Catch (3 page)

“Oh,” I replied, deliberately sounding disappointed. I didn’t miss the proud look in her eye thinking I’d fallen for her little trick.
Time to play it right back.
“Then I guess it’s time to find a new one, because he’s making out with the guy he’s dancing with. Or are you two into that sort of thing?”

I pointed toward the dance floor and her gaze followed. When I heard her curse quietly, I couldn’t help but laugh, stopping immediately when she turned back to me with a cute little scowl on her face. Fuck,
she looked sexy.
If she keeps staring at me like that, I’ll have no choice but to bend her over the bar and fuck her stupid in front of this entire crowd. I don’t care whose watching.

I felt the little guy down below stir at the thought of being inside her.
Settle down.

“I’m sorry if you genuinely just found out your boyfriend was into guys.” I raised my hands up to my face. “I’d be more than happy to offer my services, if it would help make him jealous. What do you need me to do, grope you? Whisper sweet things in your ear? Or make out with you? Hell, we could do all three if you want.”

“He isn’t my boyfriend,” she muttered quietly, her cheeks blushing pink.

“Well, that’s the second-best news I’ve heard all night. The first will be you saying yes to let me do those things to you.” I flashed her a mischievous grin, but she wasn’t impressed by my comment.
Jeez, this girl is hard to crack
. Ignoring her frown, I continued. “I’m Ryan, by the way.” I extended my hand but all she seemed to do was stare at it.
Well, this isn’t the response I usually receive from girls.
“So, this is rather awkward.”

Her head shot up immediately, her cheeks bright red. Her eyelashes fluttered as she stuttered, “Oh, sorry. Evi―Evangeline.”

Seeing her go all shy caused a strange feeling to stir inside and I smiled, like
really
smiled. There were no naughty thoughts behind it. “That’s a really beautiful name.
Evangeline
.” I liked the way her name sounded coming out of my mouth. And pictures of her taking full advantage of me while I shouted out her name slipped into my mind.
Jesus, where the heck did that come from?
I’d never had thoughts like that before. I enjoyed taking full control of every situation I had in the bedroom.

I was so lost in my thoughts I barely heard what she said next. “Well, it was nice meeting you, Ryan. Thanks again for the drinks.”
Wait.
But before I could say anything else, she picked up the martinis and lifted one in the air before turning and rushing away.
That didn’t go as planned,
my mind teased as I watched her disappear into the crowd, completely floored by what had happened.

“I’m giving her the next round on the house just for letting me witness that go down. Think you’re losing your touch, buddy.”

I narrowed my eyes and slowly turned to Theo, who was resting against the back counter with his arms folded and a grin on his face.

“Not a single word,” I warned him. “And I’ll have a double scotch on the rocks when you’re done insulting your customers.”

Theo shook his head and chuckled before turning and reaching for the top-shelf scotch.

I couldn’t believe that actually happened. No girl had
ever
blown me off before. I found myself glowering and staring at one spot of the bar when Theo placed the glass of scotch in front of me. I grabbed it from him and took a swig.

“Oh, come on, that has
got
to be the first time that’s ever happened. Surely, you aren’t going to sit there and mope about it,” he said with a chuckle. “Plenty of other girls here to choose from, Fox.”

He’s right, you fool,
my mind whispered. Realizing it was ridiculous of me,
the
Ryan Fox, to sit by and throw a tantrum over one girl when there were two equally-hot ones only a few feet away eager to please me, I lifted the glass to my lips and took another swig of my scotch.
But there’s something about that one. You know it… Shut up, brain!
I drank the rest of the contents and firmly placed the glass down on the bench.

“Later, Theo.” I waved the bartender goodbye and marched straight back over to Kyle, Beau and the two girls waiting for me. There was no way I was letting that stupid incident put me down.

Chapter 2

Several hours and many drinks later, I’d forgotten all about the brunette. The rest of the night was busy spent finishing the bottle of vodka and then another, and trying to control myself with Natalie, whose wandering hands travelled dangerously close to the top of my jeans again. Kyle had slipped away earlier in the evening with Selene, probably upstairs to his office, and Beau had headed to the dance floor with the two girls he was with. The only disappointment I had was the second blonde with me felt sick so she went home.

