Gian (Trassato Crime Family #1)(6)

He rapped his knuckles on the counter, and the bartender magically appeared in front of us. “Marc, I’d like a Maker’s Mark on the rocks, and lady would like…?” He directed the full force of his attention to me, looking at me questioningly.

“The same,” I said weakly.

His eyebrows lifted. “A whiskey drinker, huh?”

“No.” I exhaled shakily. “But I could use something to take the edge off.”

He cocked one eyebrow. “Bad day?”

“More like a bad year.”

“Do you want to talk about it?” He bent to the side and said something to the man sitting next to me, who immediately vacated his seat.

“No.” I laughed. “And you don’t need to pretend you want to hear my sob story either.”

The bartender placed two lowball glasses on the bar top filled with a golden-tan liquid. I tossed back half of it in one giant gulp. Fire spread through my stomach, and the hair on my arms stood on end.

“Come on. I’m a good listener,” the man prodded. He swirled the brown liquid in his glass, revealing two tiny red buttons on the cuff of his white dress shirt.

“Are you serious?” I said, studying the sharp, yet appealing, angles of his face and the strong column of this throat. His dark hair nearly brushed the collar of his shirt. I folded my arms across my waist, battling the urge to reach out and touch it. This was not good. I couldn’t remember the last time a guy affected me like this. Despite all his practiced charm, Kevin never caused my heart to riot in my chest.

“Absolutely. That’s what strangers are for.” He slid his forearm along the counter and pitched his torso closer to mine, ignoring his drink.

Ignoring the bodies brushing against us.

Ignoring strobe lights flashing on the dance floor.

Ignoring everything aside from me.

Unwanted desire hummed through me so powerfully—I couldn’t take my eyes off him. I was intensely aware of every pesky inch separating us.

“Fine.” Crinkling my nose, I tossed back the rest of my whiskey and puckered my lips. “I’ll give you the quick version. I caught my fiancé cheating on me one month before our wedding. I broke off our engagement.”

“Ahh,” he said, his grin widening. “This calls for a celebration.” He raised his hand, summoning the bartender again. The soft weave of his dark suit brushed against my arm, and a shiver darted down my spine. “A refill for…?”

“Evangeline.”

He edged closer to me. “Another drink for Evangeline,” he said to the bartender, without breaking eye contact with me.

Electricity zipped through my nerve endings, and my stomach fluttered with anticipation. I blinked, unable to comprehend how such an insignificant touch could do so many crazy things to me. “And you are?” I asked, mentally cursing the throaty sound of my voice.

“Gian.” He lifted his glass. “To a fresh start, new friends, and new adventures.”

I clinked my glass against his and took a sip, mindful of the fact that I had an interview in an hour or so.

“You’re rather innocent looking. You don’t come to places like this often, do you?”

Nervous laughter bubbled from my lips. “Just because I don’t like clubs doesn’t mean I’m innocent.”

The corners of his lips twitched. “Then why are you here?”

I raised and then dropped one shoulder lazily, the whiskey warming me from the inside out. “Like I said earlier, I’m meeting someone here.” I brought the glass to my lips again.

“Is that your way of telling me you’re not leaving here with me tonight?”

“Um…” I choked mid-swallow.

I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand, training my gaze anywhere other than on him, and that’s when I spotted Kevin. He pushed Ana’s white-blonde hair away from her face, leaned in, and kissed her. My stomach plummeted to the floor, and my vision blurred at the edges. While I didn’t want him back, I couldn’t pretend seeing them together didn’t hurt. He had texted and called me every day this week trying to get back together. What a piece of shit.

“Hey, look at me,” Gian coaxed, his warm breath tickling my ear.

Hostility and remorse clogged my throat, nearly suffocating me. I couldn’t believe I pushed my career to the back burner while I wasted a year of my life on him. Kevin caught me staring, and he flashed me a condescending smirk. I wanted to throw my drink at his head. Rather than cause a scene, I swirled around, facing my back to Kevin and Ana, and mentally kicked him in the balls.

“I’m sorry. I need to get out of here,” I rasped, iciness seeping through my veins.

With the pad of his thumb and forefinger, he angled my head toward him. “What’s wrong?”

I opened my mouth, fully intending to lie, only it didn’t happen that way. “My ex is here.”

“Where?” he asked softly without releasing his hold on my chin.

“Behind us. Two tables to the right.”

He dropped his hand and quickly glanced to the side. “The man sitting across from the blonde-haired woman wearing the red dress?” he asked, flashing me a heart-warming smile that was a little bit playful and a whole lot wicked.

I nodded, smoothing my hands over the folds of my short A-line skirt that suddenly seemed hopelessly frumpy in comparison to Ana’s flamboyant red dress with symmetrical waist cutouts.