“You didn’t see what he was like this past week, Havana,” Bree cut in. “It was obvious that being away from you doesn’t work well for him. Like at all.”
Elle nodded. “I truly think he’ll make the jump at some point and offer you what you want, Havana. My big fear is that, by then, you’ll have decided it’s too little too late.”
“You can tell us that it’s not our business if you want,” said Bree. “You’d be right, it’s not. But we both worry about Tate. And we want what’s best for him—we think that’s you.”
Havana put down her glass. “I can’t fault you for caring enough about him to want to intervene. But I don’t believe he’ll offer me anything. Even if I had the slightest hope that he would, I wouldn’t be able to exist in a frame of mind where I was open to the idea, because it would only later eviscerate me if I had to watch him commit to someone else.”
“I get it,” said Elle, her smile weak. “I guess it wasn’t fair of us to ask that of you. I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be,” said Havana. “I’m glad he has people looking out for him.”
“My Alex was hesitant to try a relationship with me,” said Bree. “He held back for years; look where we are now. I understand why you can’t let yourself hope that Tate will step up to the plate, but I’m not going to give up hope. Especially since he’s been eye-fucking you pretty much since the moment he walked through the door.”
Aspen looked at Havana. “I’m getting hot under the collar just watching him shoot you those darkly carnal looks, so I can’t imagine what they’re doing to you.”
Oh, they made Havana feel a lot of things. Hot. Nervous. Turned-on. Hunted. But also annoyed, because he didn’t have the right to eye-fuck her like that anymore.
Bailey shook her head in wonder. “Why do so many supremely hot guys seem to have weird-ass exes who’re set on being a pain in the ass?”
“You are one of those weird-ass exes,” said Havana.
Bailey raised her index finger. “Only if the guys have wronged me, so it doesn’t count. Tate has done shit to Ashlynn, but she’s clearly intent on being a problem.”
Aspen flicked a hand. “If Havana doesn’t take care of her, the zombies will.”
Havana sighed. “There is not going to be a zombie apocalypse.”
“I hear you say that, but I also once heard you say you’d never get involved with an Alpha,” said Aspen. “Look what happened there.”
“That’s vastly different from—” Cutting herself off, Havana gave her head a quick shake. “You know what, let’s just move on.”
They all chatted a little more about inconsequential stuff, laughing and joking and ordering more drinks.
“I need to use the bathroom,” Aspen announced at one point.
Not prepared to allow her friend to go alone, Havana stood. “I’ll come with you.” She looked down at Bailey, who seemed deep in thought. “You all right?” Havana asked, tapping the mamba’s shoulder.
Bailey blinked up at her. “Huh? Oh, yeah. I was just wondering if caterpillars actually know what’s gonna happen when they build a cocoon for themselves, or if they’re later like ‘whoa, what’s with the wings and shit?’”
Havana felt her brows inch up slightly. “Um, sorry, can’t help you with that. You coming to the restroom with us?”
“Sure,” said Bailey.
Ignoring the gazes of both Tate and Ashlynn, Havana went to the restroom with her girls. They quickly did their business and then headed back to their booth. Well, Bailey sort of danced her way there while Aspen followed, wolf-whistling. Havana was only a few feet away from the booth when an unwelcome figure slid in front of her. Her devil snarled and jumped to her feet.
“Nice top,” said Ashlynn, a brittle smile on her face.
Havana’s mouth curved. “Thanks.”
“It goes well with your heels.”
“I’d have to agree.” Noticing that her girls were on guard, Havana subtly signaled for them not to intervene. She could deal with this heifer just fine.
“I just wanted to say, well, I heard all about the auctions. God, it’s hard to believe that kind of thing goes on. There are some seriously messed-up people out there. It’s awful that they went after you, but at least it brought the terrible business to the attention of my pride. We Olympus cats won’t let this go, what with you being one of Tate’s tenants. If someone’s under his protection, he takes it very seriously.”
“Yes, I learned that fast,” said Havana, keenly aware that the level of chatter in the space had dramatically lowered. Only the blasting music kept her and Ashlynn’s words from being clear to all those trying to eavesdrop.
“I’m Ashlynn, by the way.” Her false smile shrunk. “But I’m guessing you already know that. Elle no doubt told you plenty about me. I’ll bet none of it was good.”
“I have to admit, no, it wasn’t good.”
“You probably don’t think much of me. You’ll have heard what went down between me and Tate. He thinks I lied to him, but I meant my promises when I made them. I just couldn’t keep them.”
“You could’ve. You chose not to.”
Ashlynn’s face hardened. “Have you found your true mate yet?”
“Not that I’m aware of.”
“The feeling you get when it hits you that they’re yours … it’s indescribable. There’s this compulsion to be around them. It’s so hard to fight. I managed it while Koby was mated to another. But knowing he was in such pain after her death … I couldn’t ignore that.”
“Again, you could’ve. You chose not to. No one put a gun to your head and forced you to leave Tate. You made the decision to do that, and you made it all on your own.”
Ashlynn’s eyes flared. “It’s easy for you to say that because you haven’t found your true mate. But I suppose you’re right. I owe you an apology really, don’t I?”
Havana frowned. “Do you?”
“A few of my pride mates are of the opinion that you care for Tate. If things had been different, he may have tried a relationship with you. But he didn’t, because what I did hurt him so much that he literally closed himself off. So it’s kind of my fault that you don’t have the man you care for. And for that, I’m sorry.” She gave Havana a sympathetic smile. “Don’t feel bad for falling for someone you can’t have. Women fall for Tate all the time, thinking he’ll grow to care for them. He’s easy to love, but his love isn’t easy to win. It never was.”
God, this woman sure was a rambler. “Good of you to own your shit, I guess.”
“I made mistakes, and I know what I lost. I intend to win him back.”
Havana lifted a brow, and her devil narrowed her eyes. “You think you have a shot?”
“Yes, I do. Once he’s got used to me being around again, he’ll settle. He’ll let me in when he’s ready. It gave me hope when I heard he broke things off with you. He might not have acknowledged it to himself yet, but he did that because I’m back and he knows it’s time to break any ties he has with other women.”