I very casually tilted my head toward Emma. “Emma,” I said as I nudged her.
She turned, smiling. “What is it?”
I leaned closer and had to all but yell to be heard over the club music. “Don’t look. But I think Wesley Cole is over at that table and he’s staring at you like—”
But the second I said his name, her head snapped right in the direction I told her not to look, but Wesley had already turned away.
“Or look directly at him.” I sighed.
“Excuse me,” Emma said, already pushing off the couch and moving toward him.
Wesley flicked an overly casual look in her direction, and the second he registered her advance, he glanced around as if to decide if he could still make a break for it.
“Uh-oh,” Harrison said, taking a drink and watching the drama unfold.
“What’s going on?” I asked.
“Long story,” Charlie yelled.
“First loves,” Harrison yelled at the same time.
“Why does she look so mad? And why does he look so scared?” I asked.
“I think you answered your own question,” Charlie said.
“That’s a story for another night.” Harrison’s easy expression slipped as he watched her approach Wesley.
“Should we go intercept?” Harrison called.
“There’s no stopping Emma when she’s on a mission,” Charlie said.
Several onlookers watched as she stomped up to Wesley. She didn’t even give him a chance to talk, she just dragged him away as he desperately looked around for help. But it was too late for him. Emma and Wesley disappeared around the corner. A second later, Charlie moved to the now unoccupied space left by Emma.
“Is she going to be okay?” I asked him.
The line of his mouth flattened. “They have a complicated history.” He rubbed the area between his eyes. “I wish she’d just—” He shook his head. His gaze roamed over my face, and a softness shifted his features. He reached a hand to cup my chin and really looked at me.
“Are you doing okay?” I rested my hand over his as I asked.
I wasn’t sure what he was thinking, and I momentarily wished I could just email him to get a glimpse into his brain.
He nodded with a warm smile as his focus moved over me. “I’m just really glad you’re here. I almost can’t believe it.”
I sighed and leaned back into his arms. “Me too.”
Harrison melted into the crowd, leaving just us two in the private room.
“You tugged your ear, are you sure you’re okay?” I asked. His arm went around my shoulder, his fingertips just dangling above the low-cut top of my dress. I grabbed his hand and held it to me.
“This is all I need,” he said into my ear.
Around us, the nightclub was in full swing. People ground their hips together on the dance floor. Women and men with magazine-worthy bodies danced provocatively on pedestals around the club. The walls were filled with art and photos of naked women lounging seductively. I was eighty percent sure someone was being pleasured in the dark corner to our left, based on the way her head was thrown back and her panting chest.
Warmth spread through me as I became even more aware of Charlie’s hot body pressed against mine. Every breath out tickled the short hairs of my neck. The whole atmosphere of the club grew hypnotically erotic.
“Have we shocked you?” His deep British accent in my ear rolled through my body like ice over a tongue.
I turned to find his face just a breath from mine. His light hazel gaze moved over my face bouncing from my lips back to my eyes. He thought that, didn’t he? That I was just a pearl-clutching naive girl. Well, he forgot who he was dealing with.
