“Whoa… that well?”
I finally looked at her, and I felt my expression turn to bewilderment.
He had come back for me.
“Let’s just get through tonight,” I managed. “Where is—“
“There she is!” Ezzie announced as she came up beside us. “Did you just get here? Oh fuck, I love this dress.”
I took a deep breath and put on my smiling face as I turned to her.
“Doesn’t she look fuckable?” Lana said with a grin.
“Speaking of fuckable—“ Ezzie turned to look for someone, her curled hair bouncing. “I need you to meet the CEO of our client. He’s so sexy that Raegan invited him to an afterparty. There he is. Hey, Erosin!”
My heart sank, but I pulled myself together as Gavin approached our group. I hated how my body responded to him walking over. I hated the look that he gave me. And I hated that at the very moment he reached us, I spotted Tyler coming up behind him.
“Gavin,” Ezzie swung her arm into his. “Gavin, this is the creative genius I told you about earlier: Chloe Psymer. And this, Chloe, is Gavin Erosin. The owner of Cupid’s Arrow.”
I was back at that bar on the night of Valentine’s Day, standing in front of him, candy hearts in my hands, introducing myself to him for the first time. The memory warmed my cheeks, traveled down to the pit of my stomach, and continued between my thighs.
I hesitated a moment too long before extending my hand, and I was sure Ezzie noticed it, but I tried to recover quickly.
“Nice to meet you, Gavin,” I managed, and I wondered if the way I said his name sounded the same way it did in my head.
“Chloe,” he replied with a nod, apparently getting my cue not to let on that we knew each other. I knew Ezzie would have had a field day with that, and I wasn’t ready. Not yet. Not with everything I was feeling.
A body slid in behind me to my left, lips landing on my cheek. “I lost you, love,” Tyler said as he joined us. “Brought your drink over.”
Tyler asked something to Lana and Ezzie, but it was all I could do to keep my composure. Gavin was staring at the hand I’d wrapped around my drink—mylefthand… I avoided meeting his eyes as long as possible, though I was too curious for my own good. I peered up, and my soul crushed beneath the weight of his stare.
Devastation filled every pore on his beautiful face. So hurt, and somehow… somehow the look was familiar. As though I’d seen it on him before… in the light of a candle, darkness surrounding us, an amber glow around him… Perhaps it was an image from a dream I’d once had, or as Lana would put it, an image from a past life. Whatever the case, a void of regret made its way into my chest at the memory, and I didn’t understand why.
I pushed the ridiculous thought from my mind when his gaze pulled away from the engagement ring and moved to my eyes.
Everyone around us was laughing, chatting, and joking, and yet we were in our own universe. He swallowed a gulp of his drink and turned away, suddenly attentive to whatever Ezzie was saying, and before I could break out of my own daze, he excused himself.
“That sounds great,” Gavin said to Ezzie. “I’ll see you Monday morning for a brief.” He nodded and shook everyone’s hands in the circle, leaving mine for last. His touch burned me once more, and then he turned to leave.
Breath finally filled my lungs. I inhaled sharply, nearly choking on the sudden wave of oxygen, and took a swig of the drink Tyler had brought over.
“The food at this party is phenomenal,” Tyler said. “Have you tried any?”
“I haven’t,” I managed. “Could you bring me a plate?”
Tyler’s gaze narrowed, and he grabbed my waist comfortingly. “Are you sure you’re okay? You look a little green.”
“Yeah, I’m fine. I just haven’t eaten anything except those chips and salsa today,” I lied, nervous laughter escaping me.
Tyler didn’t look like he was buying it. His hand brushed against my cheek, and just as he opened his mouth to speak, Lana and Ezzie broke out in their usual loud laughter. Tyler shifted uncomfortably, evident that he would do almost anything to get out of this conversation.
“I’ll get us some food,” he said. “There’s an empty table by the bar. I’ll wait there for you. I know you want to do some mingling.”
Tyler leaned in to kiss me, and as I returned the quick peck, an awkwardness knotted my insides.
It felt…wrong.
Oh, fucking hell.
