“Yeah, as if she doesn’t know who you are already.”
“She obviously does.”
Connor and Damon responded at the same time.
I ignored them both. I’d intentionally showed up solo to the fundraiser that night. Too many women got to thinking we were actually athingonce I’d brought them out to public events with me. But just because I’d shown up alone didn’t mean I needed to leave that way. I placed my champagne flute in the hand of a passing waiter.
“Gentlemen.” I nodded before sauntering off. I examined the woman as I grew closer. She was cute. About five-five, slim waist, her hair was neatly tucked into some type of style in the back. She was doable.
“May I?” I questioned smoothly with my hand held out. She took it, of course, lowering her lashes demurely. I led her to the center of the ballroom where a number of couples were already dancing. “Are you enjoying your evening?”
She nodded. “Yes.”
“Good. A beautiful woman should always be happy,” I responded, laying it on just thick enough.
She giggled. It was only slightly off-putting.
“I thought I knew all of the beautiful women attending tonight but I see your name on the list escaped me. I’ll have to speak with the coordinators about that. But I won’t let it stand in the way of our evening. What’s your name, beautiful?”
“It’s Denise,” she answered airily. “Denise Waters.”
“Pleasure to make your acquaintance, Denise.”
She laughed as I stepped back to twirl her around.
“You’re quite the dancer,” she acknowledged.
“One of my many talents.” I winked at her, and her cheeks turned crimson. This one was good. She could even blush on demand. I might actually be able to convince myself to get lost in her for the night.
As we continued to dance, I found out Denise was one of the oncology nurses at the hospital. All of the staff had been invited. The smiles I threw her way gave the impression I was hanging on her every word when that couldn’t have been further from the truth. In my head, I was calculating the amount of time it would take me to convince Denise to leave this event early. I wouldn’t take her back to my home. Nobody went there with me, but I had a condo close by that I reserved for my dates.
Just as Denise was getting to a story about a patient of hers that was helped by money donated to the facility, something at the entranceway caught my attention. A flash of red had me doing a double take. Without even realizing it, I’d completely stopped dancing.
“What the hell?” I questioned out loud, staring straight ahead at the woman in the entranceway.
“Is everything all right?”
I frowned, lowering my gaze to the woman whose name I could no longer remember. “No … yes. Hell,” I grumbled, turning back to the entranceway. A buzzing sound started in my ears as my eyes danced over every inch of her.
Kayla.
The hell is she wearing?was one of my first thoughts. She was dressed in an understated short sleeve black dress that fell a few inches below her knees and a shawl for Christ’s sake. What twenty-eight-year-old woman wears a goddamn shawl? Especially, not Kayla. Her style was always much flashier than this.
I furrowed my brows as I damn near gawked, the familiar anger rising in my belly.She left me,I reminded myself. My legs, on their own accord, began carrying me closer as I continued to stare, observing. The auburn curls were gone. She now wore that wild mane of hers straight, pulled back in a bun at the nape of her neck. I noticed it when she turned her head to the side, seemingly looking for someone. The cinnamon tone of her skin shone brightly on her five-foot-six frame, made a couple of inches taller by the black pumps she wore. Though the dress was simple, it outlined her lithe body well.
My gaze narrowed when I saw her bite her bottom lip and use her hand to smooth back her bun as if an invisible curl had escaped. This was Kayla, I was certain of that, but something seemed off. Something about the uneasy way she slicked back her hair yet again, told me this wasn’tmyKayla.
Where the hell had that thought come from? Since when had I thought of Kayla as mine?
I didn’t have time to assess the answers to those questions since Kayla turned and looked me dead in the eye. Her eyes doubled in size, exposing every part of her chestnut irises. I could see the wheels in her head moving, contemplating her out.
Not this fucking time.
I moved to stand directly in front of her, blocking any escape she might have considered taking.
She’s the puzzle piece I never knew was missing until it arrived.My brother’s words from a conversation we’d had in his office months prior echoed in my head. Not until much later, would I pick apart why that particular conversation chose to replay in my mind. At that moment, I had other things to tend to because right then, Kayla’s and my eyes clashed for the first time in seven years, throwing me back to the day I learned she’d up and left.
****
