Finally, the traffic lights changed, but there were more to contend with on my way to Evan, and it seemed to take an eternity to get to George IV Bridge. Eventually, I drove forward, my eyes searching the pavement filled with men and women dressed to the nines.
Then, there, not far from Frankenstein’s, I saw Evan crouched near a barely conscious blond propped against the building behind them. I hit my indicator and swung the car beside them, even though it was illegal to park there. I couldn’t give a fuck.
Hurrying out of the car, I approached Evan, who wore a long wool coat and scarf.
“Evan.”
Her head whipped in my direction, and I blinked rapidly at the vision before me.
She usually wore her dark hair in a no-nonsense ponytail at work. Now it fell in long, silky waves around her face, and she had done something with her makeup that made her look older and more mysterious. Her eyes, which were naturally beautiful, were fucking stunning. Striking.
“Reid?” Her lips parted in surprise. “What are you doing here?”
“Pat called. He’s in Aberdeen.”
“I know. I thought he’d call Dad.”
“I’m closer.” I lowered to my haunches beside her, my attention moving to the blond woman. Her eyelids sat heavy and low as she peered up at me, expression slack and pale. “How is she?”
“Cass has thrown up twice. I’ve given her as much water as she’ll take.” Evan shook a half-filled bottle, her expression strained with worry. “None of the damn taxi drivers would take her in this mess. They said I needed to phone an ambulance. But she’s just wasted.”
I nodded and stood, only to bend down and haul her friend up into my arms. She was dressed in an oversized faux fur jacket that shifted with the movement, blinding me. Evan yanked the jacket down into place so I could see where I was going. Cass drunkenly looped her arms around my neck while I gazed down at Evan.
“Get the back-passenger door of the car,” I directed.
She threw me a look of pure hero worship before rushing across the pavement to my vehicle.
Lowering Cass into the back seat took a little more finesse than one might think. We ignored drunken shouts from young men walking past and eventually slid Cass along the back bench.
“What if she throws up in your car?” Evan asked, worrying her bottom lip with her teeth.
“It’ll clean.”
“It’s a Jaguar.”
“It’ll clean,” I repeated. “Get in before you freeze.”
“I’m wearing a coat,” she muttered, but hurried to jump into the passenger seat.
It was only when we drove away that I relaxed.
“It was great of you to pick us up. I never let my phone die when I’m going anywhere, but some stupid app must have been running on it, eating up my battery.”
I shot her a quick look. “What happened tonight?”
“Cass broke up with her boyfriend. They’ve been together three years. He took a job in London, and Cass didn’t want to move there, so she ended things. Some girls we went to uni with decided she needed a Christmas night out. They bought her shots and she kept flinging them back. Within an hour, she was blootered.” Evan’s tone was angry. “Then the lot of them left me. Said they were going clubbing and I could either put Cass in a cab home and come with them, or deal with her.”
“Very nice.”
“Aye, bloody charming.” Evan glanced over her shoulder at Cass. “She’ll be okay. Though it’ll be one helluva hangover in the morning.”
“Why didn’t you just go with them?” I asked, though I already knew the answer.
“One: She’s my best friend and I’m worried about her. I want to stay with her to make sure she doesn’t choke on her own vomit. And two: The thought of being squished onto a crowded dance floor while strange men try to press up against me isn’t my idea of a good time, believe it or not. I’ve been told on more than one occasion that I’m, and I quote, ‘a boring old fart.’” Her tone was only slightly amused. There was a hint of hurt there.
“Who said that?”
“Friends. A guy I started dating not long after Luca. It didn’t last long. He just wanted to go out on the lash every weekend, preferably without me.”
“You’re not boring just because getting pissed isn’t your idea of fun,” I replied dryly.
Who were these fuckers she was friends with?
“You’re just saying that because you’re thirty-five and past all that.”
I frowned at the reminder of our age difference. “I was never really about that, even at your age. Pat, the lads and I, did our fair share of drinking when we were students, but clubbing was not my thing. We’d go to a pub or hang out at the dorms.”
“How did you pick up girls, then?” she asked cheekily.
I threw her a cocky grin. “Before, sometimes during, and after classes. At the student union bar. The library—”
“Okay, okay, okay.” She held up a hand. “You got laid a lot at uni. Very good.”
It was on the tip of my tongue to tease her and ask her if she was jealous. I quelled the instinct.
There was a frown in Evan’s voice when she asked, “Why are we going the wrong way?”
“My place is closer. We can take care of Cass. There’s room for you both to crash there.”
“Won’t we be intruding?”
“Why would you be intruding?”
“Well, I’ve never been to your place before. I assumed it was because you’re so private.”
I was a private man, but not so much I didn’t want Evan to see my space.
Whatever thoughts I had about putting distance between us had flown out the window as soon as I had her in proximity. I wanted to talk with her. Be near her.
It didn’t take long to pull up to my apartment building in Newhaven. I lived in one of the penthouse apartments and had a fantastic view over the Firth of Forth estuary.
Parked in my private spot, I got out and rounded the car to get Cass. She mumbled in my arms as Evan took my keys and led the way. The reception was closed at this time of night, so all was quiet as we made our way through the lobby and onto the elevator.
“Thanks again for this,” Evan said as the lift climbed upward. She stared up at me with adoring, big dark eyes. I wanted to ask her how she planned on repaying me, making it clear by my tone that I’d prefer sexual favors.
I stifled that urge too.
We got Cass into my flat. The main living space was large and open plan with a bank of windows that overlooked the water. Together we got Cass onto one end of the oversized sectional in the middle of the sitting area.
“I’ll get water.” I turned, shrugging out of my jacket and placing it over a bar stool at my island. I collected water for Evan and Cass from my fridge.
When I returned to the ladies, Cass was out cold, her face pressed to the back of the sectional. Evan had removed her own coat and scarf and stood from sitting at Cass’s hip.
My eyes lowered, and I felt my hot blood travel south.
I’d never seen Evan wear anything so daring.
But then I guessed I didn’t know everything about her.
The red velvet dress was perfect to celebrate Christmas. But it wasn’t the kind of dress she could wear at her family Christmas get-together, that was for damn sure. The dress had long sleeves, but that was where any demureness ended. It had an exaggerated V-neck that Evan might have assumed wasn’t overtly sexy because she was so small breasted. She’d be wrong. The hemline hit her mid-thigh, and the velvet clasped tightly to the curves of her hips. For such a small woman, she had great fucking legs. Strong thighs, shapely calves, slim ankles.