Page 11 of Love and Loathing

The sharpness of his tone drew a couple of glances from people nearby. He fought his irritation down, but given there was only panic and despair to take its place, the effort didn’t do much to help his equanimity.

“I told you why,” Evie said, flustered, but still managing to flash a polite smile of thanks to the bartender as he slid her drink towards her. She lifted it from the napkin and took a healthy sip as Aubrey stared, waiting for whatever absurdity she was going to offer.

She put the glass down, lipstick mark a perfect outline on the rim. “I’m here for you,” she said. “You don’t want to do this alone, do you? Roscoe couldn’t make it. And you’re my brother’s friend. I suppose I felt some sort of…responsibility to you, on Roscoe’s behalf.”

“That’s just as stupid as the first time you said it.”

Her colour deepened, anger as much as anything. The elegant line of her jaw tensed as she literally bit back her first response. “Well,” she said after a moment. “I’m here now. So you may as well put up with it.”

Aubrey breathed an unamused laugh. He should have known he wouldn’t get rid of her easily. She was a Blackton. Long experience had taught him they weren’t the repressible type.

“Use me,” she said now, already proving his conclusion. She looked at him, the blush gone from her skin, bright determination in her eyes. Her posture followed suit: she straightened from where she had been leaning on the bar, shoulders going back, only one elbow resting elegantly on the polished mahogany as she drew a little closer, half-turned towards him, and half-facing the room. Her Martini glass was in her other hand, and she gestured to the crowd with it. “She’s out there somewhere. It’s only a matter of time before she spots you. Or maybe she already has. Maybe she’s watching you right now.”

Aubrey almost turned, startled, but before he could look away from Evie’s performance, she leant close to him, mouth inches from his own and murmured, “Right now, what you need to do is imagine bending me over this bar and fucking me until I can’t walk straight.”

He stared at her, speechless, momentarily—unavoidably—imagining exactly that, heat sweeping him.

“That’s it,” Evie murmured, smiling slowly as she began to draw away. “That’s exactly how you want to be looking at me when she spots you.”

“Like what?” Aubrey asked, needing to clear his throat, head swimming at the sudden, unexpected diversion of blood elsewhere.

“Like I’m the only woman in the room.”

He opened his mouth to protest that, but she stopped him with a hand on his cheek and a whisper in his ear.

“She’s coming. Ten metres away. Don’t look.”

FIVE

Evie’s hand shook asshe took another sip of her drink. Luckily, Aubrey was too distracted to notice, staring at her, rigid with shock.

Jesus, what a performance. She’d cringe at it later tonight, lying awake and mortified on Zig and Fi’s sofa bed. But it had to be done. Any sacrifice for the cause.

Right now, though, she had to keep going. She was committed, the plan in motion. And maybe a part of her was invested, too, or desperately curious at least to see what happened when Aubrey met Liv. Which was about to happen any second now…

She’d studied the woman as part of her preparation for tonight, found photos of her online. And she was approaching now, together with Domnall White, so Evie would have guessed who she was anyway, their relationship an open rumour.Poor Aubrey,she thought fleetingly. But mostly:Really? Her?

Evie wasn’t the type to judge other women, but she couldn’t help but be surprised at who had captured Aubrey’s blackened heart. About his age, Liv was short, curvy, pretty, but entirelyunremarkable—unless you were a casting director hoping to find someone to play the role ofPrimary School Teacher in Village School. Liv had wavy auburn hair, sweet, round-apple cheeks, and looked as though bluebirds would start singing wherever she went.

But she was a corporate tax lawyer. And presumably evil. It was no doubt what Aubrey liked about her.

“Aubrey!” Liv exclaimed as she came within hailing distance, though her eyes, for a sharp, astute moment, stayed on Evie. Making the woman jealous wasn’t really part of the plan, but Evie still felt a little victorious.

With one last look like that of a drowning man, Aubrey plastered a smile on his face and turned towards Liv’s voice.

“Liv. Hello.” He nodded. “Domnall.”

This was her real target, Evie reminded herself, shifting her focus from the reunited lovers to the big, pompous-looking man at Liv’s elbow. His face, familiar to her from years of news, set off a Pavlovian flare of anger. She stared at him, then realised she was glaring and tried to fix a more politely neutral expression to her face.

“Glad you could make it,” Domnall said affably to Aubrey.

“Wouldn’t miss it.”

“Liv was just telling me you two go way back.”

“Yes,” Aubrey said.

“Met doing our law degrees,” Liv broke in with a wide smile. “Didn’t we, Aubs? Couple of fresh-faced eighteen-year-olds. Goodness. How time flies!”

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