Page 86 of Heartbreaker

“He’s here,” Demi says, her entire voice and demeanor changing as she locks into investigator mode. “Walking in the front door, scanning the room.” I take in a deep breath to settle my nerves.

“You’ve got this, baby,” Rome says low, suddenly in my earpiece as well, and with it, the nerves settle.

I take a sip of my drink, then sit back, making sure I’m visible from the front door and from the table Tyler is seated at. I feel eyes on me as Levi walks in, and I count to thirty before looking over my shoulder. His eyes are glued to me, and I give him a small, friendly smile, trying to look surprised before turning around. My heart is racing, but I know I can do this. I have to do this, so I do.

I flip my hair.

I cross my legs.

I push my chest out.

I take the world’s smallest sips of my drink while Demi keeps me updated on what’s happening.

One minute in, he asks Tyler if it’s me sitting at the bar.

Two minutes in, he’s giving me a sideways glance, fully distracted from what Tyler is saying.

Three minutes in, Tyler gets a call, and Levi takes a picture of me.

“Ew, he’s so gross. Who does that?” Demi says.

“An asshole,” Rome grumbles, and I have to bite my lip so I don’t laugh. I wonder where he’s watching from, though I’ve successfully managed not to scan the room for him.

“You would know, wouldn’t you?” Demi says, and Rome laughs. Their back-and-forth bickering would be fun, if not for the fact that I’m supposed to be sad and miserable, and I kind of want to laugh as they yabber on.

Thankfully, I don’t have to wait much longer for Levi to make a move. Demi informs me he’s headed my way, and when he sits next to me, he gives me the ugliest, fakest, widest grin.

“It is you,” he says, sounding awed. I look over at him and hope your face is pleasantly surprised.

“Oh my god, hi! I thought it might be you. Levi, right?” I ask, and he nods.

“I’m surprised you remember my name.” I give him a coy smile.

“As I could forget it,” I say, fluttering my lashes.

“What are you doing here? Pretty girl like you shouldn’t look so sad,” he says, and I fight the urge to grimace. He thinks he has the same allure as Rome, but it’s so obvious he’s just gross.

Instead, I give him a soft smile that I hope conveys the sadness of a woman who was just dumped. “Oh, I’m fine. I’m just going through a breakup,” I say with a sniffle. He seems to buy my act, grinning at me.

If there’s one thing I’ve learned from Josie, it’s that men don’t really need much encouragement to buy whatever you’re selling them: they’re very stupid, very simple creatures, and if you find the scummy, asshole ones, like Levi, they only really see what they want to.

And right now, Levi wants to see a sad woman who is an easy target.

“You were dating Roman, right?” he asks, giving me a look I think is meant to be soft and empathetic, but comes off smarmy and calculating. God, how does he actually get women to date him?

I give him a solemn nod instead of grimacing. “Yeah, but we just got into a big fight, and we broke up.”

“Oh, I’m so sorry to hear that, sweetheart,” he says, reaching over for my hand. Rome lets out a low grown in my earpiece.

“Cool it, lover boy. She’s on the job,” Demi says.

I don’t respond. Instead, let him take my hand in his and give it a reassuring squeeze.

“You know, it’s his loss.”

“I don’t know. It feels like mine. He’s so... popular, you know?” I feel silly, but this man is so oblivious and drowning in his envy and jealousy. He can’t see through me or my ruse, only seeing the shiny opportunity to get under Rome’s skin.

“He’s not that big of a deal. You want a real racer, there’s one right here.” I bite my lip, my eyes going wide.