Hothead (Irresistible 4)

It was about to be the best, most tranquil and stress-free day of my life.

I could already feel it.

6

EVIE

Okay, so my best day ever was already off to a rocky start – but solely because of the ladies who lunch at the table next to me.

They wouldn’t stop shooting dirty looks because I’d arrived a minute before them and was seated at the window table they of course wanted. After complaining in vain to the waitress and manager that they wanted my seat, their queen bee with the overdone lip fillers actually dared to approach me and say that I was affecting the enjoyment of four people, instead of just one by refusing to relinquish my spot.

I, of course, flashed my best eat me smile while politely saying, “I’m sorry, I’m not going to move.”

And since then, it had been a silent war of dirty looks and under-the-breath muttering. To my credit, I only peered at them once when I heard one scoff that I was a “miserable person” and she “wasn’t surprised” by my “lack of company.” But since that remark, I’d been doing a pretty good job of keeping my nose buried in my book.

But shortly after my food arrived, I heard their hushed murmurs again. I paused, momentarily sure that they were now judging my choice of finger sandwiches, but then I heard the sound of shock and unfiltered lust in their voices.

“Oh my Lord, girls. I think it’s our lucky day.”

“Good God. Who gets dibs?”

“I say me because I’m the only one whose husband is out of town.”

I bit back a giggle.

So they were ladies who lunched and also sometimes cheated on their husbands. I had to peek over at them, entirely too amused with how quickly they went from posh to vulgar. One of them was talking about her new sex swing now. Okay. Wow. I was so busy watching their purring, lip-smacking reactions to this random guy that I didn’t care to look up till I tracked their gaping stares right back to my table.

They wore looks of pure indignity as their eyes flicked back and forth between me and their object of desire – who was clearly standing right in front of me.

Oh… God. Slowly, I turned from them and looked up, up, up till I was staring at Drew Maddox.

Standing in the middle of the pinkest, frilliest tea parlor on the East Coast.

Looking like flat-out inked-up sex in a fitted white V-neck and jeans.

Holy fuck.

“What are you doing here?” I breathed.

“I hear they do some killer tea and crumpets,” he deadpanned.

“Seriously. What are you doing here?”

“Can I sit?”

I eyed the ladies to my right, who didn’t care to avert their big eyes when I caught their stares. I didn’t want to give them the pleasure of overhearing whatever Drew was about to say, so with a reluctant pat next to me, I had him take the seat right beside mine.

“Good to know you have horrible taste in restaurants.”

“How did you find me? I didn’t even tell you my name let alone where I might be on this particular Monday.”

“My agent told me your name, and your own best friend sold out your location. I went to find you at her restaurant – ”

“Our restaurant.”

“Sure. And she said you were on your way here,” Drew said, prompting me to peek at my phone, which I’d put on silent. Twelve texts and two missed calls. Okay, yeah. This all checked out. Apparently, Aly hated Mike enough to aid Drew in completely breaching my privacy today.

ME: WOMAN. haven’t read any of your texts yet but I’m going to kill you very soon