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“Who the hell are you? I’ve never seen you before.” She looked me up and down, taking me in for the first time. “And how dare you speak to me like that. Did you hear what she just said to me?” she asked, whipping toward him, expecting backup. “You’re just going to let her tal⁠—”

“Oh, he doesn’t let me do anything,” I interrupted. “And how ironic that you are suddenly concerned about manners when you haven’t shown any since you walked over.”

Her blue eyes narrowed to slits, lips twisting like she’d just sucked on a lime. “Listen here, you bi⁠—”

“Emma,” he cut her off, his voice low and laced with warning. “I’d be real careful about what you say next. Because I promise—finishing that word won’t bode well for you.”

Her face was comical. Wide-eyed and slack-jawed, she even threw in the scandalized gasp, loud enough to draw the attention of some of the other patrons. Her reaction to him shutting her down told me everything I needed to know. He was probably a stand-up guy, and she used that to her advantage, knowing he wouldn’t push back. The guy probably spent most of their relationship absorbing her toxicity in silence.

It pissed me off.

People who maliciously took advantage of others were everything that was wrong with the world, and while I couldn’t fix every injustice, I could help him out. I just hoped he would catch on and not ruin the performance I was about to put on.

“Babe.” I reached over and rested my hand on his thigh, causing his eyes to widen for a split second, but he didn’t miss a beat.

“Yeah, Sunshine?” he asked, intertwining our fingers and lifting them to his mouth to kiss the back of my hand. Acting like it was the most natural thing in the world.

Butterflies erupted in my stomach.

He doesn’t know you. This isn’t meant to be sentimental. It’s fake. You’re doing a good deed.

This is just the tequila…

Why is he staring into my soul like that?

Strawberry lip gloss coated my tongue as I swiped across my bottom lip, suddenly aware of how dry my mouth was, and those mossy eyes tracked the movement like a predator stalking its prey. Never in my life had I experienced being turned on by something as small as that.

“What the hell is going on here? What do you mean, babe? There’s no way you’ve moved on. I would know.” Emma’s voice had so much disdain that I had to physically stop myself from rolling my eyes—or decking her. I couldn’t tell if her irritation was that he’d moved on, period, or moved on with someone who didn’t look like her.

“Well, maybe you should stop stalking him,” I said.

“Yeah, seriously,” he muttered under his breath, barely loud enough for me to catch. How long had she been bothering him?

Before I could change my mind, I slid off the stool and stepped between his powerful legs, pulling my hand free and looping both arms around the back of his neck. From this position we were at eye level, and my breath hitched at the intensity of his attention.

The fire in that gaze was as palpable as the heat radiating from his inner thighs. Every part of this interaction sent electric shocks coursing through me. I should have thought this through, but I hadn’t predicted my body would react like this to a stranger.

It took Herculean strength to pull my eyes away and look at his ex, who stood not a foot away now. She looked mad enough to spit.

It was borderline comical.

“He’s moved on, but maybe you haven’t? I mean, I can’t for the life of me figure out why you’re still standing here bothering us.”

Rough hands landed on my hips, his thumbs brushing the sliver of exposed skin between the waistband of my jeans and my top. Suddenly, I was no longer standing between his thighs but sitting on top of them. Caged in by a pair of strong arms.

“There’s no way he’s moved on from me,” she spat, stomping her foot.

His chest rumbled against my side as he spoke. “Believe it or not, Emma, the world doesn’t revolve around you. And neither does my life. I’ve left you alone, and I’d appreciate it if you did the same.”

She scoffed, rolling her eyes. “Please, you were always so sensitive.”

That was it. She’d done enough damage to this poor man for one night.

“Babe.” I leaned in close like I was sharing a secret meant only for him, but my voice was loud enough for her to hear. “Let’s get out of here. Go somewhere more…private.”

I squirmed on his lap under the intensity of his gaze, gasping when his grip tightened as he held me still. “If you keep moving, we won’t be going anywhere very soon,” he said with a smirk. It took a second to catch on to what he was implying, but the firm bulge pressed to my hip clued me in pretty quickly. I bit my bottom lip, and he smirked.

What the hell did they put in these drinks?