Page 28 of Unraveled

He gave a curt nod and turned away. Audrey exited the bathroom just as he entered the short hallway, and he froze. She was beautiful. She was busy adjusting her sleeves, and she’d taken several steps in his direction before registering his presence.

Her gaze collided with his, and she stopped dead in her tracks. He allowed himself a moment to drink her in. She looked more beautiful than ever. The scar on her forehead was still visible against her pale skin, but that too had begun to fade since he’d seen her last.

He finally settled on her piercing blue eyes. “How have you been?”

She remained unnaturally still, like she was barely even breathing. “Fine. What are you doing here?”

His gaze narrowed at her unease. He’d seen the way Kane touched her at the table. He didn’t believe his intentions were friendly in the least. “You on a date?”

Her eyes snapped with fire. “What business is that of yours?”

He shoved his hands in his pockets and leveled her with a stare. “Just asking. Think I have a right to know after what happened between us.”

Her eyes darted around as if checking to make sure no one had overheard. “Nothing happened between us,” she hissed.

Fury had his spine snapping straight. “Are you kidding me?”

Crystal-blue eyes glared up at him. “No. And what does it matter to you if I’m on a date, anyway?”

“Oh, I don’t know,” he drawled, sarcasm saturating his tone. “Maybe the fact that I’ve told you a dozen times that I want to be with you.”

Something flashed across her face, then just as quickly faded away. She opened her mouth to speak, then closed it again and looked away, pinning her gaze to the wall instead of meeting his eyes.

He shook his head, the heat of anger melted away at her indifference, and an icy coldness took up residence in its place, seeping into his bones. “You know, I shouldn’t be surprised. You threw up every red flag, and I ignored them all.”

He felt like a fool for having reached out to her repeatedly over the past couple weeks. He’d been waiting for her to come around, to finally see that he was the one for her. He thought if he gave her the time and space she’d asked for, she’d see how much he respected her and cared for her. Looked like he’d been wrong the whole way around.

“I should’ve known when you said you weren’t ready to date that it was a lie. What you really meant was you didn’t want to date me.”

Audrey’s head snapped toward him. “That’s⁠—"

“Everything good here?”

He turned slightly, and every muscle in his body stiffened as Mason approached. He lifted his chin at him. “Kane. It’s been a while.”

Mason returned the favor, then continued past Carter—toward Audrey. He couldn’t rip his eyes away as Mason stepped up next to her and settled one hand low on her back. “You good?”

“Yeah. I’m fine.” Her gaze never wavered as she answered Mason’s question, those bright blue eyes fixed on Carter.

The heat of jealousy and rejection curled through him, and he forced his gaze away from her. Mason’s mouth twisted into an arrogant smirk, and Carter wanted to wipe it off his face. He acted like he’d one-upped Carter, like Audrey was some prize to be won. Well, he could have her.

“Just talking business,” Carter said to Mason. “Nothing important.”

Mason’s brows drew slightly together as Carter pasted on a fake smile and turned to Audrey. “Feel free to contact my office if you need anything else, Mrs. Gerber.”

Audrey stood stiff as a marble statue, and just as pale. Pushing off the wall, Carter directed his gaze to Mason. “Best of luck to you both.”

Screw you both, he amended in his head as he turned on a heel and stomped toward the bar. A red haze clouding his vision, he slid onto a stool, then motioned for the bartender.

“Dewar’s, neat,” he said when the young woman stopped in front of him. With a concise nod, she turned around and grasped the bottle from the shelf behind the bar. She slashed the liquid into a glass then slid it in front of him. He tossed down his credit card, then curled his fingers toward him. “Leave the bottle, please.”

The bite of the fiery liquid would hopefully prevent him from getting too drunk too quickly, but he relished the burn as it slid down his throat. It gave him something to focus on other than Audrey. He didn’t know how much time had passed, but he glanced up as someone slid onto the stool next to him. The scent of her perfume hit him first, and he followed his nose, swiveling to inspect the pretty brunette next to him.

He let his gaze trail over her, from the top of her perfectly coiffed hair, over her buxom curves, then down to the hem of her too-short skirt that barely covered her ass. He dragged his eyes back to her face, and her lips curled into a sultry smile. She was obviously looking for a good time and a man to give it to her.

“Hi.”

Her voice was silky and smooth, and he couldn’t help but smile back at her. “Hi, yourself.”