Page 44 of Rivals Next Door

I blinked and returned my attention to Lila. Her eyebrows were puckered and her lower lip protruded. Aw hell, I was pissing off my date. We definitely weren’t going to have hot sex after this. It hit me that I didn’t want to. I hadn’t had the desire to touch another woman since I saw Olivia again. Fuck me. Maybe hopeless infatuationitis was a real thing…

“Did you hear anything I said?” Lila asked hotly.

“Uh…” I blew out a breath. “I’m sorry, no.”

“I was saying the food here is great. I’d love to come back soon…”

I glanced at her as I suppressed a sigh. This was why I stopped seeing her the first time around. Lila kept getting attached when I made it clear what I wanted. No-strings-attached fun. I didn’t bother to respond because I noticed how Olivia kept smoothing her hair. She’d done it more than ten times since I’d been watching her and her date. That meant she was nervous as hell and barely keeping it together. I hated how well I knew her.

From her profile and stiff posture, she seemed distressed. Just what was that guy saying to her? And why did I care? Nevertheless, that gut instinct I had about danger, which was cultivated from living in a dodgy trailer park in the capital of muggings and murder, was going haywire.

“So you’re going to ignore what I just said?” Lila fumed. “God, Alex, you haven’t changed one bit. You’re still an emotionally unavailable jerk.”

I lifted an eyebrow as I subtly positioned my phone and zoomed in to take a snapshot of Olivia's date. “Lila, if you’re trying to hurt my feelings, you’re wasting your time.”

“I know,” she said dryly. “It’s a good thing you’re incredible in bed. You’d better make up for this disaster of a date later.”

I grunted my amusement. “If I’m such a jerk, why did you agree to this date? I mean, I ignored you for months and you happily agreed to dinner when I called.”

Genuinely interested, I took my eyes off Olivia for a moment as I waited for Lila’s answer.

She watched me through narrowed eyes as she sipped from her glass. “Honestly?”

I nodded. “Honestly.”

“You’re incredibly generous, Alex. I’m sure half the women in this city know that… I enjoy your extravagant gifts.”

“Mhmm,” I hummed. Women loved it when I pulled out my black card.

“But I also see something underneath your devilish smile and rakish ways. It’s not just the money and amazing sex. You’re a good guy… incredibly sweet sometimes. But you hide that side of you so well. I wonder what happened to make you stop being that guy…”

I gawked at Lila. Since when was she so deep? She mostly giggled and batted her eyelashes. However, I guess that was her trying to appease me. I didn’t know why some women thought they had to do that…

I swallowed hard, trying to hide that she’d hit a nerve. To distract myself from the cauldron of emotions and bad memories being stirred up, I sent the picture I’d taken of Olivia’s date, a.k.a Scarface, to my most trusted employee and protege.

Need identification pronto. It’s an emergency.

My text got an immediate response. You got it.

I put my phone in my breast pocket and waited. It wasn’t my habit to invade anyone’s privacy but that bad feeling I had mounted the longer I watched Olivia’s behavior with that man.

“Well?” Lila prompted. “Are you going to tell me what happened?”

I snorted. “Maybe you’re wrong, Lila. Maybe I’m just a jerk and that’s all there is to me.”

She quirked an eyebrow and then our deeper-than-usual conversation ended. “Maybe, but it doesn’t matter. I know the drill. After dinner, you’ll take me to some hotel, blow my mind in bed, and not call me back.” She sighed. “At least I’ll get a nice gift out of this. What will it be this time, Alex? An insanely expensive necklace from Tiffany’s? Another Louis Vuitton dress or purse?”

Her tone was half-mocking, half-resigned, and it struck a chord. Shit, Lila was on a roll tonight. I remained silent as I pondered her words. A feeling of unease washed over me. Many of my relationships had a transactional nature and that was sad. Suddenly, I felt like a stranger in my body because the person I’d been for a decade wasn’t really me…

The vibration of my phone halted my spinning mind. I pulled it out to see the result of the search on Olivia’s companion. My blood ran cold, and a chill went up my spine. There was no way that Olivia was dating a man with a rap sheet that long. I forgot all about the emotional reckoning that almost took place when Olivia and the criminal got up.

They didn’t walk directly past my table this time. I was sure it was deliberate on Olivia’s part because I knew she had seen me earlier.

“Lila… I’m sorry,” I said.

I wasn’t even sure what I was apologizing for. I suppose for the fact that I was about to rudely and abruptly end our date or because it seemed I had hurt her over the course of our… fling, which wasn’t my intention.

“I have to go, but you can stay and enjoy dessert.” I signaled the waiter.

---