About Last Night (About Last Night #1)(82)

Not until I saw him.

I glanced around the room, mouthing the words to OutKast’s “Hey Ya!” when I spotted him. He was dancing with a pretty, short, petite redhead with thick-rimmed glasses and a killer smile.

He was laughing at something she said then he turned to face me. And he did something horrible. He smiled.

Matt Quinn was working. He was working at my event. With a pretty redhead. And later, he would take her home and f*ck her. Because that was what Matt Quinn did.

The very thought turned my insides. He knew all of this, and he had the nerve to smile at me? My stomach clenched painfully as my heart thundered in my chest. I felt faint. Blood roared through my ears and my palms began to sweat. Was this payback for my going on a date?

I didn’t ever remember telling Quinn the name of the event I was planning. I would have to rule this a coincidence. A terrible, horrifying coincidence.

My heart hammered in my chest as I watched him dance with his ward. He leaned down to whisper something into her ear, placing a familiar hand at her shoulder.

I couldn’t watch. It was too painful. I spun on my heels, begging my feet to take me away. They took me away at a fast pace, not stopping until I reached the women’s bathroom.

Unshed tears stung my eyes, and just as I reached out to push the ladies’ room door open, a large hand came down on my shoulder. “Mia, wait.” He spun me around, brought his face down to mine, and searched my miserable expression and bright eyes. His voice softened. “Oh, baby. What’s wrong?” He reached down, caressing my wrists gently in a comforting gesture that only made my blood boil.

“What’s wrong?” I repeated on a whisper. I straightened a little and my voice cracked. “What’s wrong?” I leaned forward an inch and hissed, “You’re here. That’s what’s wrong, Matt.”

His brows furrowed at my tone. He rose to his full height and shrugged lightly, weakly. “I didn’t know this was your event until the emcee announced it, I swear. I realize it’s not professional to—”

I barked a laugh, pulling my wrist from his light grip. “You think I give a shit about professionalism right now?”

Quinn watched me a long moment before muttering, “I thought we were getting past what happened. I thought—”

I cut him off, voice heavy with sarcasm. “You thought it would be cool to bring your work right under my goddamn nose? You thought I’d want to see you with some floozy you’re going to take home at the end of the night and f—”

Something changed in Quinn’s eyes then, and I knew I’d spoken harshly out of anger. He lowered his voice, thinking hard before speaking. “Michelle is a nice lady.” He looked over at his date, and I couldn’t stop my eyes from following. “She’s about as much of a floozy as you are, Mia.” The woman, Michelle, stood at the opposite side of the room, against the wall, looking around uncomfortably, rubbing her arms in a soothing way.

Quinn spoke even softer. “She’s having a hard time dealing with something that happened to her when she was just a girl, something bad. She’s an intelligent, sweet woman deserving of a night out without feeling threatened.”

My stomach lurched violently. I was a horrible person. My jealousy had turned me into a shrieking banshee. A spoiled brat. A mean girl.

I hated those girls.

Placing his hands in his pockets, he rocked back on his heels. “She actually reminds me a little of you.”

I swiped angrily at the tear that had dared to escape. Tonight was a good night, goddamn it! What the hell happened?

Suddenly beat, I stated tiredly, “Get back to your date, Quinn.”

He stood silently a moment before stating, “I miss you.”

I miss you too.

Fuck my f*cking life!

Fingers at my elbow made me suddenly realize I was standing in front of the ladies’ room, looking out into nothingness. He asked quietly, “Are you sure you’re okay?”

I forced a smile. “I’m fine. I’ll be off duty soon enough.” My act of calm failed miserably when nice-lady-Michelle began making her way toward us. “But you’re not. Have fun tonight, Quinn. Give your date her money’s worth.”

Pushing open the ladies’ room door, my heavy feet shuffled in. As soon as the door swung closed, I rubbed at the ache of my racing heart.

So…that’s what being in love feels like.

It was horrible. Dreadful. Then…

Why did I want it more than anything?




Quinn was gone.

It was a little past midnight and I hadn’t seen him—or Michelle—for over an hour, which meant I’d spent the good part of that hour wondering—in graphic detail—what he was doing with kind, sweet Michelle.

I found myself blanching at the thought. Simultaneously, my chest ached. It was something to know the man you loved was an escort. It was a whole other thing seeing him in action with another woman. It hurt. Bad.

Ella had only left the dance floor the one time to make a dash to the ladies’ room. On her way, she rushed past me and pulled me into a sneak-attack hug. I chuckled lightly at her outward enthusiasm then resumed watching from my place beside the stage.

Mike made his way from the dance floor to wait for Ella by the ladies’ room door. And the small gesture made my heart ache. He was clearly a good guy, and I was glad they had this second chance. Sure, I may have had a bit to do with that, but hey, sometimes a person needed a slight nudge.