Page 1 of Breaking All The Rules

One

Eva

Two Weeks Ago

“It’s so crowded and noisy in here,” I whined as I plopped down on the leather padded barstool and pulled at my skirt that kept riding higher up my thigh. I regretted very few things in life, but tonight was filled with them. For example, letting my best friend, Brittany, and my two younger sisters convince me to get dressed up and come out with them to a packed bar in Manhattan on a Monday night. This wasn’t my type of scene. I would much rather be at home, comfortable in my sweats, watching reruns of Jeopardy.

“It’s barely even busy,” Brittany said with a laugh. “Try coming here on the weekend—you can’t even hear yourself think, let alone move.”

“So, why are we here again?” I looked around the room as I drummed my hands on my thighs anxiously under the high-top table. I had no idea what I was looking for, but something deep down told me that it was my excuse to get the hell out of there—or at least I hoped it did.

“We’re here because you’ve been cooped up and wallowing by yourself in that tiny apartment of yours for six months, and you need some damn fun in your life,” my middle sister, Gabi, replied, lifting the shot glass the waiter had just set in front of her. I glanced down at mine as I felt their judgmental gazes, likely expecting me to be boring and predictable.

Fuck it.

I lifted the glass, pulled my shoulders back, and took a deep breath in. She was right. I had been wallowing for six months, but she seemed to forget that it wasn’t because I was boring and lonely. It was after myfiancéleft me for another woman. And I wouldn’t technically call itwallowing. It was more that I was trying to find who I waswithoutJeremy, and it was taking a little longer than I cared to admit. How I had allowed myself to get so lost while I was with him was beyond me.

Ending our relationship wasn’t something that I saw coming. Just like I hadn’t expected to catch him getting a blow job under his desk one night when I took him dinner because I felt bad that he was working late. But you live, you learn, and you move on for the most part. The moving on portion was still a little complicated for me because even though I didn’t love Jeremy anymore, I had spent a good portion of my life trying to be what I thought he wanted, only to find out he wanted something else. The bastard stole every tiny ounce of happiness I had, along with my toaster.For my own good, my ass...

“Cheers,” I said with as much enthusiasm as I could muster. My cheeks hurt from the fake smile I was forcing.

I tilted my head back and opened my mouth, allowing the liquid to burn my throat on its way down. There was no way in hell that I was reaching for my Diet Coke as a chaser—even if I needed it. If they wanted to see wild and crazy Eva, they were going to get wild and crazy Eva. I shook my head excitedly like I was having the time of my life before setting the empty shot glass down on the table.

I knew they were watching because I could feel their eyes on me. But those weren’t the only ones. I could feel the heat from across the room as his gaze bore into me before I found him. The room was dimly lit, so it was hard to see the full details ofthe man sitting at a private table in the VIP area. However, from what Icouldsee, he was drop-dead gorgeous.

The women around him desperately tried to get his attention as they paraded in front of him in their micro-dresses, but he didn’t seem to notice as he kept his eyes on me. His tall frame leaned back against a leather couch as he slowly lifted his glass of what I assumed was whiskey to his lips. His dark hair looked like he had been freshly fucked as it stood slightly mussed on his head, my fingers itching to run through it.

I didn’t even know this man, yet he had fire spreading through my veins just from the way he continued to stare at me. It was almost as if he was a predator and I was his prey.

When he lowered his glass, a designer watch slid down his wrist, catching in the lights above him. An equally attractive man sitting next to him leaned in to tell him something. He nodded subtly and looked around, his eyes finding me easily again as the crowd of people between us started to thicken in the packed nightclub.

He didn’t strike me as the kind of man who frequented these sorts of establishments, but then again, with the smoking hot smolder he had going on, I couldn’t see why he wouldn’t. He could literally have any woman in the room if he wanted—including me.

“I knew it. Just one night out with us was all she needed,” Lucy, my baby sister, sang as she reached over and patted me on the back with a smile.

As much as she wanted to stay true to her wild ways, her touch was more of a mother than a party girl with those days long past her. I felt a pang in my chest when I thought about how big her fight was going to be with her husband when she got home tonight. While I personally didn’t love going out for a girl’s night that often, Lucy wasn’t usually allowed to.

“I wouldn’t get too excited over that,” Gabi snorted. “She’s only done one shot and looks like a caged animal, ready to bolt the second she can. Look at the way she’s intently scoping out the room, her eyes darting back and forth as if she’s desperate to find an exit.”

I raised an eyebrow and locked eyes with her. I recognized the unspoken challenge she was issuing. The problem was that I didn’t know if I actually wanted to accept it. Suddenly, her features softened as if she were pitying me, and my mind was made. I didn’t want orneedanyone’s pity.

The waiter returned a few minutes later with the second round of shots that Gabi had immediately requested after he dropped off the first round. Once they were on the table, I reached over and swiped Gabi’s from her. In one swift movement, I downed her shot and mine, then slammed the empty glasses on the table as I raised an eyebrow at her.

Tequila was never my drink of choice, mainly because it always resulted in a terrible headache the next day. But it was worth it if it meant that I was headed in the right direction of getting my family to stop thinking that I was some broken woman who didn’t know how to have fun anymore. Sure, I was approaching forty, but it wasn’t like I was some crazy cat woman who relied on them to keep me company on my lonely nights. I had fun; it was usually just confined to the comfort of my apartment, and it ended before nine o’clock.

I could hear Brittany hootin’ and hollerin’ beside me, cheering as she pointed at Gabi and laughed at how I stole her drink. She definitely drew attention to our table, but there was one person who was taking even more interest than anyone else. I watched as a cocky grin spread across his face before he set his glass down on the table in front of him and stood up. He adjusted his tie and jacket before scooting out between tables and giving a slight nod to the security guard standing atthe roped entrance of the VIP section. A casual glance over his shoulder was the last thing I noticed before I slid off my barstool and pulled down my skirt.

Three shots of tequila in under fifteen minutes would give anyone the same confidence as a two-year-old dancing to their favorite song. I looked down at my chest, thankful that I had given in and borrowed Brittany’s tank top that showed off my cleavage in a way that screamed sexy, not slutty. Although, the tight black skirt with a slit up to my thigh and six-inch stiletto heels didn’t necessarily saygood girleither.

I wiggled my fingers next to my thighs, trying to dispel some of the energy that was coursing through me. It wasn’t like I was planning to do anything—was I?

Just because I jumped off my barstool quicker than a clown at a rodeo didn’t mean I was expecting anything to happen as I followed him through the pool of bodies on the way to the bathroom. Maybe I just really needed to pee after consuming so much alcohol in such a short time.

My nerves finally started to calm down as I tried to rationalize that I wasn’t stalking him; I was just answering nature’s call. But when I rounded the corner to the hallway where the bathrooms were and plowed right into him, my body quickly convinced me that all of that was bullshit. I was ready to answer another type of call...

His hand gently wrapped around my waist, steadying me as I stumbled and lost my balance.

“You okay?” he asked, his voice low and gruff, sending a memo directly to my vagina that this sound would be added to my sexy playlist of things I thought about when I was by myself.

---