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“I’m not apologising for trying to pick you up that night, Princess. You took my breath away. You always do.” My cheeks start to burn, and I curse that I can’t help but turn red. My heart speeds up uncontrollably and goosebumps travel up my arm as he caresses my hand with his finger.
What is he doing? What am I doing?I quickly step backwards, hitting the person behind me. I try to balance on my heels, but the more I try to focus on saving myself from falling face first, the more my sight gets blurry. A strong hand grabs my side, stabilising me.
“You’re drunk. She’s drunk.” The last part Chester addresses to Topper, who finally decided to join our conversation, or to at least check if I am still breathing, because he responds by shrugging his shoulders and walking towards the bar.
Chester's eyes flicker to mine before he raises his eyebrows, indicating he’s waiting for an answer.
“Yeah, I am.”
“Why?”
“You didn’t hear? I’m getting married. Some douchebag shared that news today.”
“What an arsehole,” he jokes while shaking his head dramatically.
“Right.” I push his shoulder playfully before pulling it back straight away as if I burnt my hand.Am I actually flirting with my despicable neighbour?
Chester has a tiny smile on his face, but it’s never just his mouth that smiles. His eyes show his amusement, and a few crow’s feet are visible due to his enjoyment of life.
He scratches his scruff.
“You look gorgeous.”
“It’s my goodbye-to-freedom outfit,” I say, dropping my hands on my hips before popping my left one dramatically.
“Freedom looks great on you.”
“Are you trying to pick me up again?”
“No, princess. Just stating the truth.” My eyes drop to my heels because my cheeks are heating up again along with my heart that’s skipping a beat. Now, this man knows how to charm a lady. No wonder he has a revolving door of women leaving his house in the morning. Even I feel the effects of his words on my entire body.
But most surprisingly, it’s Chester Boyd who has me smiling shyly. I’m supposed to not like him. He, too, is a reason why I’ll be wearing a ring soon. I wish it was different. I wish I could just blame Frederic for everything. But sadly, more people are involved, including the handsome neighbour smiling smugly at me.
My smile slips from my lips before my heart finally remembers to beat normally. A sense of regret falls over my shoulders. Why couldn’t everything be different? Why couldn’t Chester be just my neighbour? Why can’t I be a woman who goes to work during the day and dates at night?
Before I can dive deeper into those negative feelings, another cocktail is pushed into my hands by Topper.
“Here, you might enjoy this one more.”
“Thanks, Tops,” I say, smiling at my best friend. A throat is being cleared, and it makes my eyes flicker towards Chester. He’s scratching his temple with the hand that holds a dark grey watch. Chester is dividing his attention between Topper and me.
“I’m heading out now,” Chester says, pointing over his shoulder to the door. He has already taken a few steps backwards.
One way or another, I sense that his mood has shifted as well. He is no longer the man who joked along with me or told me he thought I was beautiful.
“Okay,” I whisper, knowing he won’t hear me. Chester nods his head a few times while staring my way.
“Bye, princess,” he finally says before turning around and being swallowed by the crowd. I stare in his direction, not understanding what is going on in my mind, which only makes me more confused.
I frown before I drag my hand through my hair. A heaviness pushes on my shoulder. A heaviness that wasn’t there before, and I don’t want to give in to the idea that I wanted to hear more from Chester. I sigh before I stare at the crowd one last time.
“Princess?” Topper says, and I quickly divert my attention to my friend. He has part of his upper lip raised, and his eyes are wide open.
“Princess,” he repeats in shock, but I sense a hint of disgust for the weird pet name Chester gave me. And with Topper’s bewildered expression, a smile takes over my face before I sip from my drink, forgetting everything about my brief encounter with Chester.
Chapter Thirteen
Evangeline
