Page 70 of Still The One

A gentle tap on my shoulder startles me, causing me to step away from her and turn toward the source of the interruption. A tall, light-haired man stands before us, his gaze fixed solely on Eve.

‘May I cut in?’ he asks politely, gesturing toward her with his hand. His confident presence and piercing stare make it clear that he won’t take no for an answer.

Eve’s eyes blaze with an intense rage as she gazes at the man before her. The air between them crackles with a charged tension, like a storm about to break. So much so, I want to step away but feel like for her sake, I shouldn’t. Their faces twist in familiar contempt. It’s clear they have a history together, one filled with animosity and resentment.

‘I’m not sure she’s up for it,’ I say, but he’s not paying attention to me. His eyes are on Eve.

‘I’ve missed you,’ the man says to Eve, whose brows pinch together with fury. That’s the face of a woman who hasn’t missedhim back. I step closer, holding a hand out to keep the stranger at a distance.

‘Maybe this isn’t a great id?—’

Before I can even finish my sentence, the man falls to his knees in front of me, his hands frantically grasping at his throat as he struggles for air. His eyes bulge with surprise and fear, his body heaving in a desperate attempt to breathe.

I turn to Eve and see her rubbing her fist, a fierce determination in her fiery gaze.

‘Did you just throat-punch him?’ I ask, my voice filled with shock.

‘I did. Ouch, that hurt more than I expected.’ She shakes her hand, attempting to alleviate the pain.

‘My God, Eve!’ the man bellows when he can finally speak, attempting to get to his feet. His voice is strained and desperate, like a wounded animal.

‘Youmissme?’ she hollers, her seething anger seeping through every word. I’ve never seen this side of her. The patrons around us instinctively take a step back, sensing the intensity of their exchange. ‘How about you go choke on a poisonous cock!’

Dang. I stifle a laugh at her choice of words. Thank God she’s never said them to me. They for sure know each other, and not in a great way. I step forward again to help – even though with all my injuries, I may die doing so. She’s worth it. But before I can reach them, a hand on my shoulder pulls me back. Genevieve stands beside me with a half-guilty grin on her face.

‘Don’t,’ she advises, shaking her head. ‘Trust me, she doesn’t need us. He’s earned this, so we’ll wait to step in until just before she kills him.’ She waves a hand at Brady, still behind the bar. He throws a towel over one shoulder and makes his way toward us.

‘What?’ I can’t believe what I’m hearing.

My attention snaps back to Eve as she commands the dance floor, her voice ringing out with a barrage of insults andprofanities directed at the man kneeling before her. The girl hardly ever swears and here she is letting every dirty word that exists loose. The object of her contempt remains frozen in place, one knee pressed to the ground as if he’s about to propose, but his face is twisted in pain; it’s clear he’s already been hurt deeply.

Curiosity and concern tug at me as I turn to Genevieve, needing to know more about this explosive situation.

‘Who is he?’

She takes a casual sip of her beer before answering, ‘I don’t know if she’s mentioned him to you yet, but that is Cayden, her ex-fiancé. I’ll let her tell you the rest because sometimes I share too much and it’s not my story to share.’

My jaw literally drops open. Thank God I backed off the morphine recently because this is a lot of new information all at once. ‘This is Cayden?’

Wow. I knew she was engaged to him but that’s literally all she said before dropping that she didn’t want to talk about it. And judging from the way Cayden’s body language mirrors hers, it’s clear there are still a lot of unresolved emotions between them. My heart aches for whatever pain he put her through.

‘Yep,’ Gen says. ‘The same guy who ripped her heart from her chest and stomped it nearly to death in front of everyone she knows.’

Eve’s voice quivers with a mix of anger and contempt, rising above the pulsing music that fills the room. Her eyes blaze with fury as she addresses her former lover, her words dripping with disdain. ‘And to answer your question,no, I absolutely do not miss you at all because I am happily married to someone way better than you ever were!’ With that declaration, she lifts her cowboy boot-clad foot and forcefully shoves it into his shoulder, sending him sprawling to the ground. ‘I hope she cheats, you bastard!’

Now she’s storming toward me, and I can’t help but feel a twinge of fear. She grabs my bicep in a vice-like grip and pulls me through the crowded club like we are indeed a couple, and I am the ‘someone way better’ she just referred to. I’m torn between feeling proud and scared.

‘What is happening right now?’ I manage to ask as we exit the building and continue walking toward her car at an urgent pace.

‘Nothing is happening,’ she says through gritted teeth, obviously still seething with anger.

I struggle to keep up with her speed as she leads us to her parked car. ‘Injured guy here,’ I remind her.

‘Stop lagging,’ she snaps when I fall a few steps behind. ‘We gotta leave before the police are called.’

‘I’m not exactly in a condition to run from the fuzz right now, Evie.’ Finally, I step in front of her, standing between her and her car. ‘Let’s slow down for a second. Take a breath, Jellybean,’ I suggest gently, placing a hand on her shoulder.

Reluctantly, she closes her eyes and inhales deeply, exhaling slowly.

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