“You know I’m always here for you,” I reply.
Sebastian has a big family—unlike me—but they don’t live in the city. It’s one of the reasons we became friends. We were both alone here, and, of course, along with Delaney, trying to make a name for ourselves.
“I’m so nervous,” he quietly murmurs so no one else can hear.
“Don’t be. You’ll accept the award, then give an amazing speech, and after that, we can drink all night.” I smile at him as I lift the hem of my dress when we walk. Sebastian requested that I wear blue to match him, and luckily, I already owned a blue dress, so it worked out well.
“Maybe one or both of us will even get lucky.” He waggles his brows at me.
“Yeah, no. I got rid of Luke, so I’m in my single-girl era.” I chuckle as we walk past a group of people we don’t know. I know there’s a good chance we’ll see a few clients here tonight—it’s what happens when you cater to the wealthy. They love to have a good time.
“What? When did that happen, and why did you wait so long to tell me?” he asks, stopping on the way to the bar.
I laugh at his reaction and shake my head.
“It happened several weeks ago. It was past time for me to ditch him.”
“Damn right it was. That man was only using you.”
“But I agreed to be used.” I wink at him and slide my arm through his as we continue on in the direction of the bar.
“Of course you did,” he says as he takes one of the free drinks from the bar, then grabs for one for me. “So, you’re over being used?” He raises a brow.
“Well, about that…” I take a sip of the champagne before I meet his eyes.
“Don’t tell me you met someone else already.” He shakes his head. “That’s so unfair,” he whines, and I can’t help but laugh.
“Hey, you do fine in the man department.”
“Yes, but it’s been a few months for me.”
An announcement is made, and everyone starts making their way to the tables.
“So, who’s the new guy?” he asks, leading me through the room. I don’t know where we’re seated, so I follow him, hoping he knows which table is ours.
“I met him through work,” I tell him as he stops us next to a table. When I go to pull out a chair, another hand reaches out and does it for me. I turn to thank the person, and as my gaze runs up past the hands to the face, my heartbeat quickens.
“And? Did you do the nasty?” Sebastian inquires.
I ignore him as I stare up at the man who has taken up way too many of my thoughts recently. Arlo’s beautiful lips, which I remember on my body, are curved in a smirk. His gaze dips down to my chest, and I know my nipples are peeking through the silk dress because I am not wearing a bra.
“Hi, you might not remember me. I’m Sebastian. We met the day?—”
“Not interested.” Arlo finally takes his eyes off me, and when he does, his jaw tightens as he turns to look at Sebastian. “Are you fucking her?”
A lady who was walking by gasps at his words, and when I turn back to look at Sebastian, I find him smirking, not offended at all.
“You’re more my type.” He winks at Arlo, whose clenched jaw finally relaxes before he glances back at me.
“You’ve been ignoring me,” he states, referring to the phone calls.
“I’ve been busy.”
“It was your day off.”
“And I have a life,” I tell him.
I see my name card, so I quickly check the cards on either side of mine to make sure neither reads his name. When they don’t, I say, “It’s time to take our seats. Good to see you, Arlo.”
