“You can do this,” she told her reflection.“Go out there, walk up to her, and saysomething.”
She pressed the button on the soap dispenser and let the foam fill her hand.
“It’s just a conversation.Not like you have to arrest the woman or anything.Evan can do that part.”She rolled her eyes.“Or whatever.”
Scrubbing her hands together, she continued to stare at her reflection.When she knew she couldn’t stall any longer, she rinsed her hands and grabbed a paper towel.
“The second time has to be easier,” she said as she walked out of the bathroom.
It wasn’t.She walked right past Allison, wiping her sweaty palms on her jeans, her gaze locked on Evan, who was still sitting at their table.
“I can’t do it,” she told him, her hands trembling.
Rather than sit, she stood there like an idiot, not sure what to do next.Apparently, he wasn’t having the same issue because he reached for her arm, pulling her toward him until she was forced to sit beside him in the booth.
“Relax,” he whispered near her ear.
Oh, yeah.Sure.Like she could relax with his warm breath fanning her ear.It was bad enough she’d failed at being a super stealthy spy, but now she was going to turn into a puddle of goo beside him.
“We’ve got time,” he said, his voice low, his fingertip soft as he moved her hair back.
She felt that barely-there touch throughout her entire body.It made the hair on her arms stand tall and her nipples pull taut in her bra.
This is not happening.
“She’s not paying any attention to us,” Evan said softly, and she swore she felt his lips brush her earlobe.
“But she knows we’re here,” Becs argued, hating that her voice was trembling.“I worked with her, Evan.And I wasn’t exactly nice.I’m sure she remembers me well.”
“That was a long time ago.”
Notthatlong.Not to her, anyway.
“We just have to pretend we don’t rememberher.”
“And how do you propose we do that?”Turning slightly to look at him, Becs’s breath caught in her throat when she realized how close he was.
Evan’s finger curled beneath her chin, and a second later, his lips were on hers.Before she could react the way a normal, cautious woman would, Becs found herself leaning in, her tongue sliding out to meet his.The kiss heated her from the inside out, the same way it had the first time her mouth mated with Evan’s.It was intensely sweet and devastatingly familiar.
It took effort, but she managed to pull back without shrieking.She told herself she needed to maintain her cover because of Allison, which was the only reason she didn’t smack him for that.
Okay, that was a lie.She didn’t smack him because she could see he was just as dazed and confused as she was.The gleam in his eyes was brighter as he stared at her.
“I’m sorry,” he whispered, his lips barely moving.
“Me, too,” she said, meaning it.She was sorry for so many things, but most of all, she was sorry that Evan couldn’t give her what she needed.If only she could sacrifice her happiness for a moment of delirium, then she could slake the lust, and they could move on, avoiding instances like this.But no, Becs had sacrificed far too much of herself for other people.She was doing things differently now.
Shoring up her nerves, she managed to get to her feet.She smoothed her hand down her shirt and turned, intending to talk to Allison, only to realize the woman was no longer sitting at the table.Her gaze snapped to the door when the bells sounded, and she saw her walking outside.
“She’s leavin’,” she told Evan before racing after her.As soon as she stepped outside, she called Allison by name.
The woman turned, clearly surprised.
“Hey!”Becs tried to sound as though she was a long-lost friend, thrilled to see her.“How are you?”
Allison’s eyebrows angled downward as she stared back.
“It’s me, Gladys,” she said without thinking.“Gladys Overwith.”
