I was going to say Cheating Jackass Who Should Be BuyingMeDrinks, but yeah, Keller works too.” He tilts his head my way. “You met Gavin Whitlocke already, yeah?”
Our gazes collide, and if I look closely enough, I can see that pink creeping back into her cheeks.
“Something like that,” she mutters before turning back to the guys. “So, what can I get you all to drink?”
They rattle off their orders, then amble over to the booth we tend to take control of whenever we’re here. I don’t make a move to join them, still waiting for Hutch to come out of the bathroom, where I’m sure he’s calling Auden to check in with her.
Or at least that’s the excuse I’m using to sit close to Nessa. She sets their drinks on a tray, adding Hutch’s to the mix. Then she turns and rises up on her tiptoes, grabbing a bottle of Macallan from the top of the shelf.
She remembered.
I don’t know why that delights me so much but, fuck, it really does.
She pours me three fingers’ worth, then sets the glass on the tray without another glance in my direction. I watch her pick up the tray and unsteadily walk it over to the booth the other guys are occupying. I guess it’s her not-so-subtle way of telling me to get lost. Funny, because she’s the only thing I want to get lost in.
No.
I push that thought from my mind. She can’t be the thing I get lost in. The season is just too important to let even a girl like her distract me. I pull myself off the stool just as Hutch walks back into the main room. He tucks his phone into his back pocket, confirming my suspicion that he was likely chatting with Auden.
“I miss anything?” he asks.
I shake my head. “Nah, nothing.”
Still, I can’t take my eyes off his sister. We settle into the booth, and I am unsurprised to find Lawson and Keller still going at it. Hutch joins the conversation right away, and I know then that this was the perfect distraction, even if Nessa is here. The guys talk around me, and I occasionally laugh or throw in a nod, but I’m not paying them any attention. Not really.
No, my focus is solely on the woman behind the bar. I watch her move around, making drinks and cracking open beer bottles. She laughs with customers. She stands too close to the other bartender, who teaches her to mix drinks. At one point, she twists her long blonde locks into a braid, letting it hang over her shoulder in a way that tempts me far too much.
But she never looks over here, no matter how much I will her to. I know she can feel my eyes on her. How could she not? I’m staring at her like some sort of stalker creep. I can’t help it, though. Every time I look at her, all I can think of is that night.Ournight. The one in New York. The last one to make me feel something.
As excited as I am for the new season to start, right now, the only place I want to be is back in that hotel, back on sheets that were a little too scratchy, a mattress that was a little too firm, and pillows that could have used replacing. None of it mattered when I had her there, and even though I shouldn’t, I want her there again.
CHAPTER 6
VANESSA
Five months ago
“Where are we going?” I ask after we’ve already walked a few blocks in comfortable silence.
It’s late, but New York City is still alive. It’s always alive. It’s one of my favorite parts about coming here. I love how the day never seems to end, even when it turns to night. It feels like you’re invincible and have all the time in the world.
I haven’t felt like that since the last time I was here. It was a few weeks before the wedding. Neal and I decided to get away for the weekend, a break from all the chaos of planning our perfect day, just us. It was magical—everything I could have wanted. Maybe even the last time I was truly happy.
But I don’t want to think about my ex-husband right now. I want to enjoy this moment, revel in this beautiful April night, the cool breeze on my skin, and the sounds of people laughing bouncing off the buildings. I want to enjoy this time with Gavin while I still have it. Even though this is The City That Never Sleeps, tomorrow still comes, and tomorrow is when I go back tobeing my old self again. No more fake names to hide behind. No more half-truths. No more pretending my life isn’t falling apart.
“Wherever you want.” His voice is smooth like a glass of whiskey after dessert. The kind that sits on the shelf and lasts for years and years because you save it for special occasions. His touch on my lower back is just as delicious. Soft. Hot.
I wish I could say it’s the alcohol making me feel this way, but I know it’s not. It is the cologne that smells so familiar yet so distinct. It’s how the top of my head only comes to his shoulder. And it’s how he drags me closer each time somebody walks by us, like he’s trying to keep me close and keep me safe.
Safe.I can’t remember the last time someone made me feel that way.
I never feltunsafe with Neal, but I guess I never really felt relaxed either. I was alwayson. Smiling at his company parties. Planning lunches and dinners with friends. Making sure everything was Instagram-worthy perfect, just like I always wanted my life to be.
So much for that.
