I had to give Hillary credit for rushing outside and doing her best to convince him not to come in. She went as far as to tug on his arm and try to lead him across the street, but despite those efforts, it wasn’t long before Mike was dragging her back to the front door of the restaurant, his neck and jaw so tight it looked like he might burst a capillary.

“Holy shit,” I said, stunned and only vaguely aware of Drew’s hands guiding me to sit next to him.

“Breathe.” He was unfazed as he draped an arm over my shoulder. “We just did rehearsal and now it’s showtime. I thought you were ready.”

“I am ready,” I insisted, close to believing it myself. I just hadn’t expected this kind of wrath from Mike, and I was startled. It looked like I should be preparing myself for a war.

Of course, the Mike outside and the Mike that came in wound up being two totally different people.

I heard him hissing, “I’m fine. I’m fine,” to Hillary just as he came in. Then he jerked out of her grip and approached our table, wild-eyed and wearing a big, crazy smile I’d never seen on him before in my life.

What… on Earth.

He had tons of fake smiles in his arsenal after years of working PR, but this… this smile looked almost deranged in the way it twitched at the ends. Considering his completely unnatural expression, I was actually a surprise that his voice came out sounding so passably cordial.

“Hi. Wow. Unless I’m mistaken, I do believe you’re Drew Maddox,” Mike said, holding out his hand and managing a chuckle, albeit a strained one in which he simply said the words “ha ha” without turning them into convincing laughter.

Oh God. This was already good.

“Hey man, nice to meet you.” Lifting his muscled arm off my shoulder, Drew reached over my lap and shook Mike’s hand. Lord. I felt an odd shriveling sensation when I noted how Mike’s hand looked like that of a hairy child’s in Drew’s grip. “Sorry, I didn’t catch your name.”

“It’s Michael. Michael Stuart,” Mike said as I leaned in close to Drew. My heartbeat picked up as I caught Mike’s eye while murmuring into Drew’s ear.

“As in my ex, babe,” I said, taking a sick pleasure in the way Mike flinched at the word “babe.” “Hey,” I offered Mike a polite smile while taking further pleasure in the way his wild, almost panicked eyes traveled in nervous ticks all over me. My face. My hair. My dress. His nostrils flared and most tellingly, The Vein made its appearance. It was notorious among our group of friends for coming out on Mike’s broad forehead whenever he was worked up or pissed off, and today, it looked bigger than I’d ever seen it.

Still, he kept smiling that crazy smile.

“So. What’s…” He trailed off, pointing at me then Drew with the clear intention of asking what’s going on here? But instead, he cleared his throat and lamely asked, “You guys having lunch?”

I knew what was happening. If there was anything I knew about my ex, it was that he was prideful like none other. We didn’t exactly come from a place known for manners or class, so growing up he overcompensated for it. In public and around others, he always carried himself with an almost WASP-y air – like we’d grown up boating and going to the country club on weekends, even though we definitely did not.

I saw his need for that image working double time now – especially as Drew smoothed his hand over my bare knee.

Oh God.

“Yeah, it’s my one day off this month, and any time I can get off, I always spend with her,” Drew said casually. I knew he was tracking Mike’s gaze because the second Mike flicked his eyes down to his hand on my knee, he gave it such a dirty little squeeze that a burst of tingles shot up my thigh.

Holy fuck.

I almost moaned on the spot.

“Right. Of course.” Mike said tightly, visibly struggling to keep his eyes up as Drew began rubbing slow circles over my knee. My heart slammed in my chest. God help me. I did my best not to squirm. Meanwhile, Mike pulled at his collar. “One day off a month. I can’t imagine living like that.”

Drew chuckled. It was still smiles all around, but a palpable tension thickened the air.

“Yeah, but it’s worth it to play for Major League Baseball. And ten years in the league – I’m used to it by now.”

Yeah. Just another reminder that he’s a pro athlete, Mike, and not a whiny little bitch baby.

“Well, I know Evie falls asleep at like, nine-thirty,” Mike laughed, this time unable to hide his disparaging tone. “So I take it you two don’t get to see much of each other.”

“Oh, I stay up as late as I need to for him,” I offered, my words coming out with much more of a sultry rasp than I intended. Drew cocked an eyebrow at me. Oops. Blame the impromptu leg massage he was giving me. It felt so damned good it made me feel almost drunk.

