“I’m fine.” Crossing my arms, I nod toward David, who is stomping away through the crowd. “I can take care of myself. You didn’t need to do that.” I work to keep my words from running all together into one incoherent strand of syllables.
Begrudgingly, I take in Ethan. It’s hard not to notice how mouthwatering he looks in dark jeans and a button-up. I’ve never seen him in anything other than old t-shirts.He must’ve made an effort to look good tonight. Dick.
I glance away, not wanting him to see that I’m hurt. Come Monday morning when I’m taking care of his kids, I can pretend I’m cool, but right now, I still feel the hot sting of rejection.
Ethan gently lifts my chin so I’m forced to look into his eyes. “Did you want him touching you?”
Reluctantly, I shake my head, but I have to close my eyes when the room tilts one way and then the other.
He leans closer. “You sure you’re okay?”
Those magnetic blue eyes stare down at me.Why does he have to have such beautiful eyes?
My words come out too quickly for me to temper the anger in my voice. “I’m great. You can go back to your date.” I barely hold in a wince at how whiny I sound, but it’s hard to sound smart when I’m buzzed.
Slowly, his hands lift to my shoulders, but he backs away until he can make eye contact. “You think I’m on a date?”
Reallllly?He wants to play games? I barely hold in a hiccup.
“Aren’t you? Isn’t that why you’re here?” I motion toward him. “Why you’re dressed up?”
His eyes crinkle, like he’s keeping in a smile, before his attention dips down my body, but I can’t hear what he says because the music is too loud.
Ignoring the way I heat under his perusal, I shrug out of his hold. “By the way, it’s pretty rude to check out other girls when you’re here with…with…”God, what’s her name?“With Sandra.”That’s it!“Maybe you should find her.”
Except the thought of it enrages me, and I can’t help but bite out the next words, which I punctuate by poking his chest. “For the record, I’m not gonna fuck you like a side piece while you date other women. If that’s what you’re looking for, you’ve got the wrong girl. And are you really getting a divorce? Or are you running around behind her back?”
That giant hand wraps around the finger I’m poking him with, and he pulls me close.
“So fucking feisty.” He laughs and leans down to whisper in my ear, “My divorce goes through in less than a week. I’ve been separated for a year, but things between my wife and I crashed and burned long before that. And I promise I’m not on a date, sweetheart. I’m here for you.”
“What?” I’m so confused.
But he doesn’t answer my question. He merely takes my arms, winds them around his neck, and tugs me flush against his body. His big, hard body.Mmm.That deep voice rumbles in my ear. “Your sister told me where I could find you.” He kisses my temple. “I came for you. To findyou.”
Those sick, drunk butterflies are back and battle around my stomach. I peer up to find myself nose to nose with him. “You came here for me?”
He smiles.
He came here for me.
I smile back like a loser.
The music shifts to something sultry that heightens my lust-filled fog. “You’re not here with Sandra?”Because buzzed Tori needs everything to be crystal-clear.
Ethan’s eyes soften as he nestles me closer until our lips are a breath apart. “I swear that was more a misunderstanding between me and Logan. Why would I be here with another woman when you’re all I’ve thought about since you barged into my life like a damn tornado?”
I laugh, and it feels so good. So warm. Like I’ve stumbled across a sliver of sunlight on a rainy day. “You must be a glutton for punishment.” With Lana del Rey’s “Burning Desire” swelling around us, I’m ready to scale up Ethan’s delicious body.
Sweet delight pulses through me at the thought.
Until a faint voice—one that’s thrashing around in my head, trying not to drown from the alcohol—cautions me against doing anything rash.
Against doing anythingnaked.
Because naked gets my heart in trouble.
Plus,don’t I deserve a better explanation for what happened at the diner last night? Even buzzed, I know this.
