“Eva, you are successful on your own merits. I get why you’re concerned, but you can’t do anything about what people might think. It’s obvious Zane really likes you, and you’re making yourself crazy right now.”
“How is it obvious he likes me?”
Sarah threw her hands up in the air, vaguely gesturing in the direction of him and Mara. “Every chance he gets, he’s staring at you. If you’re worried, he’s already walked away from her.”
My head whipped in that direction so fast, I could’ve given myself whiplash. Sarah chuckled. “Whatever you do, you need to calm down and just let this be what it is.”
Looking back at her, I willed my cheeks to cool. “What do you mean?”
“I know you. This isn’t a casual thing for you. As far as I can tell, it’s not for Zane either. Unless you don’t plan to ever date, you might as well figure out how you’re going to handle things like feelings.” My friend’s eyes were warm and understanding, and my heart thumped erratically.
I fiddled with the bracelet on my wrist, twisting it in circles. “I didn’t plan to date anyone who was involved in the same business,” I finally mumbled in reply.
Sarah gaped at me. “How are you going to meet anyone?”
“You’re the one who signed me up for that stupid dating app. That could’ve worked out if I hadn’t been matched with an asshole,” I said tartly, finally feeling like I could throw a zinger her way about my disastrous date with Chad.
My zinger went nowhere. Sarah twisted her lips and rolled her eyes. “Good thing you went on that date even if it was a disaster. You ran into Zane because of that date.”
I glared at her. Glancing at my watch, I said, “I’m going home. Shall we catch a ride together?”
“Sure. I’ll grab our coats,” she offered. “Why don’t you go ahead and see if you can get a car outside?”
I tapped open my car service app and entered a ride. Sarah lived only a block away from me. Moments later, I was standing on the sidewalk waiting for Sarah, who had just texted me that she ran into her favorite friends-with-benefits guy. She said she’d be out in a few minutes.
The light drizzle was typical for Seattle on any given day and night throughout the year. I scanned the streets, looking for the red sedan with the license plate listed as our ride on the car service app. As I surveyed the area, my eyes snagged on Zane’s car. I recognized it because I’d ridden in it with some regularity over the past month or so. He was standing beside it with his hand curled around the door handle to the back seat. Freaking Mara was there. She said something to him, and then he opened the door, and she climbed inside.
I panicked, hot jealousy spinning in my stomach and making me feel a little sick. I couldn’t believe he was actually taking her home. I suddenly wondered if she knew George. His George was ridiculously free with affection. Unlike my George, who was more reserved and needed time to get to know someone.
“Fuck, fuck, fuck.” Taking a deep breath, I willfully turned away, relieved when I saw Sarah hurrying down the stairs and across the sidewalk toward me. Just then, my eyes landed on the red sedan pulling up in front of the pick-up area. With a quick scan of the license plate, I knew our ride was here.
We got in the car, and Sarah was blessedly distracted. If she noticed I was out of it and barely paying attention to her, she didn’t comment on it. I was relieved because I was too embarrassed to tell her that the man who she thought really liked me was taking another woman home tonight.
“He’s coming over later,” she said, flashing me a smile as she slipped her phone into her purse.
“Yeah? Are you two going to be more than friends?”
She gave me a silly grin. “I don’t know, but we have fun.”
Sarah was much savvier at navigating the confusing and treacherous waters of dating. I’d never even had a casual relationship that involved sex. I had my high school boyfriend, my college boyfriend, and then nothing until my one date with Chad, and now Zane. Just thinking about the sight of Mara’s glossy blond hair glinting under the streetlights when she leaned over before getting in the car sent my stomach into a sick turn.
Chapter 17
Zane
“Oh, come on, Zane. Just for a little fun,” Mara practically purred.
“I offered you a ride, Mara. Nothing more.”
She actually pouted and let out a little calculated huff. Even that, I surmised, was intended to sound sexy.
Mara was beautiful and sexy. She just didn’t attract me anymore. She’d been a relationship of convenience, though I don’t know if I would even go so far as to call it a relationship. More of an occasional arrangement.
Tonight, I’d been feeling out of sorts the entire evening. I was trying to respect Eva’s request that we not make our relationship public, yet it was driving me nuts. I was also frustrated with myself because trying to keep my distance from her only illuminated how much she meant to me.
Mara couldn’t know it, and I obviously wouldn’t tell her because it would hurt her feelings, but her showing up had highlighted how much I wanted Eva.
Once upon a time, someone like Mara was all I wanted. She was sexy, there were no complications, and she was willing to push boundaries. No woman had ever turned me on the way Eva did. I still wanted to push boundaries with her, but it was private. It was for us.
If I ever took Eva to Club Temptation, it would be for us, and it would be some kind of foreplay. With Mara, the club itself was what I had wanted with her. The exhibition was the allure, but there was no emotion to it. I couldn’t have known that I had needed those kinds of boundless moments because of what else was missing.
When Danny pulled up in front of Mara’s condominium building, she smiled over at me. “Are you sure?” she asked. When her tongue darted out and dragged across her bottom lip, I knew it was calibrated and all for show. She couldn’t know that only deflated me even more. I’d had a taste of Eva—raw, unvarnished, and entirely authentic. She was so refreshing, and I missed her.
“I’m sure, Mara.”
She gave me a considering look. “Are you dating someone? I can’t help but be nosy.”
I held her gaze evenly. “My private life is private.” Turning, I tapped the button to unlock the doors. Danny knew his cue. He was out and opening Mara’s door within seconds.
After she disappeared with a dash through the rain into her condominium building, Danny looked over his shoulder at me. “Where is Miss Eva?”
His tone was conversational and low-key, but I sensed a hint of reproach in it. “Not with me,” I said pointedly. “But not by my choice.”
Danny turned away and smoothly pulled off the curb a moment later. “If it was by her choice, did you try to persuade her otherwise? She’s a smart girl, so she’s going to need persuading.”
“Are you implying I’m not a good bet for her?” I asked, feeling a little defensive even though I was trying to tease.
“Not exactly. However, you do have a reputation. It’s for being a ruthless businessman, and dating beautiful women with whom you never get serious. I don’t even know if you can count what you do as dating. Eva will expect more, and she deserves more.”