Page 26 of Unraveled

“Don’t call me that.”

His brows lifted, and the smirk on his lips became a full-fledged grin. “I like a woman with some fire.” Her lips parted to shut him down, but he cut her off. “Too bad you’re not my type.”

Audrey jerked back slightly at his words, not sure if she should be relieved or offended. He rested one arm over the back of her chair and turned his body to fully face her. “You’re beautiful, no doubt about that, but I know a taken woman when I see one.”

She dropped her gaze and fiddled with the napkin in her lap. “I’m not taken. I’m not seeing anyone.”

“Not even the guy who can’t take his eyes off you?”

Audrey snapped her head toward him. “What?”

At the very same moment, the sensation of being watched tickled at the back of her neck, and she turned to survey the restaurant. Abruptly, like a magnet drawn to steel, her gaze collided with a pair of familiar dark brown eyes, smooth and dark as melted chocolate, and a thousand times more tempting. She wanted to drown in the deep depths.

Her heart leaped, and her breath caught in her chest as he stared back at her, unblinking. He flicked his eyes toward Mason before returning them to hers, and his brows lowered slightly. Despite their brief interactions, she knew that look. He was pissed.

She swallowed hard and picked up a glass of water just to give her hands something to do. She took a tentative sip, but the glass trembled in her grasp, and she quickly set it down again.

“You good?”

Audrey tipped her face up to Mason, whose expression now registered concern. “I’m fine,” she assured him.

“You sure? Because if he’s bothering you⁠—”

She waved one hand in the air, as if batting the thought away. “No, no, nothing like that. He’s not dangerous or anything. He would never hurt me.” Just her heart.

Mason’s lips pressed into a firm line, and she set a gentle hand on his forearm. “I promise. I appreciate your concern, though. And besides, it was never serious between us.”

The charismatic smile returned. “Not sure I believe that. Cross looks like he wants to rip my face off right now.” Glancing toward Carter, she snatched her hand away from Mason’s arm. If he’d looked angry earlier, now he looked downright thunderous.

Suddenly, his words registered. “Wait—you know him?”

Mason dipped his chin. “Went to school with him.”

Oh, Lord. Just what Audrey needed—for Carter to think she was dating a friend of his. She didn’t owe him a thing, but she didn’t want to hurt him, either. Her stomach twisted, and she felt the sudden need to get away from both of them.

Her hands fumbled as she picked up the napkin, then folded it and placed it on the table. “Excuse me.” She pushed her chair back and stood. “I need to use the restroom.”

“Oh,” Hannah started. “I⁠—”

Across the table, Audrey shot her a look, and she immediately fell silent. “I’ll be back in just a moment.”

Without waiting for a response, Audrey cut across the restaurant, desperately trying to escape the dark brown eyes she could feel burning a hole in her back.

CHAPTER

FOURTEEN

Carter stared at the businessman in front of him, just barely resisting the urge to choke the life out of him. Howard Darlington was the one who’d been in the wrong, yet here he sat, trying to screw his wife out of what she rightly deserved.

Carter wasn’t one to judge someone on their looks, truly he wasn’t, but he wouldn’t have blamed the woman one bit if she had cheated on him. Though that was the story Darlington had tried to spin, it was actually the other way around.

His wife had gotten curious at his extended absences and had hired Vantage to tail him. Come to find out, the man had a hot little side piece nearly twenty years his junior. Why in God’s name the girl was interested in someone like him blew Carter's mind.

Mentally, he rolled his eyes. Of course. Money. It was one of life’s greatest motivators. He couldn’t even bring himself to feel bad for the little gold digger. She deserved whatever happened when he got tired of her ten years from now, too.

“I want full custody, too,” Darlington said as he swiped the napkin over his mouth. Carter took a drink to cover a snort. That was highly unlikely. The courts almost always sided with the mother, except in situations where they suspected illegal activity or abuse.

He seriously doubted the guy even wanted his kid. It was more than likely just a power play, something to hold over his wife’s head to make her more amenable to giving him whatever he wanted. It burned Carter that he might actually be able to make it happen by bribing whichever judge was assigned to his case.