Leaving the club with Natalie in tow, I headed for the street. Eager to finally get the chance to release the built-up excitement the blonde model had given me all night, I hailed the first on-coming cab.

When a figure in a black dress caught my eye, I wanted to scream
thank you
to the heavens. It was Evangeline, the sassy brunette from the bar. How had I gotten so lucky? “Hello there, Evie. Great to see you again.” I smiled. She stiffened immediately upon hearing my voice.

“Don’t call me that!” she snapped.

What’s her deal?
“Okay…if you insist. So, on your way home―”

“Who’s it going to be, guys? I don’t have all night to wait.” I turned to the cab driver. He had his arm resting against the opened window frame, tapping at it impatiently with his index finger.
Good question.
I turned back to Evangeline, who was still facing the front. This could be God giving me a second shot.
But she rejected you the first time, so why let her have another chance? What if she shoots you down again?
Who was I kidding; there was no chance I’d let her get away without giving it another shot. I was Ryan Fox; when had I ever given up on something I’ve wanted? There was one problem: Natalie. Something told me Evangeline was
not
the kind of girl I could hit up for a threesome.

An idea hit me and I smiled at how perfect it seemed, not realizing Evangeline was staring at me until she blinked and turned away.
Oh, well, here goes nothing…

I tugged at Natalie’s hand, gesturing for her to hop inside the cab. But instead of jumping in with her, I kissed her cheek, closed the door and handed a fifty to the driver to take her home. The moment Natalie realized what was happening, she shouted curse words ladies should never use. I was thankful the cab drove off when it did. My ears were starting to ring from the high-pitched yelling, and I don’t know how I’d have handled the situation if she took it out on Evangeline.

From the corner of my eye, I noticed Evangeline glance up at me. I shrugged, hoping she wasn’t about to expect some sort of explanation for what I’d just done because I didn’t have one.

“Do you realize what you’ve done? You let the one girl willing to sleep with you go and now she hates you,” she said.

I know it was supposed to come off as angry, but it just sounded so damn cute I couldn’t help but snort. “I can assure you there are plenty more waiting, and she’ll come back. They always try… Anyway, I wasn’t willing to let a beautiful woman wait out here alone. What kind of guy would that make me?” It was time to up the charm-o-meter.

“Oh, so you were thinking of taking the cab?” She raised a perfect little brow then shook her head before looking away. “Whatever happened to the days of chivalry?”

This girl was too much. “I’m waiting here with you now, aren’t I?” I said, grinning like a stupid teenage boy.

“I… Yes, I guess so. But you have ulterior motives.” My grin got bigger just as her frown did. “I’m not going to give you that, just so we’re clear.”

“I never thought otherwise,” I replied casually. With a satisfied smile on my face, I looked back out toward the road again. “All I’m doing is waiting patiently for a taxi, nothing else.” Even if I wasn’t going to be getting anything from the girl, I was strangely relishing her company. Not that I would dare admit that to anyone.

I could feel her watching me, and it gave me joy knowing I was pushing her buttons just by standing there quietly with a grin on my face.

“Here comes another one. Would you like me to hail it, my damsel in distress?” I asked, ending the silence between us. To my surprise, she actually laughed at my comment. Hearing the sweet sound caused a weird feeling to stir inside.
What the hell?

“I am far from a damsel in―” She stopped when her cell phone rang from inside her purse. She answered it, and I let the cab drive past. I wasn’t ready to end my night with her just yet.

“
Connor?
Why are you call―?”

I didn’t want to listen in on the conversation, but as soon as she mentioned a guy’s name, I felt my muscles tighten and I suddenly had the urge to find out everything I could about the guy.
Is he her boyfriend? He had better not be.

When her pretty face dropped and she called herself an idiot for not getting a chance to say goodbye to somebody, I was the one who felt like a fool for overreacting. I barely knew her and I could have any girl I wanted; why should I care that she was taken?

