Broken Course (4 page)

"Leo!" Erica calls from the balcony of her hotel suite. I tried to duck out before she noticed, but she catches me just before I get to the door.

"I need to go, babe," I tell her and the light dims in her eyes.

"Not yet," she whispers, taking a step closer, her eyes already filling with tears.

"We’ve been dancing around this all day. I need to go."

"I’m not ready," she says, looping her arms around my waist.

"Yeah, you are." I smooth down her hair and gently kiss the top of her head. I glance up to find her brick wall of a man, Slate, watching us while standing in the corner. His arms are crossed over his chest, but his concern is staggering. "I’ll see you next week for the wedding," I try to reassure her, but the words catch in my throat.

The truth is that I’m nowhere near ready to leave her. Our relationship is a prime example of codependency at its finest. Her clear, blue eyes are the only things that soothe the self-loathing burning inside me. She’s also a reminder of why it burns at all. She’s the poison and the antidote wrapped into one tiny, innocent, and foul-mouthed package.

"Come on, beautiful," Slate says, guiding her arms from around my waist.

I clear my throat and give her a weak smile as she silently cries tucked into his side.

Slate extends a hand and I quickly grasp it. We may not have always had the best relationship, but I definitely consider him family now. I’d trust him with my life, and in a sense, by leaving Erica with him, I’m doing exactly that.

"You’ll be at the wedding on Saturday?" he confirms, never releasing my hand.

"Wouldn’t miss it," I smile, and it might just be the biggest lie I have ever told.

I ARRIVE at Shades just a little before seven. I know Sarah might be late, but I gave myself plenty of time to walk downstairs and across the street. I may have picked this place based on the proximity to my apartment.
Maybe. Probably.

Shades is a five-star tapas restaurant and martini bar. After nine o’clock, the atmosphere changes into that of a bar, but before then, it’s a crisp, clean fine-dining experience.

The hostess guides me to one of the high-tops lining the perimeter of the large, crowded room, and I settle in so I can watch the door for Sarah.

Finally, at only ten minutes past seven, she comes walking in. I can only see the back of her head, but I’d recognize that white-blond hair anywhere. She’s wearing a pair of tight jeans that cling to her ass and a black shirt that I can tell is tight as well. I lick my lips and head in her direction, knowing that the front will be even better than the back.

I sneak up behind her and very carefully lean forward to whisper in her ear. "I’m impressed. You actually showed."

She squeaks from surprise and takes a giant step forward. I begin to laugh before, suddenly, a tattooed arm lands hard against my chest, preventing me from following her.

"Back the fuck up," the man growls, and my eyes snap to his. He looks downright pissed, and the minute Sarah turns around, I know exactly why.

"You’re not Sarah," I say, lifting my hands in submission and feeling like a total jackass.

"No. But you must be Leo." The woman smiles, and a pair of blue eyes I immediately recognize sparkles in humor. "Hi, I’m Emma Jones. Sarah’s sister." She knocks the man’s hand off my chest and extends her own.

I give her a confused look but take her hand then turn to the man with her. He still looks pissed, but begrudgingly nods at me.

"Caleb Jones."

"Sorry, man. Leo James. Nice to meet you," I respond, trying to figure out why Sarah’s family is here yet she remains nowhere to be seen.

Then something catches my eye from the corner by the door. Sarah is standing in a line at the hostess desk, biting her knuckles to stifle a laugh. She uses the other hand to give me a very slow finger wave.

I shake my head and excuse myself to move in her direction. I weave through the small crowd by the door, stopping directly in front of her.

"Well, that was embarrassing."

"It was really funny though." She bites her lips to prevent the laugh from escaping but fails miserably.

"Hilarious," I say sarcastically.

She laughs for a second longer before collecting herself. "Hey," she says simply, pushing a hand out for a handshake.

First, she brought company, and now, she’s trying to give me a fucking handshake? Clearly, she got confused somewhere along the way. Maybe I didn’t make it obvious enough that this is a date, not a business meeting.

I lift a questioning eyebrow and stare down at her outstretched hand.
Fuck that.
"You look beautiful." I very purposefully lick my lips while raking my eyes over her body. Given her nerves on the phone yesterday, I know it will make her clam up and look away, but I don’t want there to be any misconceptions about what this actually is. I’m interested in her. She should know that right off the bat—even if it makes her uncomfortable for a few minutes.

Only Sarah doesn’t seem to be bothered by my overt gesture at all. She tilts her head to the side and does her own head-to-toe assessment of me. I wait for her eyes to travel back up to mine, and when they finally do, she gives me an unimpressed shrug.