“That right?” Mike managed another chuckle, but I could tell from the way he fixed his unblinking stare on me that he was trying to ask me a million silent questions, all of them variations of Evie, what the fuck is going on? “Pretty sure I remember that when you sleep too late, you can’t fall asleep at all.”

“That used to be the case. But Drew’s really, really good at tiring me out.”

Fire lit Mike’s eyes as Drew gave a low laugh of surprise.

“Easy, babe,” he murmured in as he straight up rubbed my thigh up and down. God, oh God, oh my God. I felt like I was about to combust just as Hillary glided over with a big, nervous smile.

“Guys! Gotta have dessert before you go!” she sang, catching my eye and mouthing Oh my God, I’m so sorry as she placed a Mont Blanc on the table. I mouthed back don’t worry as she trilled, “I’ll go get the check!”

Then she scurried off like a mouse, and it was insanely awkward as Mike just stood there and watched me take a bite.

“That’s it?” he laughed at me. “Evie. Stop acting like you’re not dying to inhale that. Mont Blancs are your favorite. I’ve seen you crush two in a sitting.”

Good God. I could kill him.

“Yes, but I’m full,” I said slowly, trying not to shoot him daggers so as to appear unfazed. But I was pretty sure I failed because the smuggest grin spread his lips, and he apparently found enough confidence to nudge Drew and laugh.

“Christ. You got her on an athlete’s diet or what, Maddox?”

“Nah,” Drew laughed, turning over to let his gaze drop down the front of my dress. “Definitely not. She knows that body’s fuckin’ perfect as is,” he said in a low mutter before looking up at me.

Lord.

I did my best to return his eye contact without melting into the chair. With his hand still on my knee, it felt like an extremely real possibility. But luckily, Hillary soon returned, doing a silly dance and waving around a check that was just receipt paper on which she’d scrawled on da house – thank you!

“Hil!”

Drew and I spent a minute protesting against Hillary’s staunch insistence, but the whole conversation wound up falling silent when Mike made a tacky joke about Drew being a millionaire who could afford to be charged double. After that thoroughly awkward moment, Drew tucked a wad of bills under his beer and we popped to our feet, hugging Hillary thank you and goodbye before waltzing outside to wait for the car.

“Wow. Okay. Breathe,” I whispered to myself the second we got outside, still feeling the surging adrenaline rush for a job well done.

I did it.

I’d acted convincingly taken in front of Mike. I’d shown him that I’d moved on, with Drew Maddox, and I’d slipped away fast enough to leave him sputtering with questions that he’d be forced to mull over for a week before seeing me again at Hillary’s family and friends dinner. Ideally, that week of confusion would give him some empathy for what he’d put me through after the out-of-nowhere breakup with no answers, and we’d wind up having a mature, productive chat about what the heck happened between us.

Despite Mike’s surprise appearance, everything was still going according to plan, and it was perfect.

Until I realized I left something in the restaurant.

“Crap. I left my bag with all the returns in there,” I blurted just as I was about to get into the car. My shoulders slumped as I turned around to look at the restaurant again. “Dammit. This totally ruins my grand exit.”

Drew snorted.

“I’ll go if you’re scared.”

“I’m not scared, I’m just – ”

Ugh. I finished my sentence by simply marching back in, weaving quickly through the staff to reach my bag and then power-walking in my heels toward the door.

Of course, Mike caught me on my way out.

“Evie! Hey. Wait.”

“Yes?” I turned around to find him stopping breathlessly in front of me, his eyes searching my face.

“Hey, what’s… what’s going on?” he asked. “What’s this you and Drew situation? This is for real?”

I managed a confused smile.

“Yes? It’s for real.”

“Evie.” Drew folded his arms and gave me a look. “It’s me. Come on.”

“Yes, I know you are, Mike. But what do you mean ‘come on’?”

“You know what I mean.”

“I don’t. What is it?” I ground out, getting irritated. Mike threw his arms out incredulously and laughed big like I’d just made a great joke.

“Stop trying to fuck with me is what! Alright? Please. I know you’re not with fuckin’ Drew Maddox.”

I squinted. “Then what do you think you just saw?”

