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I couldn’t have looked away if I tried.
Chapter 4
Evangeline
“This isn’t a college bar,” I said, looking around nervously.
“No, it’s not,” Sara said with a conspiratorial smile. As if this were a good thing. I felt like I was swimming in a tank full of sharks.
“Come on, let’s get a drink.”
I nodded and followed her because that was what we were here to do. Have a drink. Boost Sara’s morale with some male attention. Be a normal college student for a couple of hours.
And then get back to my books and cozy flannel sheets as quickly as possible.
I ordered my drink and glanced around. Big mistake. There were men everywhere staring at us. In fact, it looked like they were all staring at us.
They’re probably wondering why two college girls wandered into their very swanky, very grownup, very expensive-looking bar, I thought to myself self-consciously. We were definitely two very young, very stupid fish out of water.
I bet this drink costs more than ten bucks. There goes your book budget for the week.
Disappointment sliced through me like a knife. I loved nothing more than perusing the used bookstore in town. It wasn’t too far from campus. I could spend hours there, picking out my next read.
Well, I could still go and browse, I reasoned. Maybe just get a single paperback this week. Popular fiction was usually only a dollar or two.
I turned to face the bar, ignoring the three guys in suits bearing down on us. I was pretty sure one of them was wearing a wedding ring, too. He looked just as determined to get to us as the other two.
Gross.
I saw my face in the mirror behind the bar and blinked. I looked different tonight. No headband. Lipgloss instead of Chapstick. The new blouse.
For once in my life, I didn’t blend into the background. I almost looked . . . glamorous.
For a second, I didn’t recognize myself at all. But maybe that’s a good thing, I thought suddenly. Maybe it was time to step out of my good girl shell.
Just a teeny-tiny bit.
After all, I wasn’t in high school anymore.
My eyes moved away quickly, embarrassed by the thrill that had gone through me at my subtle transformation. I hated superficiality. I avoided judging things on the surface, especially people. Especially myself.
Then everything fell away. My thoughts. The chilled glass in my hand. The sound of the bar or Sara or even the men brushing up against my shoulder.
Two dark eyes stared at me in the mirror. Dark . . . but not lifeless. No, these eyes smoldered with heat. A man in an expensive looking jacket sat at the other end of the bar. Broad shoulders and an almost absurdly handsome face. White teeth appeared as he smiled. It wasn’t a friendly smile. It sent a tremor through me.
Jesus, he’s gorgeous, I thought breathlessly.
And dangerous, I heard my mother’s voice say in response. Men either don’t care at all or they care too much. She’d told me that again and again. No man should be that pretty. Or hungry.
I definitely agreed.
If the bar was a tank full of sharks, then he was a great white.
He was by far the most potent and virile man I’d ever seen. Even in the movies. Not that he looked like an action hero.
No, he looked like the villain. The darkly handsome villain you found yourself rooting for until he did something . . . well, overly villainous.
I shivered and forced myself to look away.
Chapter 5
Antonio
I nursed my drink, not wanting to lose myself anymore. My earlier mood had passed. No, now I needed to be on point. Focused. Clearheaded.
And I had no desire to numb myself with such a delightful prospect to join me in my bed tonight.
I sat up a little straighter as things started to happen. I wasn’t surprised as the blonde let herself be drawn off to an alcove table for bottle service and some one on one time. I saw the utter panic in the brunette’s face as her friend was led away. She watched in horror as her friend got picked off by the first guy to show her the least bit of attention. Before even pouring a drink, they were on each other, making out with abandon.
But then my girl pulled out her phone, texted something, and reached into her purse for money.
Shit. She was leaving. Of course she was.
You blew it, dumbass.
I saw Zane tell her it was on the house, and her eyes flicked toward me. I nodded calmly, showing nothing of the turmoil in my head. A nice girl like that wasn’t going to sit at the bar with a bunch of suits drooling over her. She was going to go home and bake cookies. Or walk homeless puppies. Or work on her novel.
I had to get her name. Now. I stood up as she started toward the door.
