Page 15 of Tease Me

He blanched. "Yes, ma'am. Thank you, ma'am."

She sat back, enjoying a blissfully silent drive to the cafe. When he pulled up to the curb, she stepped from the car before Blake could open the door. Through the window, she spotted Natasha already at a table and made her way inside.

"I ordered you a martini." Those were the first words out of her best friend's mouth and Evangeline smiled.

"It's not even ten AM yet."

Tasha shrugged. "When you tell me you've just seen Beau for the first time in four years, I think it calls for a martini—ten AM or not."

As if by magic, their drinks arrived.

"Alright, spill it, Vee."

Despite her reservations about drinking during the day, Evangeline took a mouthful and swallowed. "He turned up atTemptationlast night."

"Just, like, out of the blue?"

She ran her fingers over the stem of the glass. "Yep."

"Well, what did you say to him?" Natasha prompted.

"I didn't say anything; I hit him."

Natasha choked on her drink, spilling some down the front of her blouse. Vee handed her a napkin. "Youhithim? Like, in the face?" she asked, blotting up the liquor.

"I slapped him," Evangeline admitted. "It was a combination of shock and anger, I guess. I saw him and I... reacted."

"What did he do?"

Vee thought back to the look on his face. "I think I caught him by surprise. After I slapped him, I just walked away and hid in my office."

One of Tasha's manicured brows rose. "Stone-cold bitch Evangeline Websterhidin her office. From a boy?"

"Believe me, he isn't a boy anymore," she muttered.

"Huh," Natasha said. "He still looks as good as you remember then?"

Vee swallowed half her martini in one hit. "Better."

Her friend's eyes narrowed slightly before she lifted her gaze, searching for someone. With nothing more than the slight tilt of her chin, a server scurried off to the bar.

"It's ten AM," Vee reiterated.

Natasha gave her a small smile and pulled out her phone. "And I am canceling the rest of my day."

Vee lunged across the table, trying to grab the iPhone from her hands. "No! I'm not a fucking basket case because... because..."

"The love of your life just waltzed back into it? Ah, yes, you are. I never take a day off, and my boss has been badgering me to take a break."

"Please don’t."

Natasha's warm eyes found her face, her features softening. "Okay," she submitted. "But only because you never say please unless you really mean it."

Vee let out a breath. "Thank you."

"I still want to know every detail of what happened. Like, what exactly happened four years ago with you two."

"You know everything," she told her. "One day, we're desperately and stupidly in love... then the next,poof,he's gone.”

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