Under any other circumstance, that would not bother her. She already had so little to work with in that department, it was always fun to wear a corset that gave her the illusion of it. But she was in a seedy tavern, drawing the salacious gazes of more than one person in the room, and she was trying to remain discreet.
This was a work excursion, after all.
Her heart rate increased when she saw a figure in a dark cloak enter the room, immediately exhaling when he tugged the hood down and it wasn’t her boss. She saw The Villain every day without having the nerves her body was currently throwing at her, but for some reason, this was different.
It was bad enough having the man in front of her house, but now they were in a place of laughter and alcohol. With couples having trysts in every darkened corner and—
Why was she blushing?
“Here all alone, love?” The voice was painfully familiar, and when Evie looked up, her suspicions were confirmed.
“Rick,” Evie squeaked, feeling her heart accelerate in her chest. Her face burned as her eyebrows shot to her hairline. “What are you doing here?”
He laughed in a way that made Evie cringe. Their short-lived relationship had been a youthful mistake born of loneliness that Evie had had trouble escaping since losing her mother and brother. It was a hard lesson to learn that sometimes it was better to remain lonely than to waste companionship and energy on someone undeserving.
“I could ask you the same thing.” He leaned an arm on the back of her seat, and Evie indiscreetly moved her body away from his. Rick was not unattractive. In fact, from an objective standpoint, he was very handsome.
But his personality seemed to negate anything the outward qualities might have saved. He grinned at her in a way she knew was meant to be seductive but instead made her want to gag. “Since when do you frequent places like this, Evie?”
Sighing, losing the last strands of her patience, Evie rolled her shoulders. “I’m meeting someone.” She kept her words clipped, hoping he’d hear the disdain in them and move away from her.
But to her disgust, her blatant denial seemed only to encourage him. “Oh, is that right?” He reached out and ran a finger down her cheek, then laughed when Evie slapped it away. “You didn’t used to have this much bite to you, did you?” he asked. “I would’ve extended our friendship a little longer.”
Evie didn’t point out that she had been the one to end their courtship after realizing what a selfish little ass he was. The physical aspects of their relationship had been unimpressive, nothing like the endlessly romantic scenes from some of her favorite books. After the initial euphoria of attracting such a sought-after man’s attention had faded, Evie was left feeling empty, hollow. She’d ended it with him quickly after that and was affirmed in her decision when he told her what a waste of his time she was.
“If life was built on regrets, we’d have monuments the size of giants.” The cheer of the crowd half drowned her words as another patron won another hand at cards.
Rick laughed, and Evie sneered, which of course he didn’t detect in the slightest. “You always say the most charming little things.” He looked at her like an amusing exhibit, one you stared at in wondrous curiosity while shoving fairy floss down your throat.
She needed him gone, preferably before her boss arrived. It really wasn’t necessary for The Villain to know her judgment had ever been that poor.
“Well, it was nice seeing you again, but like I said, I’m meeting someone.” Evie sounded firm and confident. It made her feel like a totally different woman from the one who had last spoken to Rick. Like she not only knew she deserved better but believed it.
She was calm, cool, collected.
That is, she would’ve been, if Rick would have stopped talking. “Not a…lover?” His eyes held an astonishment that made her chafe. “I must say, I’m surprised.”
“Why?” Evie’s tone was sweet, even docile-sounding. But someone who knew her better would hear the danger in the question, see the quick anger building behind her eyes.
“Well.” Rick angled his head at her, like the question had an obvious answer. “It’s you.” Such small, seemingly innocent words, but they had the force to knock the wind from her sails. They were pointed, with so many different interpretations, her mind began throwing words at her.
Irritating. Irrational. Failure.
If the arrogant ass would’ve just kept that little opinion inside, she wouldn’t have looked up with such vengeance. She would’ve ignored her boss walking through the doors, cloak pulled over his dark head. A strong attempt to get rid of Rick before The Villain arrived at her table would’ve been made.