Cool fingers tapped my forearm. “Emily. Hey.”
“Hmm?” I muttered, slowly turning my attention away from Knox.
“What has you so spellbound?” Hannah asked with a grin.
My answer came out as though it was profanity, not something innocuous, when I hissed, “Him.”
Hannah glanced over, her blue eyes narrowing. “Who?”
I looked back over, and Knox and the woman were gone, the space they had occupied now taken by two women laughing.
My gaze swung left then right in a desperate attempt to get one more glance, but it was as though Knox had vanished into thin air.
Poof. Gone.
“Emily.”
Forcing myself to focus on Hannah, I turned back around, plastered a smile on my face. “I was thinking I might call it a night.”
“What?” Her forehead creased. “It’s too early to leave. They haven’t even served the cake.”
“I don’t want cake.” I was too busy feeling off-kilter thanks to the anger and longing that were warring inside me. Seeing Knox again after all this time … the pain he’d caused came back as though he’d said those hateful things yesterday, not two years ago.
“You have to have cake, love.”
My spine went straight and stiff as Kieran’s Irish brogue rasped over my senses. He slowly stepped down, stopping with his hands cradling a glass of amber liquid as though he didn’t have a care in the world. And maybe he didn’t. What did I know about running a nightclub?
“Are you not enjoying yourself?” he prompted, his dark eyebrows lowered, conveying his concern.
That was a good question. I wasn’t sure the answer. I had been, right up until Knox appeared, but it wasn’t like I could tell the owner of Obsession that I despised one of his patrons and didn’t want to be in the same room as him.
I opted for a different tack.
“I am now,” I said flirtatiously, feeling bolder thanks to the anger at Knox fueling my mood.
“Would you mind giving us some privacy?” Kieran said, his gaze only briefly darting to Hannah.
It wasn’t a request, more like a semi-polite dismissal.
She looked worried, but Hannah scooted out of the booth, glancing back at me once before she headed up the steps.
Kieran joined me, taking the seat she had vacated. “Did you find a good hiding spot?”
“I’m not hiding.” I honestly wasn’t. “I’m just more comfortable watching from afar.”
“But you’re not having a good time?” he repeated, a hint of concern in his tone this time.
“No, I am,” I lied because that was what you were supposed to tell your host.
“Then why were you planning to leave?”
“It’s been…” I exhaled heavily, my shoulders relaxing even more. “It’s been one of those days.”
Kieran inched closer to me, his arm snaking over the back of the booth as though we were a couple out on a date, not two people who’d just met tonight. I could feel the heat of his body along my side. I probably should’ve scooted away, ensured I didn’t give him any signals that I wanted what he was offering, but I found I didn’t want to. And strangely enough, I found myself considering anything he might offer.
I blamed that on Knox. If he hadn’t appeared out of thin air a few minutes ago, I wouldn’t be fuming on the inside, wishing with all I was that I could hurt him the same way he’d hurt me.
Kieran leaned in so that his mouth was close to my ear. “What’s on your mind, birthday girl?”
