“I don’t pretend you don’t exist, Heath. I just thought—”
“Stop thinking on my behalf. I don’t need a woman to speak for me, to make my decisions. This is a relationship, whether you fucking like it or not, and you will treat me with the respect I command.”
She crossed her arms over her chest and slightly tilted her chin down.
“What? Are you ashamed of me?”
“No.” The answer burst from her lips immediately, like it was an instinct.
“Then what the fuck?”
“I just…” She looked away as she ran her fingers through her hair. “I don’t know. I’ve never been in a relationship before, and this wasn’t even supposed to be a relationship, and now I’m having to do things I’ve never done before. I’ve never brought a man to anything before.”
“How is it any different from us together at the bar?”
“Because those are just my friends. This is with other people I work with, other people in society. A lot of people know my brother, and they might mention this to him.”
“So?” I asked. “You aren’t scared to tell him off, so if he sticks his nose in your business, tell him to fuck off.”
She sighed quietly.
“If you really don’t want me there, then fine.” I turned away, swallowing my pride and dropping the conversation. I wasn’t going to beg her to take me, to make her do something she didn’t want to do. I had too much self-respect for that shit.
“Heath.”
I kept walking.
She came after me and grabbed me by the arm. “Wait.”
I only turned around because I wanted to, because whenever she touched me, I turned into a fucking pussy. I looked down at her, my eyes still full of rage.
“I’m sorry.” Her hands grabbed onto my arms, her chin tilted up so she could look into my gaze. “It’s not that I don’t want you there. It’s not that I’m ashamed of you. It’s not that I’m trying to hide you. I guess I like my independence, and I have to learn to let that go…because I’m not alone anymore. I have you.”
I stared into her eyes and saw her sincerity.
“I’m just not used to being two people…instead of one.”
When we met, she told me all these things, that she didn’t want to settle down for many years. This was supposed to be a fling, one which probably should have burned out by now, but it turned into something neither one of us expected. “Then ask me to come with you.”
She smiled slightly once I forgave her. “Come with me.”
The brightness in her eyes allowed me to believe her, allowed me to let it go. “Don’t let it happen again.” I would give her a pass on this, but she better learn from her mistake, better not pull this stunt again.
“I won’t.”
I cupped her face and leaned down to kiss her. “Alright.” I released her and walked back into the bedroom.
She followed behind me. “It’s black tie, so what are you going to do?”
I pulled on a shirt and grabbed my jeans from the closet. “Go to Balto’s.”
She cocked an eyebrow, not following my thought process.
“We’re the same size—so his suit will fit me.”
“Does he even own a suit?”
“One.” I came back to her and pulled on my shoes. “The one he wore on his wedding day.”
Catalina was stunning.
She wore a backless dress, falling so deep down her backside that the top of her ass was nearly visible. Her hair was pinned around her head, wrapping all the way until her long strands fell down a single shoulder. With dark makeup on her eyes and sparkly jewelry, she looked unbelievable.
Thank fucking god she didn’t come alone.
My arm was around her waist as we walked inside, collecting the flutes of champagne offered to us.
This suit was stuffy, the tie like a rope around my neck. My temperature always ran hot, so I felt twenty degrees hotter than usual. I’d picked up a fifty-thousand-euro watch on the way home just to wear for the evening, even though I never wore jewelry except the ring on my hand. I felt ridiculous in the outfit, like a goddamn clown.
But Catalina couldn’t stop looking at me—like she liked it. It was the same look she gave me when we were in bed together, that she couldn’t believe just how sexy I was, that she couldn’t handle my cut physique, that she couldn’t believe I was real.
So that made it worthwhile.
Her friends stared at me too—a lot.
She introduced me to a few people, and she was initially surprised at how well I could handle myself, shake hands with strangers and make small talk, even make people laugh. The longer the night went on, the more impressed she became.
When we had a minute alone together, she turned to me, her eyes almost level with mine because of the sky-high heels on her feet, adding at least five inches of height to her petite size. “You look really good in that suit…” She looked me up and down as she drank from her glass, smearing her red lipstick against the edge.