“Evan! How dare you talk to me like that?”
“I dare, Amber. Goddammit, I dare. I should have dared a long time ago. You treat me like your dog, ordering me around, demanding I pose, and ordering me to beg. I’m done. You’re vacuous and shallow and I cannot fathom the idea of marrying you.”
“You asshole,” she seethed, her tears disappearing and a look of pure evil coming over her. “You are trash, just like your wedding planner. No other woman would have you. Your lack of good breeding, horrible social skills, and your trash family make you low-hanging fruit. I gave you a chance at greatness. You don’t get to throw me out.”
“I just did,” he snapped. “We’re done. Lose my number. I’ll have your stuff sent to your place. Do not dare darken my door again. The security codes will be changed, as will the locks. Stay the fuck away from me.”
She curled her lip. “You even talk like trailer trash. You were never good enough for me. I’ll be married by the end of next year to a man that is so much better than you. All my friends told me to get away from you. I tried to give you a chance, but you are so not worth it.”
She turned on her heel and stomped away. I could only watch in fascinated horror. Part of me was happy Evan got rid of the vile creature and yet sad for him at the same time. Then there was that selfish part of me that realized I had just watched my big fat payday walk away. I wasn’t going to get the clout that came with pulling off a huge wedding. I wasn’t going to get to move out of my office anytime soon.
Evan slowly turned to look at me. I stared at him, not knowing what to say. Did I clap and tell him congratulations or offer him a supportive hug and apologize for his loss? I felt like the first was more appropriate, given the situation, but I held myself back.
“You’re going to pay for this!” Amber shouted over her shoulder. Evan acted like he didn’t hear her.
“I’m sorry,” Evan said.
I blinked. “You’re sorry?” I questioned. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to cause a fight.”
He blew out a breath. “I’m sorry for the way she talked to you. It wasn’t cool. I’m also sorry you had to see all that. She loves to put on a good show. She had no right to talk to you like that.”
I shrugged. “It’s okay. Don’t worry about it. I’ve heard worse. I should have known better. I knew she wouldn’t like the place, but I was hoping she could see my vision.”
He scoffed. “She can’t see anything but herself.”
He looked a little lost. The poor man had just lost his fiancée and was obviously hurting.
“I’m sure she’ll get over it,” I offered. “Couples fight, especially during the wedding planning phase. It can be very stressful. Give it some time and both of you will cool off.”
He slowly shook his head. “No. I don’t think so. I don’t want it to cool off.”
“Evan, you’re angry right now, but give it some time. Don’t do anything rash in the heat of the moment.”
He smirked. “This has been a long time coming. I never should have let it get this far to begin with.”
“What part?”
“I don’t love her. I honestly don’t think I ever could love someone like her.”
That struck me as odd. “Why did you ask her to marry you if you don’t love her?”
He ran a hand through his short hair, leaving a chunk sticking up in front. It was just how I remembered him from our youth. It was where he had a cowlick, and without a great deal of hair product, it would stick straight up. It made me smile before I remembered the seriousness of the situation and quickly erased it.
“I don’t know,” he groaned. “It was a mistake. I thought I was doing what was required of a man in my position. I felt like I had to have a trophy wife. I have attended countless parties and it’s always the same question—when are you getting married? Then everyone tries to set me up with who they think I should be with. She didn’t make me happy. I wanted her to be the one, but we were so different. I’m not refined and classy and I don’t like to drink champagne all the time.”
I smiled. “That’s understandable.”
“She isn’t the woman I want,” he said, his eyes meeting mine.
I gulped down the lump in my throat that formed when he looked at me like that. “What do you want?” I softly whispered.
The way he was looking at me made it very obvious what he wanted. I told myself it wasn’t true. I had seen his fiancée. His gaze was hungry, making me feel things I had no business feeling. I licked my suddenly dry lips.
“I don’t want her,” he said in a deadly calm voice. “She was never what I wanted. I could never be with someone who was that rude and obnoxious.”
“But you were,” I reminded him, taking a small step back. The sexual tension between us was palpable. It felt heavy in the air. I couldn’t stay near him. I had to get away. He wasn’t thinking clearly. He was riding high on the anger of his argument with Amber. Anger could very easily lead to passion. I would not be the pin cushion he used to release the anger and frustration he was feeling in that moment.
“Cherie, she doesn’t speak for me.”
“I know that,” I replied with a soft smile. “I know you haven’t changed that much.”
He stepped toward me with that same look in his eyes that carried me back to when we were young and wild and could get turned on by the simple sound of a raindrop hitting the ground.
“I should go,” I blurted out. “I have another appointment. I’ll wait to hear from you before I completely close the project. If things change between you, give me a call and I’ll try my hardest to find a venue that is more to her standards.”
He scoffed. “That’ll never happen. There isn’t going to be a wedding, and nothing will ever be up to her standards.”
I smiled and took a wide berth around him as I walked past. “Don’t count her out yet. That woman is a fighter and I have a feeling she isn’t going to go away quietly. She’ll be back.”
