Total pages in book: 107
Estimated words: 102731 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 514(@200wpm)___ 411(@250wpm)___ 342(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 102731 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 514(@200wpm)___ 411(@250wpm)___ 342(@300wpm)
Heat flushed my skin as I pushed into the ladies’ restroom.
With it being a private event, it wasn’t too crowded. But unfortunately, the redhead and her friends were in there too. If they recognized me, they didn’t acknowledge it.
I fumbled with my clutch, pulling out my lipstick and reapplying it. My reflection revealed flushed cheeks and wide eyes. I almost looked like I’d had a shock.
Then the redhead’s conversation started to register.
“I don’t want anyone else. I want to go home with Lewis Adair. I’ve had my eye on him for months.”
“Do you think he’s gay?” one of her friends asked. “I’ve never seen him with a woman at any of these parties.”
“Not according to Eilidh.” The redhead shrugged. “Maybe he likes his women to be more obvious. Maybe I need to go up to him and say ‘Let’s fuck.’”
Her friends laughed; my stomach pitched.
People must throw themselves at Lewis all the time.
There were guys dressed to the nines in three-piece suits at this party, and they’d all paled in comparison to Lewis who had strode through the room in jeans and a tee, looking as lickable as a cold ice-cream cone on a muggy hot day. He had a commanding presence he’d very much inherited from his father and uncles. The kind of charisma a lot of these actors would kill for.
And I hated him for it.
How many women had he slept with since we broke up?
My fingers trembled as I finished with my lipstick.
Why did the thought of it hurt so much?
I’d moved on.
I’d slept with other men.
The sex had even been fantastic.
With Lewis it had been romantic and sweet and loving and great. But we’d been kids who were just discovering sex with each other. The first bloke I’d slept with after Lewis had been a disaster, so much so I couldn’t even think about it. Then there had been Remy. The sex was okay (Remy was a selfish lover), but with Gabriel, it had been adventurous, sometimes rough, and exciting. Grown-up sex.
The thought of Lewis with other women shouldn’t bother me at all. It was hypocritical.
Shoving away from the sink, unable to bear listening to the redhead’s conversation as she planned her next approach on my ex, I hurried out of the bathroom.
Only to smack right into the object of my current distress.
Lewis reached out as if to steady me and suddenly afraid of what his touch might do, I jerked away.
Coming here was a mistake.
“Callie—”
“It’s too loud in here, so I’m heading out. Will you tell Eilidh? Thanks!” I didn’t wait for a response, hightailing it to the exit as fast as I could.
Bursting out of the club, I sucked in a lungful of shoddy air and shakily exhaled. Laughter and traffic filled my ears, and the air was thick with smog. So much so, I longed for Ardnoch. There was nothing like a fresh gulp of Highland air. Clean and crisp.
I stumbled away from the club, suddenly hating this city for being something Ardnoch could never be. Its pull so strong that it had torn me and Lewis apart.
It was a mistake to come here.
I hated London and all it stood for in my life.
“Callie!”
No.
Halting, I briefly closed my eyes before turning to face him.
Lewis’s concerned gaze met mine as he reached up to tuck a strand of hair behind his ear. A few chunky silver rings glinted on his big-knuckled fingers. It was difficult in the glare of a million streetlights to make out the images on the full-sleeve tattoo of his left arm.
Where had he gotten the tattoo? When? Why?
All these things I would have known seven years ago. I probably would have sat in the chair next to him while he took the ink. But I knew nothing about the last seven years of his life, and I was knocked on my arse to realize how much that still hurt.
I despised him for that too.
He searched my eyes. “Can we … can we go somewhere?”
Surprised by the request, I shrugged. “Why?”
Lewis made a sound of disbelief. “Because we haven’t seen each other in years.”
“That was your decision.”
Anger flashed in his eyes. “Callie—”
“I need to get back to my hotel.”
“Please,” he bit out, voice rough. “You never have to speak to me ever again after it.”
The curious part of me, the part of me that would always, unfortunately, be drawn to him, nodded reluctantly. “Okay.”
Lewis seemed to sag with relief. “Great. Follow me.”
Falling into step beside him, I didn’t feel even a shred of uncertainty as he led me down a dimly lit lane between the club and the next building. No matter what had occurred between us, I’d always feel physically safe with Lewis.
Emotionally, not so much.
“Where are we going?”
He gestured to a green motorbike sitting beneath a lamppost.
It shouldn’t have surprised me.