Melanie, Lainey, Maura and Andy were busy laughing and chatting away, but Kayla was fixed on Ezra. Something about the way he had suddenly tensed up was putting her on edge, and she wanted to know what was wrong.

“I think I’ll go get another drink. You?” she asked quietly, and Ezra nodded.

“Sure,” he replied, as they both got up from their seats.

Melanie raised a brow at her as they left the table, but the rest of the guys barely noticed they were leaving.

“Be right back,” Kayla said to Melanie as she brushed past him, and only got a loaded “Mm-hmm,” in response.

The bar was busy, with a line of people waiting for their turn to order, and other patrons milling about, holding drinks or heading outside with a pack of cigarettes in their hand. Kayla and Ezra settled into one corner of the bar, as far away from the shuffle as they could.

Kayla could barely see their table anymore as she looked ad Ezra, his gray eyes subtly scanning the crowd. The place was packed now, with the buzz of voices making it hard to hear each other.

“What’s wrong?” Kayla asked, leaning toward him.

He stepped even closer to her until they were inches apart, his elbow resting on the bar and boxing her in. Kayla had to force herself to stay calm as she was face to face with him now, his flawless skin almost glowing, with deep shadows underneath his cheekbones.

He even smells great. That’s not fair.

“There are other vampires here,” he said, quietly enough for her to barely hear.

“What? How do you know?” she asked, resisting the urge to look around.

What would I look for anyway? Fangs? A long, billowy cape? she scoffed, fully aware of how out of her depth she was.

She would never have pegged Ezra as a vampire if he hadn’t told her, so she had to assume whoever he was talking about now would be just as inconspicuous.

“I can sense it,” he replied. “This might sound paranoid, but I think maybe Stephen sent someone to spy on me.”

“You know him better than I do,” Kayla shrugged. “Is that something he would do?”

“It could just be a coincidence, it’s not like vampires are rare or anything. But Stephen does have connections all over the world,” Ezra replied.

He leaned in even closer, his body crowding hers, and some crazy part of her wanted to let her body mold against his, to have him wrap his arms around her and make her feel wanted, desired even.

His breath tickled her ear as he whispered into it, and Kayla couldn’t help the goosebumps spreading out all over her skin.

“If there’s the slightest chance this isn’t a coincidence, we have to act like our engagement is real. Just follow my lead,” he said.

Kayla gulped, before nodding at him as he pulled away. Clearly this fake engagement was very important to Ezra, as he didn’t want to take any chances with Stephen becoming suspicious. Since Kayla hadn’t had to do anything on her part yet, while Ezra had already given her more than enough to cover three month’s rent and also kept cooking her breakfast, the least she could do was play along.

To be honest, she was already halfway there when it came to acting infatuated with Ezra. The way they were standing now, their bodies almost pressed together after he had just whispered in her ear, anyone walking by would come to the reasonable conclusion they were involved.

And by the way Kayla’s heart was racing, she was more involved than she wanted to be.

This isn’t real. And it can’t be real. I’m not ready to move on yet.

Ezra was staring right into her eyes, his gaze intense and his lips curving into a slow, sexy smile.

“You really are something else, Kayla Clarke,” he said, reaching out to brush her hair to the side, his fingers trailing down her neck for a second before he pulled his hand away.

Kayla was a trembling mess at that point, caught between wanting to kiss him and running away. She didn’t have to make that choice, however, as Melanie suddenly appeared behind Ezra, pushing people aside as she rushed to get to them.

“Oh, here you are,” she said, sounding slightly out of breath.

“What’s wrong?” Kayla asked, frowning as Melanie’s eyes darted around the bar and she chewed on her bottom lip.

She can’t sense vampires too, can she? Kayla thought for a moment, before Melanie managed to blurt out what was happening.

“Seth’s here. And he’s not alone,” Melanie replied, watching her reaction closely.

“What?” Kayla exclaimed, loud enough to turn a couple of heads.

The warm, fuzzy feeling that had been taking over her limbs was now suddenly gone as she took a step back from Ezra, her insides turning cold.

“He knows Rooney’s is our hangout spot,” she said, the drinks she’d consumed having nothing to do with how her head was now starting to spin. “Why would he come here? Who’s he with?” she rattled off, turning to Melanie as Ezra took a step aside, listening quietly.

“I don’t know the why, but he’s here with some girl. And they look pretty cozy,” Melanie replied, grimacing a little. “Do you want to get out of here?”

Kayla wanted to say ‘yes’, but something about the way Ezra was looking at her made her reconsider. Why did she have to leave? It was Seth who should have known better than to bring a date to a bar he knew Kayla frequented, mere days after their breakup. If anyone should leave, it was him.

