Page 27 of Her Devil

Didn’t notice.

She only saw me.

The smile that stretches my face is unintentional but victorious.

Of course she recognised Jacob the next morning, he looks just like me, slightly different dress sense, and personality wise we’re quite different, but she wouldn’t know that. Not yet.

“Well, I guess that makes sense. No wonder you were pissed off last night.” She barks out a laugh, her surprise showing.

Suddenly, all the pieces are falling into place for her, and my confusion and hesitation make sense. I’m not as outgoing as he is, so him chatting with her that next day wouldn’t have been awkward, but being called your brother’s name is obviously a complete turnoff.

“It’s fine, don’t worry about it,” I say, just glad we managed to get it sorted out and confirm the interest is there. Not that I had any concerns, not really.

“The split lip didn’t give it away?” Jacob asks, pointing to the offending article, the shadow of bruising still on his face.

She obviously doesn’t know anything about the fights at the weekend, and whilst he did better in the second round, he still has the bruises and marks to show for it. I’m not sure how I’d have handled it had that gone differently, I was already pretty strung out after Leo knocked him out.

“Apparently not.” She shrugs, an incredulous laugh falling from her like she can’t believe she missed the differences, looking from me to Jacob and back again, her look far more flirtatious than I think she means to be.

“Well, now you know there’s two of us and you don’t have anywhere else to be, does that mean you’ve got time to grab a coffee?” I ask. “To make it up to me, of course.”

She quiets, one eyebrow raising.

“Hey, you were the one that thought I was someone else,” I counter.

Her dark eyes connect with mine, a smile starting to peek at the corner of her lips. “Fine,” she agrees, looking up at me through thick dark lashes. “But we’re not going to that godawful tea shop.”

“I would never,” I counter with a triumphant grin.

“And what about us getting back? You’re driving,” Jacob comments as Emmerson rounds the corner.

“You’ll be fine. It’s not that far,” I say, conscious this might be a now-or-never kind of opportunity.

“Really?” He smiles, shaking his head. “Better haul ass then.”

He pushes the two of us towards the car, heading towards Emmerson to cut him off before he has the chance to interrupt.

“We can just take mine, leave yours for your brother,” Ivy offers.

“There’s no way on God’s green earth I’m going to let you drive me anywhere, sugar.” The lights flash as I unlock the car. “Jump in.”

Opening the door for her, she giggles, dropping her bag into the footwell whilst looking over her shoulder. Emmerson’s glower can be felt from over here as he marches in our direction as I run around, jumping in and starting the engine before peeling out of the car park. He’s barely a dozen steps behind us when he gives up, his irritated glare following us long after it should.

“I’m gonna pay for that when I get back, I can tell.”

“Probably.” She smiles. “So, where are you taking me?”

“You’ll find out when we get there, it’s a surprise.”

“A surprise, huh?” she ponders thoughtfully. “You guys must have been here a while already if you know places to take me for a surprise.” She smiles, looking out of the window as we pass through the quiet country streets.

“About two weeks, yeah,” I agree. “One of our flatmates has lived locally his whole life and he was kind enough to share some of his favourite spots with us. And, to be fair, there aren’t that many places around here, it’s kind of hard to miss. See…”

We pull off the main road into the one-and-only industrial area nearby. It’s not fancy, there are no branded coffee and takeout joints here, but it’s worth the short trip. Ivy fires off a quick photograph to her friend, “For safety, obviously,” she confirms with a smile as we jump from the car and cross the car park.Smart girl.

Dark roast permeates the air as I push open the door, holding it as she slides through the gap. Distracted, I practically walk into the counter, the sway of her hips far more interesting as she meanders the room, taking everything in.

“I’ll have a double shot Americano. Ivy, what’s your poison?” I call, getting her attention.

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