Lick (Stage Dive, #1)(11)

The immaculate grandeur of the white room spread out before me. Inside and out I felt a mess. The reality of my situation had apparently sunk in, and what a clusterf*ck it was. Lauren had been right on with the word choice.

“David can do what he wants.” My voice echoed through the room, startlingly loud even over the thumping of the music downstairs. I straightened my shoulders. Tomorrow I would meet with his people and the divorce would be sorted. “David can do what he wants and so can I.”

But what did I want to do? I had no idea. So I unpacked my few items of clothing, settling in for the night. I hung David’s T-shirt over a towel rail to finish drying. It was probably going to be needed for sleep wear. Organizing myself took five minutes, max. You could only refold a couple of tank tops so many ways before you just looked pathetic.

What now?

I hadn’t been invited to the party downstairs. No way did I want to think about what might be happening in the pool house. Doubtless David was giving Bikini Girl everything I’d wanted in Vegas. No sex for me. Instead, he had sent me to my room like a naughty child.

What a room it was. The adjoining bathroom had a tub larger than my bedroom back home. Plenty of space to splash around. It was tempting. But I never had been much good at getting sent to my room. On the few occasions it happened at home I used to climb out the window and sit outside with a book. As rebellions went it lacked a lot, but I’d been satisfied. There was a lot to be said for being a quiet achiever.

Screw staying in the room of splendor. I couldn’t do it.

No one noticed me as I crept back down the stairs. I slunk into the closest corner and settled in to watch the beautiful people at play. It was fascinating. Bodies writhed on an impromptu dance floor in the middle of the room. Someone lit up a cigar nearby, filling the air with a rich, spicy scent. Puffs of smoke billowed up toward the ceiling, a good twenty feet above. Diamonds glittered and teeth sparkled, and that was just some of the men. Open opulence fought grunge among the mixed crowd. You couldn’t get better people-watching if you tried. No sign of Mal, sadly. At least he’d been friendly.

“You’re new,” a voice said from beside me, startling the crap out of me. I jumped a mile, or at least a few inches.

A man in a black suit lounged against the wall, sipping a glass of amber liquor. This slick black suit was something else. In all likelihood Sam’s had come off the rack, but not this one. I’d never understood the appeal of a suit and tie before, but this man wore them incredibly well. He looked to be about David’s age and he had short dark hair. Handsome, of course. Like David, he had the whole divine cheekbones thing going on.

“You know, if you move another foot over you’ll disappear entirely behind that palm.” He took another sip of his drink. “Then no one would see you.”

“I’ll give it some thought.” I didn’t bother denying I was in hiding. Apparently it was already obvious to all.

He smiled, flashing a dimple. Tommy Byrnes had dimples. He’d inured me to their power. The man leaned closer, so as to be heard more easily over the music, most likely. The fact that he backed it up by taking a decent-sized step toward me seemed unnecessary. Personal space was a wonderful thing. Something about this guy gave me the creeps, despite the swanky suit.

“I’m Jimmy.”

“Ev.”

He pursed his lips, staring at me. “Nope, I definitely don’t know you. Why don’t I know you?”

“You know everyone else?” I surveyed the room, highly dubious. “There are a lot of people here.”

“There are,” he agreed. “And I know them all. Everyone except you.”

“David invited me.” I didn’t want to drop David’s name but I was being pushed into a corner, figuratively and literally as Jimmy closed in on me.

“Did he now?” His eyes looked wrong, the pupils pinpricks. Something was wrong with this guy. He stared down at the small amount of cleavage I had on display like he intended to plant his face there.

“Yeah. He did.”

Jimmy didn’t exactly seem pleased by the news. He threw back his drink, finishing it off in one large mouthful. “So, David invited you to the party.”

“He invited me to stay for a few days,” I said, which was not a lie. Happily, hopefully, he had somehow missed the news about David and me. Or maybe he was just too stoned to put two and two together. Either way, I wasn’t filling him in.

“Really? That was nice of him.”

“Yes, it was.”

“What room did he put you in?” He stood in front of me and dropped his empty glass into the pot plant with a careless hand. His grin looked manic. My need to get away from him gained immediate urgency.

“The white one,” I said, looking for a way around him. “Speaking of which, I’d better get back.”

“The white room? My, my, aren’t you special.”

“Aren’t I just? Excuse me.” I pushed past him, giving up on social niceties.

He mustn’t have expected it because he stumbled back a step. “Hey. Hold up.”

“Jimmy.” David appeared, earning my instant gratitude. “There a problem here?”

“Not at all,” said Jimmy. “Just getting to know … Ev.”

“Yeah, well, you don’t need to know … Ev.”