Page 30 of Beautifully Deranged

I pretend to think, biting the tip of the pencil. "I see a man who’s probably been here since before happy hour, regretting spending way too much money on a ring that never made it onto a finger."

He tilts his head like he’s genuinely impressed, even though he already told me most of that. "You’re good."

I smirk, angling the sketch so he can peek. "Told you."

He leans in, eyes scanning the mess of lines that are slowly becoming him. "Damn," he says. Out of nowhere, he blurts, "You’re a really attractive woman."

I blink, unsure what to say.

"Shit. Sorry. That was... creepy."

"Was it, though?"

He groans, dragging a hand over his face. "Well, no. It’s the truth. You’re beautiful." He swears under his breath. "If Maya were here, she’d murder me."

His whole body sort of deflates. The tension creeps into his eyes, tightening his mouth. There’s this stillness that says everything he’s not. I give him space and focus on the paper.

"What I meant was—if this whole thing is some weird setup to us hooking up and drowning in each other’s mess tonight..." He tries to laugh, but it comes out bitter. "I’ll probably call you Maya." He winces. "Actually, scratch that. I might not even be able to get it up."

That gets me. I laugh, hard.

"Glad my tragic sex life is so amusing," he mutters.

I set the pencil down and wipe my eyes. "Sorry. That was just... brutally honest. And no, this isn’t that. I’m not really in the market for being someone’s emotional crash pad."

"Good," he says. "Because I’m not exactly in the mood to be someone’s rebound screw."

"Who said you’d be a rebound? You’d just be... something to take my mind off things."

He feigns offense. "Wow. Cold."

"Maybe you need a little humbling."

He gestures toward the sketch. "Can I keep it?"

I hesitate. "No."

"No?"

I tuck the sketchpad into my purse before he can get another glimpse. "I need it. I want to remember tonight. Even if it’s a stranger’s face I never see again."

He watches me with a look that’s half entertained, half something I can’t quite place. "You’re kind of strange, you know that?"

"I’ve been told."

His gaze drifts over me, but not in a gross way. Just curious. "That guy? The one who said you were just convenient? He was a damn fool. You’re not that."

Something clenches in my chest, fast and tight, but I brush past it. "And Maya? She fumbled you too."

"Yeah. She did."

He sticks his hand out. "Daniel."

I look at his hand, then take it. "Lola."

His grip is warm and solid. He holds on a second too long, then lets go like he’s trying not to.

I slide off the stool, bag over my shoulder, and give him one last look. "Her loss."

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