I walked out, leaving him standing alone in the ballroom. The manager caught me just as I was about to leave. “I guess they don’t want to look around,” he said with a laugh.
“I’m sorry. I guess you heard that?”
“I think the entire county heard that,” he quipped.
“You have a lovely place here, but they will be passing,” I told him, trying to be kind enough to make up for Amber’s horrible behavior. I imagined that was what Evan spent his time doing. I could see why he didn’t want to marry her, but I could also see why he did want to marry her.
“It’s fine,” he said.
I walked out into the Miami sunshine and headed for my car. The car Evan and Amber had arrived in was still waiting. I wondered how Amber got home but then decided I didn’t care. I got into my own car, blasted the AC, and tried to sort through the myriad of thoughts running through my mind.
The way he had been looking at me was so intense. Was he saying he wanted me? I wanted to believe he could still want me, but it was ridiculous to think so. What I saw in his eyes was likely passion for her. After a fight like that, he was probably thinking about the steamy makeup session he would have with her. Amber, not me. Amber was his fiancée. He was angry with her, but he would get over it.
I was sure they had probably had similar arguments in the past. Amber was very dramatic. She clearly thrived on it and he must have liked it enough to get involved with her in the first place. It wasn’t me he was hungry for. It was her.
I could never compete with a woman like her. Like she had so aptly pointed out, I came from a very different background than her. I was trailer trash in every sense of the word. It didn’t matter how far I had risen. My roots were still back in the trailer park where I had grown up.
It was sweet of Evan to try and defend me, and I did appreciate it, but it wasn’t necessary. I hoped I wasn’t the cause of their breakup, if it was an actual breakup and not just a break. I would not feel very good about myself if I had come between them. Although I did bel
ieve Evan when he said he didn’t love her. I didn’t see love in his eyes when he looked at her. It was more of an acceptance, like they were business associates moving through life.
On the other hand, I wasn’t sure if she was capable of loving another human besides herself. I did not have a very high opinion of the woman. However, if Evan or Amber called and said the wedding was still on, I would take the job. I needed the job. I could handle the drama if it meant I could get out of the damn building I was stuck in.
Chapter 13
Evan
I rubbed my eyes. They felt gritty and sore. They were sore because I kept rubbing them because they felt dry and gritty due to lack of sleep. It had been a week since my showdown with Amber. A week of hell. The woman was a vindictive bitch and had been coming at me from every angle for the last six days. The first day had been tears and pleading with me to take her back. She promised to be nicer to the workers.
I wanted to shake her and make her understand they weren’t workers. They were humans! Just like her! The woman had a god complex or a goddess complex. People had been treating her like a princess from her very first breath. She came from money and was used to being treated like a damn goddess. I didn’t even blame her for the way she was. She was a product of her upbringing. And so was I. She couldn’t get over my upbringing and made it seem like it was shameful to be from a small town and poor.
She’d eventually move on to a next victim. I just had to ride it out. I realized I had been living in a self-imposed hell for too long. Being with her was exhausting. I was always apologizing for her. Always making excuses for her. I always felt like I had to put on a mask whenever she was around me because the real me wasn’t good enough for her. I was sick of feeling like that and was ready to move on. I felt free.
“I’m coming in,” David called out. “If you’re doing anything nasty, put it away.”
I rolled my eyes, looking up as my brother came through the door. “You know everyone can hear you when you say shit like that, right?”
He grinned. “Yep, it’s why I do it.” He closed the door behind him and took a seat.
“What now? I’m almost afraid to ask what she did.”
He laughed. “I haven’t seen anything too bad today, but I think she’s in Paris or London or somewhere far away. She’s in a different time zone.”
I shook my head. “She’ll give up eventually.”
He threw his hands in the air. “How could you break up with the most beautiful woman in the world? I’ve gotten calls that are demanding you revoke your man card. You’re an embarrassment to straight men around the world.”
I scoffed. “Her kind of beauty isn’t everything. Trust me. That woman was worse than nails on a chalkboard. Nothing could make up for the ugliness inside. She would have been a bitch to Mom. I couldn’t tolerate that, and I know you couldn’t either. Besides, her beauty is the work of some very heavy-handed makeup artists.”
“Her body is a work of art,” he replied.
I shook my head. “If you like that kind of thing. She is pretty, but I can’t marry someone like that.”
“She’s trashing you in the tabloids,” he said, his tone taking a serious turn.
“I don’t care. Let her throw her tantrum. She has to get it out of her system. She’ll find someone new soon enough. She isn’t the kind to be alone for long.”
He slowly shook his head. “Your name is connected to this company. The PR team has put out a couple of things on Twitter, but they need to know how much you want them to say. Should they address the split? I think it’s a little too late to say it was an amicable split.”
I smirked. “You think?”
“Does this breakup have anything to do with Cherie Sanders?”
I raised my brows. I shouldn’t have been surprised he would figure it out. He knew about her. He used to try and tag along when we were young. He was five years my junior and had followed me everywhere back in the old days.
“No,” I lied. I didn’t even try to hide my lie.
He grinned. “Oh, big brother. When will you learn?”
