Elastic Hearts (Hearts #3)(53)

“We’ll see,” I said, trying not to sound as affected as I felt.

“Yeah, we will see.” He let out a breath. “I have to let you go so I can see what to do about my . . . problem.”

I laughed. “Sorry. Sort of. Good luck in your meeting.”

“Thanks. I’ll call you tonight.”

“Oh. I won’t be home,” I said. His silence told me he was expecting me to expand on that, but I didn’t. I wanted him to be the one to ask.

“Where are you going?” he asked finally.

“Out with Chrissy.”

“Chrissy . . . the friend you go club-hopping with?”

I laughed at the fact that he knew Chrissy as the club-hopper. “We don’t club-hop. We’re not twenty-one. We just go to one.”

“Still sounds like trouble,” he said, but I could hear the smile in his voice as he said it.

“You know me, always up to something.”

“I do, and I like that. I’ll call you when I get home. Maybe I’ll catch you before you head out.”

After I hung up with him, I drank two more glasses, soaked in a bath, ordered sushi, got dressed and put on my makeup before Marcus knocked on my door. I opened it and welcomed him inside while I walked around making sure I’d blown out all the candles I’d lit during my hour of relaxation. Rather than her picking me up, I promised Chrissy I’d meet her at the club.

“Let’s go, Marky Mark. If I don’t leave now, my buzz will be gone by the time I get there and I won’t be brave enough to walk into the club by myself.”

“Didn’t you just tell your friend to put me on the list so I could escort you in?”

“You know what I mean.”

“I don’t, but it’s okay, I don’t want to know.”

It took us a bit to get to the club, and then a little longer to park in the back. Marcus suggested valet, but I said no. There was no way I was letting a valet drive my Cayenne. And there was no way I was getting out of the car with the paparazzi around. I wanted to wait for at least some of them to scurry out. Once they did, we got out of the car and walked to the back door. We got inside with no hassle at all. The bouncer looked at me and let me go in, and then did the same to Marcus.

“I’m surprised they didn’t card you,” I said loudly, over the music.

“Why?”

“Baby face,” I said, raising a hand and slapping him playfully. He shook his head.

We made our way upstairs, where Chrissy was waiting with Cass and a few other friends again. The minute she saw me, she bolted out of the chair and pulled me into a hug. But the moment she saw Marcus she let go and gave him all her attention. I couldn’t stop laughing at the look on his face. He came over and told me he was going to stand by the foot of the stairs just in case I needed anything. I was sure he was doing it to get away from Chrissy and her forwardness.

I joined Chrissy and let her pour me a drink from the bottle she’d ordered.

“How’s the hot lawyer?” she asked.

“He’s . . . there. Being hot,” I said as I took a sip of champagne. I really didn’t want to get into it, especially not at a loud club.

“I’m pretty sure I saw him here,” she said, looking around. “I mean, it’s dark, but I could swear it was the same guy.”

My stomach dipped. Victor. Here? I looked around and did a double, then triple take when my eyes landed on Victor. Even though his upper body was facing away from me as he spoke to the people beside him, my heart raced. And when he turned toward me, as if he were looking for me in the crowd, and his eyes met mine, unblinking, I felt the breath whoosh out of me. He stood, and even though it was too dark to see his eyes, I could read the lines of his face and followed suit.

“I’ll be back,” I said to Chrissy, who was now enthralled in conversation with one of the girls sitting in our table.

Victor turned and started walking in the direction I’d come from, and I followed. I saw Marcus when I got there and told him I would be right back. He saw Victor, looked at me, and nodded.

“I’ll be right here,” he said as I walked away.

Victor didn’t stop walking or go outside like I half expected. He didn’t go toward the bathrooms either. Instead, he walked to the right, toward the huge dance floor. My head was pounding with the music, my heart with excitement, trepidation. He stopped walking and stepped off to the side, toward a dark corner where nobody could bump us, and pulled me with him. He leaned back against the side of the bar, his forearm on it so the drink in his hand was dangling.

“What are you doing here?” I asked, stepping forward and speaking up so he could hear me over the music.

His eyes made their way down my body slowly, he licked his lips as they made their way back up and suddenly, despite the vodka in my system, I felt parched. I swallowed and reached out for the drink in his hand, taking a sip of it and making a face at the unexpected bite of alcohol. Victor’s lips bloomed into an amused smile. When he extended his arm, I thought it was to take the drink back from me, but instead it went around my body and pulled me close to him so we were almost chest to chest and the heat of his gaze wasn’t the only thing warming me.

“Isn’t that obvious?” he said, his breath tickling my ear. I shivered and shook my head. His chuckled vibrated into me. “What are you doing here?”