She just laughs and walks away to go mingle with the many guests already gathered.
I steel myself and then turn to look at Jake again. He’s on the opposite side of the crowded room, but then he sets down his glass and starts crossing the center of the venue toward me. My heart starts racing, and I have to remind myself that I now hate him. I do. I hate him. I don’t want a man that’s not going to cherish me—who’s going to sleep around with other women to make himself feel good when we’ve had a fight. No, sir, I do not like this man anymore.
I don’t like his dimples when he smiles.
I don’t like his tousled hair.
I don’t like the way his muscles fill out that suit.
Okay, I like all of those things, but those are just physical attributes. And if you’ve ever visited a nursing home, you know that beauty fades, my friends.
I decide that Jake is not going to have all of the upper hand here, so I lift the front hem of my floor-length evening gown and start walking to meet him in the middle. His eyes scan over me as we approach each other, and I can see that he likes the way my black satin gown is clinging to my curves. He hasn’t even seen the plunging back yet.
Eat your heart out, Jakey.
We stop right in front of each other in the center of the room, but Jake doesn’t make a move to touch me. Smart. He can probably read the murderous scowl on my face and knows I’ll bite if he does.
“You look…”—his eyes rush over me again—“gorgeous.”
Right. His flattery is not going to work on me. I cut right to the chase. “Why are you here?”
“I’m your date.”
“You most certainly are not my date. Not anymore. Not after…last night.” Those last two words come out in a whisper because I know my voice will shake if I try to say it at my normal volume.
Jake’s shoulders sink a little. “Evie. I’ve been trying to call you all day. I’m so sorry. Can we go somewhere and talk?”
I shake my head. I don’t want to hear anything he has to say. You slept with another woman last night. I saw her with my own eyes. That told me everything I needed to know. “I’m busy tonight, and I need to focus on the event.”
His lips press together, and he nods slowly. “Of course. I understand. Maybe after?”
I look away from him toward the tables where vendors are set up. A few couples are starting to slow dance near us, and everyone else is beginning to mill around the room and place their bids on various vendors’ items and services. We have a live string quartet playing in the corner, a cocktail bar of which all proceeds go directly to Southern Service Paws, and later in the night, there will be a sit-down dinner. All in all, everything is going well, and I’m hopeful that it will be a success.
“I won’t have time,” I say, giving Jake my best cold shoulder. “If you’ll excuse me, I see a few people I need to speak to.”
Jake catches my arm before I walk away, and I wish so badly that my whole body didn’t hum from his touch. When I turn my head, I find him so close to me that I have to tip my chin up, up, up to look into his eyes.
He smiles, and one of those dang dimples surfaces. “I’m not giving up on us, Evie. And I plan on trying to prove to you every single day from here on out just how sorry I am.”
I want to lean into him. I want to lift up on my toes and press warm kisses up his neck all the way to his mouth. But I don’t…because I’m sorry isn’t going to fix what he did last night.
I rip my arm from his grasp and turn away from Jake and go to the far end of the room to get myself a drink. I’m going to need it if I have to get through a whole night with Jake’s gaze following me around like it is now.
For the next hour, I try to pretend that Jake doesn’t exist. I laugh too loudly with guests, I check in on all the vendors and am pleased to see that every clipboard is nearly full with bids, and I field about a thousand questions about our company and Charlie who has been dutifully standing at my side all night.
I feel exhausted from keeping up this fake smile, and I just need a minute to myself to let my mask fall off. I look down at Charlie, and I can tell that he is exhausted, too, so I do something that I very rarely do, and I go hand off his leash to Joanna who is sitting at a table with Gary and a few other guests. I’m going to let him have a five-minute break to lay at Joanna’s feet while I go get some air, and then he and I will face the rest of the night together.
I open the main doors and let the fresh air wrap around me and fill my lungs. I wish it were cooler, but it’s the middle of July, and even with the sun down, it’s still a balmy 80 degrees out here. I move toward the side of the building and cross my arms, staring at nothing in particular.
My thoughts wander to Jake, and I hate that I have to tell him later that I don’t want to see him anymore. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to trust him again. And yes, I know that, technically, we were both keeping it casual and seeing other people, but what Jake did was sleazy. What he did wasn’t dating other people. It was nothing more than booty-calling some random woman after my parents bruised his ego.
I’m pulled from my thoughts when a warm hand suddenly lands on my lower back. I turn, thinking I’ll meet Jake’s eyes, when instead, I’m assaulted by Tyler’s devilish smirk.
“Ugh,” I say, pulling away from him. “Not you again! I thought I made myself clear that you were not invited tonight.”
“Don’t be that way, Eves.” He starts advancing toward me until he has me backed up against the wall of the building. His hands move to rest on my hips, and I try to push him away, but he doesn’t budge.
“Get off of me, Tyler!” I say, feeling more annoyed than frightened. Although he’s being a prick right now, I know he’s not going to force anything more than a kiss.
“Just give me one chance to show you what you’re missing.” He’s dipping his head down while I’m still trying to squirm out of his grasp and away from his lethal-potency cologne.
“Gross. No. Get off of me or—”
Suddenly, Tyler takes two falling steps backwards, and I realize that he’s been grabbed from behind and physically peeled off of me. Jake is holding Tyler by the back of his suit, and the look on his face says everything: I’m going to knock you out. And he does. Jake punches Tyler square in the jaw so hard that Tyler falls back onto the ground.
Jake hovers over him like a victor from a Rocky film. “Don’t ever touch her without her consent again. Do you understand me?” Tyler just stares up at Jake, stunned and holding his face. “This is the last time you will ever try to pursue Evie. She’s made it perfectly clear that she doesn’t want you anywhere near her, and from now on, you will respect her wishes.”
Huh. I had no idea that I had a thing for hot guys going all bodyguard on me…but yeah, it’s a thing, apparently.
Usually, this is where Tyler would say something sarcastic in reply, but he rubs his jaw and looks up at Jake instead and nods. It makes me think I should have punched Tyler myself a long time ago.
“Not good enough. Let me hear you say it along with an apology,” says Jake in such a stern voice that it sends a chill down my spine.
Tyler’s eyes meet mine, and I can see that he’d rather die than apologize to me, but he does it anyway. “I’m sorry, Evie. It won’t happen again.”