“She might have had a little something to do with the breakup. It wasn’t anything she said or did. She didn’t have to do anything. It was just seeing her again. I had one two-minute conversation with her and I knew I couldn’t marry Amber.”
“Why?”
I gave him a look. “You met Amber. You talked to her. You know she isn’t for me. I can’t stand pretentious people.”
He rubbed a hand over his forehead. “I know. I get it.”
“She wasn’t a good fit,” I said, feeling like I had to explain myself.
“I get it. I do. Are you going to ask Cherie out? Make your move?”
I didn’t know how to answer that question. I wasn’t sure what I was going to do. I trusted David with my life, but I couldn’t tell him what I was going to do because I didn’t know. Instead, I shifted back to the PR mess she was creating.
“Tell the team to release a statement that due to heavy work schedules, we decided to take some time apart. Make sure they say it was amicable.”
“Evan, really?”
I shrugged. “I’m not going to play her games. She wants me to react. She wants to make me out to be the big stinking turd in this thing.”
He laughed. “You are a shit.”
“Not in this situation. I did end it, but I had good reason to. It wasn’t about Cherie. It would have gone up in smoke eventually if we ever made it down the aisle. I fucked up. I shouldn’t have asked her to marry me. I don’t even think I really did. It was just kind of decided for me, and then the next thing I know, she was picking out her engagement ring. I didn’t stand a chance.”
“Oh boohoo. Poor Evan was hooking up with a gorgeous woman who wanted to make him all hers.”
“It wasn’t like that,” I retorted. “I know I was lucky, but she really wasn’t my type. You know that.”
“I do,” he said. “I’ll take care of the PR thing. If her press team gets dirty, I might leak a little something to a friend that has a big mouth.”
“Don’t,” I told him. “She’ll destroy herself one of these days.”
“I’ll play nice,” he said and walked to the door. “For now.”
I wanted to see Cherie. I wanted to see if that spark I felt was worth rekindling. I was sure she felt something. I had caught a little glimpse of it the first time we saw each other again. I had tried to tell myself it was in my head, but it wasn’t. I knew her. She was still my sweet Cherie with the warm dark eyes.
I picked up my phone. I was tired of waiting. “Bonnie, I need an appointment with the wedding planner, the sooner the better.”
She cleared her throat. “Um, sir? Has there been a change? If so, please tell me so I can call off the vultures.”
I laughed. “Vultures? The media?”
“Them and every single woman between the ages of twenty-one and forty.”
“Not again,” I groaned.
“You’re one of the most eligible bachelors in the world, according to all those magazines.”
“Great. Can you get me an appointment?”
She was quiet for a second. “What should I tell her the meeting is about?”
“Tell her I owe her for the work she did.”
“Okay. I’ll put her on the schedule.”
“Thank you.”
I sat back and hoped she would agree to meet me. I wasn’t sure she ever wanted to see me again. A few minutes later, Bonnie buzzed in and let me know Cherie had agreed to an appointment in two days. I could wait that long. It wasn’t like I had another choice.
Two days later, Cherie walked into my office. It was the same response I always felt when I saw her. It was like a cosmic pull. I got to my feet, my eyes locked on hers. “Hi.”
“Hi,” she said with a smile. “I wasn’t expecting to hear from you.”
“I think I owe you for the time you put into the planning,” I told her.
She sat
down. “It’s fine.”
“No, it’s not fine. You put up with a lot of abuse from her. I want to compensate you for that.”
I pulled the check from my desk and stretched out my arm to hand it to her.
“Thank you,” she said, “but you really didn’t have to do that.” I watched as her eyes scanned the check. Her mouth opened. “This is too much.”
“I don’t think it’s enough,” I told her. “I really don’t.”
“I can’t accept this,” she said, shaking her head. “I didn’t do enough work to even merit a tenth of this.”
“Cherie, take it. You deserve it. You put in the time and I know you worked hard on it.”
“Thank you.”
“Go to dinner with me,” I blurted out. “Tonight.”
“Evan! You just ended your engagement. I can’t go out with you.”
“Not like that,” I quickly explained. “As friends. I’d like to catch up with you. Now that we aren’t involved in a business partnership, we can be friends.”
I said the words, but deep down, I wanted more. I wanted to win her back. I wanted to show her I was settled and ready. I could be the man she needed. I already knew she was the woman I needed. She was keeping me at arm’s length, but I was going to get close. I just needed to get my foot in the door. One dinner. One night with just the two of us talking about us and not about a stupid wedding.
“Evan, I don’t know if that’s a good idea. I don’t live in a cave. I’ve seen the tabloids. You are fresh off a big breakup.”
“Cherie, it’s dinner. One dinner. I’ve missed you. I want a chance to catch up away from the office.”
I watched her mull it over. “Fine. One dinner and I pick the place.”
I grinned. “Anywhere you want to go, I’ll follow you.”
“You’re a smooth talker.”
“Are you going to tell me where we’re going?” I asked, unable to stop smiling.
“Nope. You’ll find out tomorrow. Dress casual. No tuxes.”
Heart Breaker Page 8