Page 35 of Unmasked

And now, knowing how sweet she tasted...

“Your brand of fun is a little too over the top for my tastes.” He nodded to the bartender so he could order a drink. Something stiff, which seemed fitting. The quicker he downed it, the quicker he could leave. “Why don’t you call it a night? I’ll get you a cab.”

Lainey reached for his wrist, her fingers burning him as she angled his watch toward her. “It’s only gone eleven—the night is young.”

“Don’t underestimate the value of sleep.”

Bloody hell, he sounded like an old man—and compared to her, he was. The extra decade had made him jaded, untrusting. And she was like a ray of fucking sunshine, so happy and optimistic it terrified him.

“I’ll sleep when I’m dead,” she replied with a wink.

His scotch arrived and Damian snatched it up, sending a good portion of it down his throat in one gulp. The warmth burned pleasantly in his chest.

“I’m leaving soon,” she said, suddenly.

“Good,” he said. “I want you to text me when you get home, though.”

“No, I mean leaving. As in, the country.” She ordered another drink, this time a glass of champagne. “For good...probably.”

“Probably?”

She looked up at him. “Hopefully.”

The word socked him in the chest. A few weeks ago he would have sent her off with a wave, wished her the best. But now...things were different. “Why?”

“I’ve got a job in London, doing social media for a celebrity stylist.” She smiled, but not happily. “I felt like it was time for a change of scenery.”

“Congratulations.” The word stuck in the back of his throat like cactus prickles. He tried to swallow but found a lump there. “Have you told Corinna and Imogen?”

She nodded. “Yeah. I leave the week after next.”

He should have been breathing a sigh of relief—the source of his temptation would soon be gone. But it felt like something had shifted beneath his feet, unsettling him. Throwing him off balance, because what he should have felt in no way described the outcry in his head.

“That’s not long.”

She shook her head. “Nope.” When her drink arrived, she raised it to his. “Here’s to new beginnings.”

“And old friends.”

She sipped, a strange expression passing over her face. “Are we friends? I always thought you saw me as some annoying little sister type.”

“Those two things aren’t mutually exclusive.”

She swatted him. “So you do think I’m annoying?”

“Well, you are the girl who insisted on telling everyone in which order they could open their Christmas presents.”

He remembered it vividly—Lainey as a loudmouthed ten-year-old telling him and his friends who could go first for their Bad Santa present swap. She hadn’t even been invited to the event. But along with Corinna and Imogen, she’d crashed into his family’s lounge room and demanded to be part of the festivities.

“Well, I never had any of my own siblings to boss around.” She grinned. “You were the next best thing.”

“I’ll miss you,” he said, the words flying out before he could stop them.

She stared at him, her eyes intense and focused. Something flickered there—a hint of emotion? Not positive. But Lainey was as good at hiding her weak points as he was.

“I’ll miss you, too,” she said.

“You’re not planning to come back?”

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