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"It was nice to meet you, Natasha," said Beau, standing up.
"You too, Beau." She gave him a saccharine smile. "And if you fuck with my girl, I'll hunt you down myself. Bye!"
Evangeline watched her saunter away, drawing the attention of almost every male eye in the bar.
"She's intense," Beau said, taking his seat again.
"She's just looking out for me. You screwed me up last time," she replied, shocking him with her honesty.
He looked down at the table. "I am truly sorry for what happened."
"So you've said. I’m still struggling to understand why you did what you did."
She hated thinking about that night... hated the way it had made her feel like she was worthless—less than worthless.
Beau sucked in a breath, his expression vacillating between apprehension and indecision. He drained the last of his bourbon and cleared his throat. "It was just me and my mom and we were flat broke. I dropped out of school because I had to get a job to keep a roof over our heads, clothes on our backs, and food in our stomachs. The astronomical cost of my mom's cancer drugs meant I took on a second job—a night janitor position at a twenty-four-hour gym—just to keep our heads above water."
He looked at the empty glass in front of him. "Fuck," he muttered, reaching across the table to grab one of Natasha’s abandoned martinis. Scrubbing a hand over his face, he went on. "She was dying. I was facing the loss of my mother, my anchor, and—"
"You pushed me away," she whispered, her voice broken despite her wanting it to stay strong. She met his gaze. "You pushed me away when you should have kept me close."
"Yeah." Beau swallowed audibly. "I did. And it was the biggest mistake I've ever made. I hadn’t pictured my life without you in it."
She picked up her glass of bourbon and swirled around the quarter inch of amber liquid.
"Say something, Vee," he pressed.
"What do you want me to say?" she replied scornfully. "That I felt the same way?"
His eyes widened. "Did you?"
"Of course I fucking did," she spat back, her voice raised. She glanced around the room to make sure she hadn't spoken too loudly. "I loved you, Beau. I wanted to spend the rest of my life with you, but youfuckedit up."
His expression was taut. "I want to get back to that."
She shook her head. She wasn't willing to risk her heart again. "I can't offer you that."
"What can you offer me?"
She glared at him, trying to ignore the way her stomach clenched in anticipation at his tone. It seemed his dominant streak was very much still alive. He wanted to know what she wanted from him? She'd damn well tell him.
"Sex."
One of his brows rose. "Sex?"
"Yes. No strings. No jealousy. No expectations. Just sex."
With a sigh, he leaned back in his chair, mirroring her position. "No strings?" She nodded. "What about dating?"
"Dating?" she replied.
He reached for his drink. "Dating others.Fuckingothers."
Her eyes darted to the people sitting around them. Nobody was listening. "I don't give a shit what you do, Beau, as long as you don't try to have a relationship with me. I'm not interested in giving you anything more than my body right now, and all you need to do is give me what I want."
His eyes grew dark. "I'd be more than happy to give you want you want." He stood up. "Let's get out of here."
Evangeline tipped the rest of her drink down her throat and stood. "I'm still fucking pissed off at you."
