Page 20 of Declan
Oh fuck. Yep. She’s looking right at us. Somehow staring at both of us as she dances. It’s seductive, I suppose, but I’m just not feeling it. Zach though? The smirk on his lips seems to be leading her on.
“We just sat down, man. Already?”
He groans, grabbing his drink and leaning back on the couch. “Have you learned nothing in the last few months? I don’t come to clubs for the booze. I’ve got the same bottle at home. I come for the women. I come to flirt and touch and, eventually, let one take me home. That was the whole point of this, but you don’t seem to be getting with the fucking program. Get your ass down there, flirt, make out with a couple of women. There’s nothing holding you back anymore. Cara is not yours. She’s never going to be.”
Every fucking time one of my brothers tells me to move the fuck on, I want to punch them in the face. I don’t think there’s ever going to be moving on from Cara. I swear, she’s fucking haunting me. I see her everywhere.
It takes me too fucking long to realize the tall blonde moving through the crowd isn’t a figment of my imagination.
Cara’s here.
She’s fucking here.
11
DECLAN
I can’t take my fucking eyes off her as she moves across the room. She’s inches taller than most of the other women in here. She stops to chat with the staff at the bar, smiling and laughing. They’re all looking at her like she’s wearing a fucking halo.
“Zach, Cara’s here. At the bar.” He sits up, eyes scanning the room, finally landing on her. He whistles.
“Shit, man. Looks like the Universe is out to fuck with you tonight.”
Sounds about right.
We both watch her circulate through the room, smiling, laughing, and winking. She looks completely at home here and a version of herself we haven’t seen at the office in a while. And I was right. The men fucking gravitate towards her, drawn in by her. I don’t fucking blame them. She’s a bright light, even in this sea of glitter and gold. She teases and casually flirts as she moves through the waves of admirers, never stopping for long, eyes always scanning.
It’s on one of those scans that her eyes lock on the VIP area. On us. I watch as her smile dims and her shoulders fall. It’s only for a second. She straightens and plasters a smile back on, but I can see the difference. Seeing us...seeing me, hurt her.
The bouncers nod at her respectfully as she climbs the stairs. She visits the table full of suits first, and they fall under her spell immediately. How the fuck does she know everybody? She must spend a fuck of a lot of time here. She turns, strolling over to us. I hate the way she focuses on Zach. She won’t even meet my eyes, and I regret every stupid thing I ever said all over again. She leans her back against the rail, propping her elbows on it. To the outside observer, she looks relaxed, completely at home. But I can see the tightness in her eyes, in her smile.
“Well, what brings you gentlemen here tonight?” Her tone is light and flirty.
“Colton said we should check it out. I can see why. This place is killer.”
A warm smile creases her face. “Thank you.” The words are shy, making me sit forward. I nearly fall off the fucking couch at her next words. “I’m really proud of it.”
“This place is yours?” How the fuck did I not know this about her?
Her eyes dart to mine. “Yeah. I leased the space a few years ago. A little after I started working for you guys, actually. Colton’s an investor.”
Zach slides toward me, leaving room at the end of the couch. “Sit your ass down, Cara. I have so many questions.”
She grins at him, turning to survey the floor. She motions to someone, then curls into the spot next to Zach, facing us.
“Cara, Cara,” he says with a teasing smile. “You’ve been keeping secrets. I want to know all about this place. Was there a club here before you took over the space?”
“There was. It was a shithole. I’d been keeping an eye on it. I knew it wasn’t going to be open much longer, so I did some research and reached out to the landlord.”
“So it closed, you scooped it up, and then?”
“It wasn’t quite that easy. But yeah. I knew I had to find some investors. I approached a venture capital firm. Colton happened to be working with them at the time. He approached me privately, and we worked out a deal.” She snorts. “He tried to help with some of the Renos, but he’s fucking useless with tools.” We both nod at that because, yep, he is. He hauls his purple toolbox around, but there are more toys than actual tools in there. He is enthusiastic, though, you gotta give the guy that.
Zach studies the space with his marketing guy eyes. “The concept and the layout are killer. I would know. I go out...a lot. Was it already like this, or did you design it this way?”
I’m pretty sure she’s blushing. I’ve never seen her look like this. Almost...vulnerable. “I designed it. I studied a lot. I read everything I could get my hands on, and I spent a lot of time at the popular places, learning what was working for them.”
Zach’s voice is filled with admiration. “Jesus. Good for you, Cara. I had no idea.” They dive into the science of clubs, and I zone out as I watch them. Watch her. She’s so engaged, so excited about what she’s built here. And she fucking should be.