She hung up the phone and stared vacantly out at the road.
Shit, is she about to cry?
My head waged a war with itself on whether to help her. It was the first time I’d found myself in a situation like this. Usually girls were crying because I’d just signed a part of their body or because I’d told them I wasn’t interested in a relationship.
Those were things I knew how to handle, but this… this was new to me. What the hell was I supposed to do?
Say something!

“Are you…all right?”
Does she look all right?
“You look…pale.”
Yeah, much better, idiot.

She turned and slowly looked up to meet my gaze. She wasn’t crying but, damn, she was about to at any second. A tiny line formed between her brows while she just stared. There was something on her mind; that much was obvious.

Just as I was about to repeat my question, she spun on her heel and bolted. My instant reaction was to chase after her, so I did. Lucky for me, I wasn’t wearing ridiculous high heels and caught up a few feet down the street.

“Not so fast,” I said, grabbing hold of her slender wrist. Accidentally pulling too hard, the poor girl fell backward, but I was there to catch her.

“Let me go!” she demanded, trying to wriggle free from my grasp.

I listened and let go. I watched her straighten herself up before asking, “Where do you think you’re going to go?”

“I…I, I need to leave.”

Jeez, this girl is about to lose it at any moment.
“I’m not leaving you alone in the state you’re in. What happened back there?” I demanded. Not that it was any of my business.

“I don’t have to tell you anything. I don’t even know you!” she snapped.

Ha! Now
that
was not something I heard every day. She had no idea who I was? To be honest, it felt kind of refreshing not being noticed. I was about to answer but she was suddenly in my arms, crying, before I could comprehend what she was doing.

“Everything’s a mess. I’ve messed up,” I heard her mumble against my chest. It felt odd having a girl crying in my arms, but I couldn’t just tell her to stop. She was obviously upset about something.

“What’s a mess?” I eventually replied.

“Everything.”

Is she going to continue to be vague?
I let out a sigh and gently grabbed her shoulders, pulling her away far enough so I could look into her eyes. “Evangeline, I can’t begin to help if you don’t tell me what you mean by ‘everything’.”

I stared hard into her hazel, tear-filled eyes, demanding, yet hoping, she’d tell me what was the matter. One half of me was saying to put her in a cab, send her home and ask Natalie for forgiveness, but the other half wouldn’t let me leave the girl. Sure, she was upset, but was it really up to me to make sure she was okay?

My thoughts were immediately interrupted when she blurted out, “My father just died,” then began crying again. Shit, there was no way I could leave her after hearing that.

“Oh, babe, I’m sorry to hear that,” I replied. Unwilling to let her see the look on my face, I pulled her back into me. Her revelation affected me much more than it should have. I’d lost my father, too. Most likely under different circumstances, and by how much she was upset, she obviously cared for the man, unlike I did for mine…

“I never went to see him in the hospital,” she sobbed, gripping the sides of my shirt as if she were afraid I’d let go. “I never got the chance to tell him, although he wasn’t there for me, I still loved him. I just wish I got to feel the way he hugged me, one last time…the way he used to…” She trailed off before her whole body tensed. “Do you work for the media?”

What did she just say?
I couldn’t help it. I had to laugh. That had to be the most ridiculous thing I’d heard in a while. I’d never
once
had anyone worry about whether I worked for the media before, because they knew who I was. “Where on Earth did that come from?” I tried biting my lips to stop from laughing.

“I’m serious. Do you?” She glanced up with a look crossed between stunned and angry—more like the epitome of cute, if you asked me.

I searched her face to see whether she was serious. Sweet Jesus, she was. Feeling her pull away, I tightened my grip around her. She wasn’t getting away from me that easily. She had me intrigued.

“I could ask you the same thing,” I said, smiling. With a shrug, I added, “No, I don’t, Evangeline. But perhaps we should get off the street, if that’s what you’re afraid of. We could possibly go grab some tequila? After all, tequila makes everybody feel better.”

What was I doing? Instead of asking the poor girl if she had family to go home to and putting her in a cab, I was suggesting tequila to drown her sorrows. Had I lost my mind? Part of me hoped she would think I was an ass for even mentioning it, but when she nodded that pretty little head of hers, I knew I was a goner.