Neither made any attempt to move away, but when someone bumped into Slater from behind, the spell was broken.
“Enjoy your movie, Evie, and I guess I’ll see you…tomorrow.”
“Yup. Have a good night.” She stepped around him and walked away, and he watched her go, hating every second of it.
And that was reason enough for him to sit down in one of the overstuffed chairs.
Why? Why was he hating it? This was usually what he wanted—a fun weekend, no commitments, and everyone walked away happy and satisfied.
But Evie wasn’t walking away happy. If anything, she looked miserable. Sure, he’d like to think that she had been satisfied—that he’d satisfied her—but that was physical. Emotionally, the situation had taken all of the sparkle out of her eyes.
Leaning back, he let out a long breath.
Because I’m just like my old man…
The thought came out of nowhere, and it pissed him off. Not only because pretty much every thought about his father pissed him off, but because it hammered the point home that he would bring nothing but pain to a genuinely amazing woman.
Just as his father had done to his mother.
A myriad of emotions battled within him, but anger stayed at the top of the list. Now he didn’t feel like eating dinner with his friends either. They were partly to blame for this whole debacle. Honestly, he didn’t care if they thought they felt a vibe or whatever, but if they had just kept it to their damn selves, he’d be looking at a relaxing night and enjoying a good meal, and then going back to his cabin and enjoying having Evie back in his bed.
That was clearly not going to happen now.
Shit.
His phone vibrated in his hand, and he reluctantly looked at it.
Axel: Hey! Where are you at? Everyone’s here.
Axel: This storm is looking to get worse, so we might be looking at a wild night.
Axel: Would love to get your input on what you think we may need to be doing.
Well, double shit. Now he had to go up to the damn suite.
Sighing, he tapped out his reply.
Slater: On my way. See you in five.
The theater was only half full, mostly families and a few couples tucked into the back row. Had she known it was going to be like this, she could have enjoyed eating at the restaurant or at least someplace with a table. Still, Evie had chosen a seat near the aisle but far enough down that maybe no one would sit beside her.
Now the movie was playing and she was happily reciting all the lines in her head along with the movie. The only thing missing was popcorn. She thought she wouldn’t want anything since she’d just eaten dinner, but what fun was watching a movie in a theater without popcorn?
Guess I just make bad decisions all the time now…
The screen glowed gold and blue, the ballroom scene unfolding in sweeping animation. Belle’s gown shimmered. The Beast held her carefully, as if she might vanish if he wasn’t gentle.
Evie folded her arms tighter across her middle, hating the fact that she was jealous of an animated character.
She hadn’t completely lied about the headache entirely. It had just migrated from her temples to somewhere behind her ribs.
Sneaking around with Slater had been fun at first. Electric. Private smiles across rooms. Fingers brushing in passing. But now that the secret was kind of out? It made her feel awkward and uncomfortable and exposed, like something fragile had been dragged into the fluorescent light.
She wasn’t built for that.
And she wasn’t built for falling for a man who would never be anything more than a memory.
On the screen, Belle rested her cheek against the Beast’s chest, and Evie swallowed hard.