“I don’t know! You were just hanging out with Emmett and Aly and he just happened to come by. Right? ‘Cause let’s be real here, that man’s a celebrity. He’s famous. He’s not the same as us.”

“Us?” I repeated. I used to live for that word coming out of his mouth, but today I was sure I hated it. “And what exactly are we?” I asked carefully.

“I don’t know,” Mike sputtered defensively. Then I sneered. “But I can tell you what we’re definitely not: models. And Drew Maddox could be dating models if he wanted to.”

I stared at Mike, in awe of just how low he could go. It wasn’t enough to dump your longtime girlfriend out of the blue, apparently. You also had to remind her, once she started dating again, that she wasn’t a model.

“I mean am I lying?” he snorted.

“I’m leaving now,” I said simply, letting just one more second pass before I reached for the door and marched the hell out.

Right away, I spotted Drew leaning leisurely against an SUV parked out front. The eyes of the street were staring at him as he stared at his phone. But the moment he heard the first angry clack of my heel on the pavement, he looked right up and frowned.

“Hey. You okay?”

“Yes. Just do me a favor.” I was already breathless.

“What?” He stood up straight as I marched over to him.

“He’s watching right now, so do something,” I said hotly, heels clacking. “For him to see. Whatever you want, just do it now,” I muttered fast.

Drew tilted his head warningly as if to ask if I was sure. But another second passed, and his gentleman window was gone. It was like a switch had flipped and suddenly, his gaze was heavy, pinned to all the bouncing parts of body as I stormed over to him in a fury.

The second I was close enough to grab his shirt he caught the nape of my neck and slammed his mouth over mine.

I squeezed the handful of cotton, pulling it away from his chest as his tongue collided against mine. Its roughness made my pussy instantly throb. When I felt his arm circle my waist, I let my knees go weak because his kiss was so instantly deep, hungry. Demanding. The way his tongue lashed and pulsed against me made it feel as if he’d been waiting forever to taste me, and I truly couldn’t remember the last time my body felt this hot. And wanted.

“Touch me somewhere,” I exhaled between kisses. “Put your hand on my – ”

He cut me off with his palm flat on my ass, squeezing me so hard with those long fingers that I felt him spreading my pussy. Oh my God. Warmth pooled in my panties as he held his tight handful of me, refusing to let go as his shamelessly rough, greedy tongue stroked against mine.

Crap. This was going far beyond PDA. We’d surpassed three seconds at this point, but it felt too fucking good to stop.

“Trying to torture me?” Drew growled into my mouth, and only then did I realize that I was grinding my body against his – was it? Oh God, it was – his enormous fucking erection.

Holy shit.

I yanked away, forcibly removing myself from Drew’s body. Once my brain caught up to my body and realized that he’d just had his swollen dick pressed up against my belly, I looked down and breathed out, “Fuck.” There was no way to contain my shock because good God, it looked like a steel pipe was lying diagonally across his left thigh. My own thighs clenched at the sheer sight of his size, and I couldn’t tear my eyes away till he grasped the front of my dress and jerked me back into his body.

“Drew!” I hissed as I felt every throbbing inch of him again. My mouth fell open when I tried pushing off and he tightened his grip, holding me right in place. “Are you really forcing me to rub up against your dick right now?” I whisper-yelled furiously.

He looked down his nose at me, lust mixed with irritation in that heavy-lidded gaze.

“No,” he replied slowly, squeezing his handful of my dress. “I’m using you as a shield because I’m rock hard in the middle of the street and half the sidewalk has their phones out. Which means if my dick winds up in the tabloids tomorrow, you owe me a fucking lap dance in that maid costume.” He cocked his head with a smirk. “Deal?”

I blinked at him for several seconds. Despite my racing heart, I managed to give something of a laugh.

“Totally. Deal,” I snorted, solely because this maid costume didn’t actually exist. Of course that didn’t stop me from fantasizing about it for the duration of the car ride, during which I sat in total silence while staring out the window because as much as I wanted to deny it, I was realizing something truly and severely annoying:

I kind of liked Drew Maddox.

He was an arrogant jock and everything I knew to avoid in a man, but I enjoyed his company. In fact, I was beyond attracted to him.

Which meant the next three months of resisting him were about to be chaos.