Alcohol moved my lips before my brain could vet and approve the words. ‘Oh, I’m special in other ways.’
He leaned a couple of inches closer and his voice dropped, along with his eyes as they fastened on my mouth. ‘Of that, I have no doubt.’
Goosebumps prickled from my scalp, down my neck and spine; a cascade of awareness.
‘Don’t look now, Elle,’ Keisha spoke up with obvious reluctance, ‘but Damon is here.’
‘Who?’ I said, still staring back at Stephen.
‘You know.Damon.Your ex-boyfriend. Who you were living with last year.’
Stephen blinked and refocused on Keisha who was on his other side. Free from his hypnotising gaze, I allowed her words to process. In a rare demonstration of obedience, I didn’t want to scan the surroundings for the man who had prompted my current romantic dry spell.
‘He’s at the bar and he’s with a woman.’ She gave me a sympathetic smile.
I took a deep breath and shrugged. ‘It’s fine. I don’t care.’
‘Icare,’ Caitlin growled, looking over her shoulder, most likely to shoot death glares at my ex. ‘Want me to talk to the manager? Get him thrown out? They wouldn’t want someone as shitty as him in here. Brings down the tone.’
‘I’m seriously not bothered.’ I twisted the stem of my cocktail glass between my fingers. ‘Let him go live his best life. That’s why he dumped me after all.’ OK, maybe I had alittleresentment left over. This wasn’t the kind of surprise I’d been looking forward to the night bringing me.
Stephen straightened in his chair, his height enabling him to look over the top of our heads, to get a better view of the bar. ‘Is he the one with the llama haircut and checked shirt that doesn’t quite fit?’
Caitlin guffawed. ‘That’s him.’
‘And he broke up withyou?’ The disbelief in Stephen’s tone did my ego no harm.
‘We just weren’t compatible.’
‘Of course you weren’t compatible. You’re not an asshole,’ Boyd offered.
Stephen relaxed back into his seat, reaching for his glass. ‘Exactly how much of an arsehole are we talking?’
‘Passive aggressive; pretend nice-guy; negged her constantly.’ Caitlin counted his many attributes off on her fingers. ‘Should I go on?’
‘Oh, please do. I’m enjoying it so much.’ I rolled my eyes.
‘Sorry honey.’ To her credit, Keisha did look sorry, but in that this-is-for-your-own-good kind of way. ‘We just…what’s the word I’m looking for? Oh yes, it’s “loathe”. Weloathehim and we want revenge on your behalf.’
‘Right.’ Stephen threw back the last of his drink and put his glass down decisively. ‘Tell me his weaknesses. Let’s destroy him.’
A laugh burst out of me. ‘Wow. Finally I’m getting to see the killer instinct from the Wolf of Wall Street, hey? Where have you been hiding this ruthless streak?’
‘I’m only licensed to use it outside of the trading room floor in very, very special circumstances.’
‘Such as?’
He looked up at me from beneath his furrowed brow. ‘Looking after the people I care about.’
Oh.
Oh my.
‘So, what are his pain points?’ he continued, like he hadn’t just rearranged my neural networking patterns.
‘I mean, I’d say, just keep on doing what you’ve been doing,’ Keisha told him. ‘Make him see that someone else appreciates this queen like he was too insecure to.’
My cheeks grew warm. Was she calling Stephen out on how he’d been flirting with me? How I’d been flirting with him too, admittedly. I mean, I was the one who’d instigated it the moment he arrived. But was it just a bit of fun for him, or…?