“I’m not going to run away,” she resolved, squaring her shoulders. “I guess I was bound to run into him eventually,” she sighed, reaching up to smooth out her hair without even meaning to.

“I don’t mean to interrupt,” Ezra said, drawing her eyes to him. “But just to clarify, I’m assuming this Seth character is an ex, and that the breakup was not friendly?”

“Yep. He’s also an asshole who stuck Kayla with an apartment they were supposed to share and moved out with no warning say… four days ago?” Melanie helpfully informed him.

“Mel!” Kayla exclaimed, giving her friend a pointed look.

“What?” she asked, slightly annoyed. “It’s the truth, isn’t it?”

“Not the point right now,” Kayla replied through her teeth, sneaking a glance Ezra’s way. “Thanks for the heads up, Mel,” she sighed. “And if you’d restrain yourself from kicking his ass, I’d be very grateful.”

“No promises,” Melanie replied, with a flick of her hair. “Anyway, you carry on getting your drinks, we’ll be at the table,” she said, before turning to leave. “Don’t let Shithead ruin your evening,” she warned over her shoulder, before disappearing into a mass of people.

“If you’ll excuse the unsolicited opinion, your ex sounds pretty terrible,” Ezra remarked, looking down at her as he stood by her side.

“He’s not all bad,” Kayla said, unsure who she was trying to convince. “He just lacks a certain sense of… I don’t know, empathy? Consideration? Yeah, those things he’s never been real good at.”

Ezra just quirked a brow at that, and Kayla was thinking up a better way to explain what she meant, when a familiar figure started to approach the bar, with a thin, black-haired girl on his arm. Kayla felt nailed into place as she just watched Seth walk right over to her, giving her a smile like they were the best of friends.

“Kay-Kay! Good to see you,” he exclaimed, as the girl on his arm looked distinctly bored.

“Hi, Seth,” Kayla replied after a second of stunned silence, doing her best to plaster an entirely insincere smile onto her face.

“Oh, this is Amber, by the way,” Seth gestured toward the woman.

Amber was pretty and tan, wearing a tight dress and expensive-looking shoes, with her eyes rimmed with that perfect winged eyeliner that Kayla could never master.

“Yeah, hi,” she drew out, giving Kayla a brief smile. “Can we get that drink, now?”

“Just a minute,” Seth replied, grabbing a drink menu from the bar and handing it to Amber. “Here, babe,” he said to her, before turning back to Kayla. “So, how are you doing?” he asked, the way he glanced to her right telling her that he finally noticed Ezra standing by her side.

“Hello,” Ezra said smoothly, stepping forward and towering over Seth. “I’m Ezra,” he added, reaching out to shake Seth’s hand.

“Hey there, buddy,” Seth grinned, but his expression changed when Ezra squeezed his hand.

Eyes darting between the two men, Kayla couldn’t help but notice the smile Ezra was wearing looked distinctly predatory, like he was baring his teeth at Seth more than anything else. And on his part, Seth looked downright pained as he looked down at his hand, enveloped in Ezra’s huge palm.

When he managed to pull his hand away, Seth looked a bit rattled as he looked Ezra up and down.

“So, this is a new colleague?” he asked, turning to Kayla. “I already walked past Melanie, and those other guys.”

Kayla knew ‘those other guys’ was a weak attempt to hide the fact Seth had never bothered to learn Lainey’s, Maura’s and Andy’s names. And the fact that he had immediately assumed Ezra was nothing but a colleague stung. Seth had certainly moved on with a beautiful if slightly rude girl, but Kayla finding a date was somehow out of the realm of possibility?

Suddenly, Kayla wished she had run away when Melanie told her Seth was here. Tucking tail wouldn’t have been very brave, but it sure beat the humiliation she was feeling now. How could Seth just stand there and smile at her after what he did? Did it give him some sort of sick pleasure to taunt her with how quickly he had left their life together behind?

“No, we don’t work together,” Ezra answered for her, and it hurt Kayla to see how that confused Seth.

“Oh… Old friends?” he asked, brow furrowing.

“I’d love to stay here, playing twenty questions with you,” Ezra said lightly, but his shoulders were tense and his eyes slightly narrowed. “But this line is too long and I’d rather drink at home, where I’ll have this one all to myself,” he continued, wrapping an arm around Kayla’s shoulders and pulling her close.

“Uh…” Seth stuttered, but Ezra just ignored him.

He was staring down at Kayla, his body pressed against hers, and suddenly, the last thing Kayla cared about was Seth or his new girlfriend. The air between them was electric, the pull she felt toward Ezra now inescapable and irresistible.

And when he leaned down slowly, his eyes fixed on her mouth, all she could do was sigh softly, and let herself melt against him. As his lips softly brushed against hers, nothing mattered but him.

This is crazy, a part of her said.

But she didn’t care.