Page 33 of Such A Bad Girl

“Maybe we weren’t, once upon a time. But we are now.”

“I’m not sure I agree.”

“Money is money, Everleigh. Stop putting it — and the people who have it — on a pedestal. It’s just a tool. It doesn’t make you a good person, either way.”

“My mother says, ‘hold my beer’?” I joked. My mom was an awful person, and her having money or not having it hadn’t changed that one bit.

“Fair enough,” he laughed.

It felt so good to laugh with him, to sit across the table from him in a public place like I was a normal person, like we were a normal couple, on a normal date.

But we were anything but that. We weren’t a couple, even if his mouth had been on mine twenty-four hours ago.

His eyes softened as he looked over at me. I wanted to ask what he was thinking, but I didn’t. I was afraid it wasn’t the same thing I was thinking and if it wasn’t, then I didn’t want to know.

“Thank you for your help, again,” I said.

“You’re welcome. I’ll keep you posted,” he said, reaching over and squeezing my hand. I looked down at his fingers covering mine, and warmth spread through my body like a warm hug. When he pulled away, all I felt was the coldness of his absence.

I didn’t know exactly how, but I was determined to get close to him again. But once I did, then what? Would there ever be a future for us?

If West was out of the picture, if Theo didn’t have sex with a different woman every night in the temple, if our past wasn’t so riddled with secrets?

It was painful to think about. So many what-ifs…

“Remember to be careful, Ev. You’re still recognizable, even in that get-up.”

“Charlie’s with me.” I nodded in the direction of my bodyguard.

“I know.” He nodded over at Charlie. “Still. There are two dudes behind you right now that have been staring you down for the last five minutes. I’m pretty sure they’re calling TMZ as we speak.”

“Fuck, really?”

“Yeah, babe,” he said. “Time to go.”

“Alright, fine. Thanks for meeting me.”

“Maybe next time we can meet in the privacy of my office? Or your house? Or mine?”

I scoffed, shaking my head, biting my lip at the memory of the last time we were in a room alone. I knew he was thinking about it, too. His eyes darted down to my lips for an instant before a slow smile stretched across his face.

“I thought you said that wasn’t going to happen again,” I reminded him. I wasn’t about to let him pretend it had never happened.

“I just meant so we could talk out of the sight of prying eyes.”

“Talk?” I asked, teasingly.

He raised a brow and took a deep breath, his pupils dilating as he looked over at me. “We can’t, Ev.”

“Why not?” I retorted. I knew full well what his answer would be, but I asked anyway.

“West would kill me.”

“Maybe he’d get used to the idea,” I offered.

“Not before he ripped my head off. You know I’m right.”

“Yeah, I know,” I replied, biting my lip. “It doesn’t mean I’m not thinking about it.”

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