I bust out laughing and she quickly follows.

"Come on. I got us a table already," I say, placing a hand on the small of her back and guiding her toward Emma and Caleb.

WHEN THE four of us are seated, the waitress stops by to get our drink orders.

She starts with Emma, who asks for some over-the-top specialty martini, and Caleb, who orders a simple scotch neat. Leo motions for me to go next, and I very uncomfortably ask for a water with lemon. Leo doesn’t seem to give my beverage of choice too much thought and orders a beer right behind me.

"So, what do you do?" Caleb asks Leo while dropping his hand under the table and into Emma’s lap.

Those two are the horniest people I have ever met in my life. I wouldn’t put it past Caleb to throw her down on the table in front of us all. Just knowing that his hand is within a twelve-inch radius of Emma’s pants makes me question his motives. I roll my eyes, and Emma starts laughing when she catches my reaction. Both guys pause to look at her, but she ignores them and takes a sip of her drink while still smiling at me.

"I own a security company," Leo answers, draping his arm around the back of my chair. He doesn’t exactly touch me, but it’s still a flirty gesture that makes my eyes go wide, once again sending my loud-mouth sister into a fit of laughter.

"Really?" Caleb asks, surprised.

"Yep. Guardian Protection. I opened about seven months ago."

"No. Shit," Caleb says impressed. "It was your men who took down Lucas Wilkes."

Leo swallows hard and his relaxed posture from just seconds ago goes stiff. "I didn’t know that was public knowledge," Leo says with a harsh edge to his voice.

"Well, it’s not a secret." Caleb winks, and I’m afraid Leo’s sudden attitude has flipped Caleb’s asshole switch.

"Caleb is a detective with the CPD," I rush out, trying to keep the peace.

"Gotcha," Leo responds and his shoulders relax. "In that case, yes. We took down Wilkes. It’s also a topic that hits close to home, so if we could drop it and not discuss work tonight, I’d really appreciate it." Leo grins, but there’s something dark behind it.

"Fair enough." Caleb smirks and takes a sip from his scotch.

We sit in uncomfortable silence for a minute before Emma breaks the tension.

"Isn’t that Tom Cole over there?" she asks, looking across the restaurant.

"Who?" Caleb follows her gaze.

"It is! We should go say hi," she announces before jumping to her feet.

"Who the hell are you talking about, Emmy?"

"Would you shut up and come on?" she snaps, dragging him toward the bar.

I immediately let out a relieved sigh that makes Leo chuckle beside me.

"I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have brought them." I look up to find his chocolate-brown eyes staring down at me.

Leo is a ridiculously good-looking guy. He’s not the clean-cut type I usually go for; he’s more edgy. His light-brown skin and dark hair make for an exotic look. He has a thin layer of scruff covering his strong jaw, but it’s not because he forgot to shave—it’s trimmed to perfection. His no doubt designer jeans are purposefully tattered, and the stylish, white button-down stretches across his hard chest. He must catch my eyes drifting, because his already wide smile grows before falling flat.

"Yeah, bringing the family with you on a first date is a little unusual. At least it wasn’t the parents though." He moves his arm off the back of my chair and takes a pull off his beer. I can immediately feel the distance he just put between us.

"My parents are dead. This is pretty much the same thing," I blurt out, because clearly, somewhere over the last few years, I’ve lost all social awareness.

"Wow. This just got even more awkward." He drains the rest of his beer in one long sip.

"Shit. I’m sorry. I warned you this was a bad idea."

Ignoring my apology, he points down at my water. "You don’t drink at all or just not tonight?"

"Not at all."

"Good. Let’s get out of here." He pulls cash from his wallet and drops it on the table.

"Um, we just got here," I answer, surprised, and glance up to where Emma and Caleb are standing nose to nose at the bar, ignoring everyone around them.

"Right. But this isn’t a date with them here. It’s an interview. They seem like good people, but the only person I want to get to know tonight is you. There’s a little dive Mexican restaurant a few blocks from here. Since you don’t drink, there’s no point staying at a martini bar."

"They have food here too," I state, trying to figure out his real motives behind leaving.

"And it’s really good, but we’re starting over. New restaurant, new date. Just me and you. We’re doing it right this time. "

"Oh. Um…"

"Say goodnight. I’ll meet you outside." He turns and heads out the door without another word spoken.

Well, I guess I’m going on a legit date with Leo after all.

Fuck.

"GET YOUR ass up," I hear Slate say as he walks into my room.