AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Alyssa’s glass pauses at her lips, and she puts it on the table. “Why? We haven’t been here very long.”
I tug at the ends of my hair and risk glancing around the club. Like magnets, my eyes zone in on Finn. He’s slouched in a booth on an upper level with Hayden and Lucas. A glass of amber liquid at his lips. While his brothers chat among themselves, Finn pins me with a narrow gaze. Breaking away from his stare, I say, “I can’t stay here. I’m sorry.” I pick up my purse from the chair.
“Hey, wait. Are you okay?” Alyssa asks.
“You’re looking a little pale. Can I get you a glass of water?” Tamara signals to a waiter.
I shake my head. “I don’t need water, thanks,” I say to Tamara. To Alyssa I say, “I bumped into my ex.”
“Your ex?” Alyssa frowns.
“The one I was telling you about the other day.”
Tamara puts a hand on my arm. “Finn is your ex?”
My eyes widen. “How…who…”
“I saw Finn storming away from the direction of the restrooms. A few minutes later, you’re running out as white as a ghost and saying you want to get away from your ex. After he wanted to fire you today and you wanting to quit…I knew you two had history.”
“He wanted to fire you? What a jerk,” Alyssa says with disgust. Then softening her tone, she says, “Are you okay seeing him again?”
I nod although my legs are still shaking. I flick a quick glance at Finn. He’s still giving me a death glare. “I’m going to go. You two stay and have fun.”
Tamara taps her hand on the table. “If you really want to go, then go. But we came here tonight to have fun. Are you going to let him run you out of the club? Don’t let him dictate what you do.”
Every time Tamara mentions not letting a man interfere in my decisions, it sparks a fire in my belly. My spine stiffens. Gone are the days I’ll let that happen again. Decision made, I signal to a passing waiter. I say to the girls, “I think we need cocktails.”
“That’s the spirit!” Tamara cheers.
We give the waitress an order of espresso martinis.
While waiting for our drinks to arrive, Tamara says, “Do you want to talk about Finn?”
Do I? What can I tell them? That he was the love of my life, and I threw away that love and broke his heart to marry a man for money? I’ve only recently met Tamara and Alyssa, and although we’ve instantly clicked, I can’t tell them the full story. The shame cuts too deep.
I run my finger along the seam of the table. “We dated a few years ago. It ended badly. Finn is still angry and hasn’t forgiven me.” How could he? I stomped all over his love.
“He may not have forgiven you, but he hasn’t taken his eyes off you,” Tamara says. “What happened while you were at the bathroom?”
I shift in my seat. Our cocktails arrive, and I wait for the waiter to leave. What happened? Finn kissed me like no time had passed. Like love still beat between us. No, that isn’t completely true. The kiss was different. Deeper. Harder. Punishing.
I clear my throat. “Nothing much,” I lie. “He wanted to know why I was working at Alessi’s, and he wants me to quit.”
“In my office today, Finn called you Harper Richardson. Is your late husband Derek Richardson, the owner of Black Casino?”
I hate the word husband. We coexisted in the same house. That’s all. I was called to stand by his side occasionally. But he was never a husband. “Yes.”
“Finn looked like he’d swallowed razor blades when he mentioned your married name. I’m guessing he wasn’t a fan of the marriage.”
I twist the stem of the cocktail glass between my fingers. “Finn wasn’t happy when I got married.” That was an understatement if ever I heard one.
“Finn is one of the nicest guys I know. Hopefully, he’ll cool down and stop telling you to quit your job.”
“I’m not sure he’ll ever ‘cool down’, but I’m not going to quit. I need this job. Even if it means I have to put up with Finn’s bad mood.” I shrug my shoulders.
Alyssa drops her elbows on the table and props her chin in her hands. “We’re supposed to be out having fun, not talking about depressing shit. We need another cocktail!”
Two cocktails, three vodka cranberry shots, and a dance marathon later, we stumble off the dance floor. My feet are throbbing and my head’s spinning slightly. The last time I had this much to drink was at my wedding. I tried drowning out the day and what my future looked like with alcohol. It didn’t change anything, just left me with a bitch of a headache.
