A few choice names ran through my head as he walked over to stand beside her. Nate said something to him and he and Saffron made their way toward the entrance. I watched them, not sure what I was feeling. Shock, disappointment, anger . . . I wasn’t sure which one was the strongest. Until he placed a hand on her back as she entered the club. The word, “motherfucking bastard,” came from my lips and I knew then it was definitely anger that was winning. I was pissed. My stomach was in knots as well which meant the anger had to do with hurt. I could admit that. But only to myself.
Saffron Corbin, seriously? Of all the people in that stupid town he lived in, he chose Saffron as his date? Wasn’t she a stripper or something? I’d heard she got arrested with strippers in a pool. I couldn’t remember details because I hadn’t really listened to the story when it was being told. But it was one of many about her. She was a slut.
If that was what Eli wanted then fine. I didn’t want him in my bed again. I didn’t want him near me again. I sure as hell didn’t want to speak to him again. As if this night wasn’t bad enough, he had to show up here and bring a freaking date. The hurt was quickly being drowned out by anger and disgust.
By the time my car rolled up to the valet, I was giving myself a pep talk. Calming down, getting over it, because I was about to walk in there and smile, pretend like I owned the place, and not look his way once. He’d regret this one day. I wasn’t sure when but he would. Because I might have been moody the past few weeks, but tonight I was about to play a better role than Blaze Kerrington ever thought of. I was a female on a mission.
I stepped out of my car when the door was opened by the valet and smiled at him. I was practicing and it was working. He flushed. That probably was an unfair way to gauge the effectiveness of my smile. The kid was probably eighteen years old. But I felt better none the less.
Eli Hardy better watch out. I wasn’t worried about Saffron. She’d done nothing wrong. It hadn’t been her I’d cooked for then had wild sex with on my couch. She wasn’t the one to walk out and never call again. No, Saffron was not the enemy. I wasn’t vindictive with women. It had never been my way to handle things. Even when my boyfriend in college had been caught cheating with another girl. One I knew. I hadn’t been mean to her. She hadn’t been the one I was dating. Sure, she was okay with dating a cheater, but that was her issue, not mine.
No, a Finlay didn’t attack everyone in their wake. They went after who had hurt them and they made them regret it. Except possibly Phoenix, she’d destroy them all. Female included. Regardless, Eli Hardy was about to get a taste of how bad it was to screw around with a Finlay. We weren’t weak and we didn’t give sympathy where it wasn’t due.
JUNE 07 / 7:27 PM
Eli Hardy
“CRUZ IS GOING to regret having an invitation sent to me when his brother jumps out a motherfucking window,” I muttered to Bliss as we stood inside the large ballroom area we’d been directed to.
Bliss cut her eyes at me. “I don’t think this place has a window high enough for him to truly do damage,” she whispered back. “He may just go drown himself in the fancy pool they have here.”
Nate was talking to Woods Kerrington who had been standing at the entrance greeting guests. Woods was Cruz and Blaze’s father. He also owned the club. His grandfather had built the place. Bliss and I hadn’t grown up in this world with these people and although we had been raised in a wealthier lifestyle than average, this was on another realm for us. The one percenters filled the place and it made me want a beer and my jeans. Too uptight of a crowd for me.
I glanced over to my right to see Saffron was still working on getting Blaze’s attention. He was the reason she was here. I’d been going to come because I was selfish and wanted to see Ophelia. Saffron did some detective work and found out I had an invite. She’d worn me down for a week until I agreed to bring her. Besides, it gave Holland, her twin sister, a Friday night free of any Saffron clean up. Typically, Holland had to pick up Saffron from a bar or bail her out of jail on weekend nights.