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“I get it,” I interrupted. “And you’re right. Just let her know that I’ll be out of her way in the next couple of weeks. I’ll make it happen.”
“Thank you. I’ll get things in motion in the morning.”
I nodded. It was time. I needed to stand on my own two feet again.
Chapter Three
SHANNEN
An hour later, CeCe had outlined our entire next evening out. It included a couple of our other colleagues, because honestly, I didn’t know anyone aside from CeCe very well. She said we would all go out for an early dinner, some drinks, and then to a club. Not a raucous one, though. One of those retro types that had music from all eras to suit the varying ages of our workmates.
It had been so long since I’d had that kind of fun. Not since my university days which, admittedly, weren’t that long ago. For the last couple of years since I’d graduated, I’d been doing some supply teaching here and there, so I hadn’t really formed attachments to anyone in my workplaces to go out and have a good time with.
While CeCe went to get another round of drinks, I sat thinking about how fortunate I was to finally have everything I wanted. Jade, my best friend, thought I was deranged for wanting a career instead of a rich husband and a life of leisure, but the truth was, I didn’t really fit into that world anymore. If I ever had. I’d never found the ‘ladies who lunch’ lifestyle particularly appealing, and if I wasn’t going to go down that route, I was expected to become something noteworthy like a lawyer or CEO of a multi-million-pound company. Teaching wasn’t exactly a dead-end career, but my choice of my local primary school in Exeter instead of a fancy private school was just another way I ‘rebelled against my roots,’ according to her.
It wasn’t something I did deliberately. I didn’t set out to take my life down a different road, but my parents had always encouraged me to make my own choices, so I did. Lucky for me, they weren’t so snooty that they thought I’d let them down.
“Mind if I join you?”
My blood seemed to stall in my body at the gentle yet slightly gravelly tone coming from behind me. As I turned my head, I was both pleased and terrified to see it was him. The stranger I’d been captivated by earlier. My stomach churned like crazy at the sight of him. He was good-looking from a distance, but close-up? Holy smokes.
When he smiled at me, his face completely transformed. The arrogance he’d displayed earlier vanished, replaced by the kind of grin even a nun would have trouble resisting.
“Well, I… I’m here with a friend, but-”
He slid into the seat beside me, ignoring my idiotic stutter. The faint aroma from his leather jacket crept into my nostrils, and I tried hard not to breathe it in. He was close enough to let me know he hadn’t come over simply to ask the time, but far enough away that I didn’t feel uncomfortable. His perfect judgement was both reassuring and slightly frightening. This was a man who knew how to snag a woman.
“Relax,” he said. “I don’t bite.”
“Unless I ask nicely?”
His smile widened, making my stomach flip. “Should have known a girl like you would have heard every line in the book.”
“A girl like me?” I asked with a raised brow. He placed his beer bottle on the table in front of him. I hadn’t even noticed it before, my eyes so transfixed on his mouth.
The slow nod he gave while his eyes explored my face with intensity sent another ripple of excitement shooting through my veins. “Yeah. A girl like you. Beautiful. Sexy.”
I needed a bucket of cold water thrown over me before I spontaneously combusted, leaving behind nothing but a cloud of dust, never having experienced his full lips on my skin.
Wow. It had been a while since I’d had sex. I’d been single for well over a year, and I wasn’t the one-night type. Even so, no man had ever set my foo-foo on high alert like this.
I’d slipped into a daze, and he had my full attention, even though a voice in my head screamed for me to back away slowly. Talking to this guy could never lead to anything good. Well, maybe one good thing before he disappeared and left me feeling like an idiot for getting sucked in.
Nope. Sensible Shannen did not get sucked in by hot men. Sensible Shannen’s boyfriends were vetted by her parents, they always had respectable careers, and they wore suits to work. I doubted the man in front of me even owned a suit.
Although, if he did, he’d look incredible.
“Hey,” CeCe said from behind me, placing a fresh drink on the table for me. “I just remembered, I need to be up early in the morning for… to… I gotta do a thing. So, I should go.”
My heart plummeted, then rose back up and hammered furiously against my chest. I spun around on my stool and mouthed, “Don’t leave me with him!”
“Yeah,” she went on as if nothing had happened. “It slipped my mind. I’m so sorry, but stay. Finish your drink.”
I couldn’t make my mouth move, and as CeCe leaned down to pick up her bag, she pulled me into a hug and whispered in my ear, “Talk to him. Live a little!”
Before I could stop her, she gave a small wave, a wink, and sashayed out of the pub.
Oh, hell.
