My heels clap on the floor as I walk back into the buzzing room.
I casually scan the tables, for a second forgetting where mine is, when I see him.
Laughing with an arm thrown around another woman.
He’s too far for me to hear the sound, but I don’t have to be near because the countless memories play it loudly in my head.
My gait falters, freezing me in the middle of the room.
Aryan is back?
The chatter around me gets sucked into a void as my pulse pounds in my ears. He looks so…happy. Carefree. High on life.
Like he didn’t abandon his eight-year-long girlfriend at the altar.
Run, Arya. Run.
Before he sees you.
Because my streak of bad luck hasn’t ended, his head swivels in my direction, finding me at once. His mouth parts in shock and he freezes too.
The damn tears I was keeping at bay sting the backs of my eyes.
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.
He doesn’t get to humiliate me yet again.
I take a step back, ready to hide in the restroom.
He abruptly stands.
No way. We’re not having a confrontation on his terms. Definitely not when I don’t have my bearings. Or in a room full of people to witness my breakdown.
I’m about to turn back around when a flash of a very familiar, tall and lean yet muscular frame steals my focus.
Nathan saunters into the dining area, his attention on his phone.
Without thinking twice, I switch directions and stalk toward him. It’s pure anxiety and survival instinct ruling my body.
It’s been over a week since the scary incident at the club, followed by an embarrassing incident with Nathan. God, please let him remember who I am.
I’m panting, or maybe my heart is thundering, when I cut into his path.
He stops a second before we can collide. Those gray eyes, so much lighter and mesmerizing in the daylight, drag up my legs to my flushed face.
I lose the breath I was holding as recognition sparks on his devastatingly handsome face, clean-shaven this time.
“Arya.”
“Be my date.”
“Excuse me?”
I sense Aryan hot on my heels.
The frown on Nathan’s forehead deepens as he pockets his phone. Pressing a hand to his solid chest, I whisper, “Pretend to be my date.”
His eyes flare in shock.
