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She looked the guy over, wondering if she could fuck him and leave him. She could; he dressed well, he smelled good, he was well groomed, but... he wasn’t Beau.No onewas ever going to match up to him. She had to stop comparing every man to him because he was permanently out of the picture now.
“Do you mind if I…?” He gestured to the empty seat opposite her. She shrugged, taking another sip of her drink. With a confident smile, the guy sat down.
“I’m Ethan,” he said.
“Evangeline.”
“It’s nice to meet you, Evangeline.” His eyes darted to her nearly empty glass. “Would you like another?”
“Sure.”
Ethan gestured to someone behind the bar, miraculously ordering them each a drink.
Narrowing her eyes at him, she asked, “Who are you?”
He laughed, the rich sound making Evangeline pay attention to him a little more closely. “Is it that obvious?”
She glanced around at the bar. There were people everywhere, the bar had a line about six people deep and there wasn’t even anyone out on the floor collecting glasses. “It is. So who are you?”
He held out his hand to her. “Ethan Harris; the new owner ofThe Nightingale.”
She didn’t bother to hide the surprise from her face. “What happened to Louisa?”
“She sold it. To me.” Now it was his turn to look surprised. “Do you know Louisa?”
“No. I’m Evangeline Webster. I—”
“OwnTemptation,” he finished. “Yeah, I know who you are.”
“Your drinks, Mr. Harris,” an attractive blonde waitress announced, placing the glasses on the table in front of them.
With an easy smile, he said, “Thank you, Tammy.” He took a sip of his drink, staring over the rim of the glass at her. “I’ve heard about you, you know.”
“Oh?”
“Yeah. They said you were a real ice-queen.”
Tipping her glass toward him, she said, “Guilty.”
“They didn’t say how beautiful you were.”
She swallowed the mouthful of her bourbon audibly. “Man, you are trying hard tonight.”
He grinned at her. “Is it working?”
“Not yet, but I’m still sitting here, so there’s hope for you yet.”
Ethan got more settled in his seat. “So, what’s the occasion?”
“Occasion?”
He gave her areally?look. “I think you’ve been in this industry as long as I have. You know why people come out to bars and clubs. What’s your excuse?” When she remained quiet, he said softly, “Ah, a breakup.”
Her eyes darted to his, not seeing pity or potential in them; there was only a quiet understanding.
“That guy, whoever he is, is a fool to let you go.”
She took a sip of her drink in an attempt to hide her discomfort at being so easily read by a stranger. “I was the one who walked away.”
