Then he gently dips her, making her laugh. Gently, he picks her back up and leans in for a kiss that makes me flinch.
The almost desperate way he holds her, and the way their mouths move together in sync, is passion I've never encountered before. His strong-looking hands hold her securely, and she wraps her arms tightly around his neck.
The sight hits me like a punch.
She looks beautiful, and that hurts me to admit.
Not beautiful in the way I am—was.
No, beautiful like that day when I was seventeen, at theSalvatore Hotelfor the children's cancer gala. She's like Claire, beautiful from the bright smile on her face and the joy emanating from her.
The man says something that makes her tired expression melt, and he’s looking at her like he can't believe she's real.
I feel like a voyeur, intruding on some stupid romantic interlude.
And all I feel is rage.
Sophie. Goddamn Sophie. Does she have a magic pussy or something?
What the fuck is it about her that makes her so special? What the hell does she have that I don't? Paul is clearly still hung up on her, and now she has this new guy all over her while she looks likethat?Balding and wasting away. She has cancer, for fucks sake. What the hell is up with these men?
I watch the man hold her and kiss her like she's a prize. No, he should be with someone better, someone up to his caliber.
Someone like me.
Unable to stand this sick scene anymore, I keep walking to head back to my hotel.
I need to do some maintenance.
I took Sophie’s man once.
I can do it again.
???
Checking my reflection in the glass of the bookstore, I smirk to myself as I fluff my hair. She looks familiar, I think as I step into the store, the bell above the door announcing my arrival.
It’s... quaint, if you like this sort of thing.
I wore my red dress, the one that pushes my tits up and smooths out my figure. Matching heels on, I decided to go without a jacket, figuring the cold might make some parts of my anatomy... stick out. I want him to see me and see what he could have. I looked expensive. I looked like temptation.
There's no way he'll be able to resist.
That look he gave her last night, holding her like she was fragile but kissing her like he was starving.
I wanted that look. I wanted him to look at me like that, to remind me that I’m stillElise fucking Cabot.I can get any man I want, and I will. Starting with this man.
My heels click-click on the hardwood floor as I walk further into the store, and then I see him, standing behind the cash register and marking something off on a clipboard. He glances up when he sees me and—
Offers me a smile.
A small one, polite, and his eyes meet mine and stay.
No elevator eyes, no lingering glances. He looks right at my face the entire time.
I’m caught off guard by his lack of reaction, but not undeterred. Meanwhile, I take in my fill of him.
He looks good—a little rugged for my usual tastes, but still yummy. He's wearing a white long-sleeve Henley that's rolled up to his elbows, his brown hair's a little messy like he's been running his hands through it, and my eyes are drawn to his forearms, the muscles flexing slightly as he bends to lift a box onto the counter.
