Beloved (Toni Morrison Trilogy #1)(6)
“That’s great! I’m sure you’ll get it,” Ashton says, smiling.
We laugh, catching up on work and any good gossip about people from back home.
Ashton and Gretchen are babbling on about some movie they’re both dying to see, so I glance around the room and take in the crowd. When I hear a boisterous laugh, I turn, searching for the source of the sound. When I see him my breath catches. He’s sitting at a table to my left with a few guys. There’s something about him that’s mesmerizing, something that prevents me from tearing my eyes away. His entire presence pulses with energy, demanding my attention without saying a word. He has dark hair, styled—or maybe not—in sexy disarray. His strong jaw is covered in stubble, only adding to his attraction. Though I can’t see his eyes clearly from here, I can imagine the virility within them. But it’s not just his looks, which are more than any man should be allowed to have. There’s more …
He’s commanding even in a relaxed state: confident bordering on arrogant. Every part of him is captivating.
“Earth to Catherine!” Ashton waves her hands in front of me, breaking my trance on the sexy stranger across the room.
“Sorry … too much wine.” I laugh and grab my glass, trying to keep my attention off him.
We finish our dinner and polish off another bottle. It’s been a wonderful night, filled with laughter and tons of memories of our crazy childhood. I’m glad we could spend this time together.
Gretchen clears her throat. “So … I got a call from Piper the other day. She called the office asking if we could talk. She said she needed legal advice.”
I was about to take a sip but freeze midway. My heart accelerates at the sound of her name. We all became friends with Piper during college. She was in my marketing class and also in one of Ashton’s labs. Over the years, we grew apart, but until three months ago we all considered her a friend. After what happened though, no one has spoken to her again. If hateful is what I feel toward Neil, murderous is what I feel toward Piper. What she did to me is reprehensible. No woman should ever go after someone else’s man. Which brings us to the burning question: Why, after three months, has she decided she needs legal advice from Gretchen?
Ashton chimes in quickly, “I hope you told her to take her fake-ass bullshit and shove it, and the only thing you’d represent is a case against her.”
“Oh honey, I told her that and a whole lot more. I still can’t believe she was so devious about everything. I always knew she was jealous of you and Neil, Cat, but I never believed she was capable of being so disgusting.”
Air … I need air. “I’m gonna go to the bathroom. Be right back.”
“Cat,” Ashton calls out, empathy swimming in her eyes.
“It’s fine. I’m okay.” I smile and pat her arm before heading toward the bathroom.
As I’m sliding through the tiny aisle, a chair juts out and slams into me, throwing me backward. My arms shoot out in an effort to brace myself from the inevitable fall, but two arms wrap around my torso, saving me from hitting the ground. However, I’m now sitting in a stranger’s lap.
“You okay?” a deep, throaty voice asks from behind me.
The sound of his rasp stills me, awakening all of my senses as it reverberates through my body. “Yes, thank you,” I say, trying to calm my heart rate.
“Glad I caught you.” Before I can move, his large hands grasp my hips to lift me up. His fingers wrapping around my waist may as well be flipping an internal switch inside of me. My heart kicks up, beating erratically from the warmth of his hands on my body.
I stand and turn, locking eyes with the most hypnotizing blue-green eyes I’ve ever seen. If I thought he was handsome from across the room, up close he redefines the word. He’s rendered me speechless. My eyes devour him, my mind cataloging every feature. A dimple on his left cheek, a square jaw, and an angular nose give him a rugged, almost beautiful face. Everything about him screams masculinity.
I start to wobble on my heels and he stands, placing his hands on my shoulders to steady me. I take a deep breath, inhaling the scent of crisp linen and cologne—his scent. It fills my mind, practically overwhelming me, as I commit it to memory.
“I’m so sorry,” I murmur, barely able to form words.
“No need to apologize. That * should’ve been more careful. Can’t say I minded, though.” His eyes crinkle in amusement.
Is he flirting with me? How sad that I don’t know for sure.
“Well …” I give a shy smile. “Thank you again for catching me.”
He stares at me, looking me up and down. Something about his gaze makes me feel naked, exposed. Here I am, standing before him, fully dressed but completely bare.
“So since I saved you from a rather embarrassing moment, how about you tell me your name?” the drop-dead gorgeous man asks in that low rasp of his.
And though every part of me feels inexplicably drawn to him, something in the back of my mind, the part that knows how off-kilter he’s knocked me, is telling me not to give it to him. I have no reason in the world to want this man, but I do and I can’t explain it, which means it’s time to walk away.
Trying to find an excuse, I look over at Gretchen and Ashton. “Sorry. I have friends waiting.” I shrug.
“Well tell them to come join us.”