I took the tickets, tucking them into my wallet. “Thank you. I really appreciate it.” I had to poke Killian to get him to slide out of the booth.
“You’re going so soon?” She looked disappointed. “I’d hoped you’d stay awhile. Catch up.”
“We can’t,” I said. “I’m sorry. But we really need to get going.”
She sighed unhappily, pouting a bit as she stood to say goodbye. Pulling me into a hug, her lips brushed against my ear. “Just remember, you’re my plus one. So don’t bring a date.”
Grimacing, I gently removed her arms, letting the ring on my finger flash beneath the lights. “Sorry, Layla. But I’m already taken. Killian’s available, though.”
Killian perked up at the mention of his name. Layla looked less than pleased.
“You never seemed to care about rings before.” Her eyes flicked between the metal around my finger and my face. “At least, you didn’t when we were dating.”
Killian coughed, trying to cover it up. We both ignored him. “That was a long time ago. I owe you, Layla, but you’ll have to collect some other way. Name your price.”
Layla ran a nail along my chest, biting her lower lip playfully as she pretended to think. Knowing her, she already had her payment mapped out as soon as her contact had told her I was coming. “We can discuss payment later.”
My hand caught hers, pinning it to my chest, gripping her fingers tightly. She winced slightly from the pain, but otherwise hid it well. I lowered my voice, my words brushing across her like a fine blade. “Do not mistake my friendliness for stupidity. It doesn’t matter if we have history. If you betray us, I will kill you.”
Her steely eyes met mine. “I would never,” she breathed.
I let her go. Layla straightened, the smile gone from her face. “I’ll send an invoice. Same contact, I presume?”
“Send it. I’ll get it paid.”
She snatched her purse from the booth, slipping it over her shoulder. “Just don’t forget who was able to help you,” she said, looking me over. “And it wasn’t your wife.”
Without looking back, she walked out the door, her red-bottom heels clacking against the tiles. Killian’s eyes were glued to her, desire flaring in his eyes. I almost wanted to ask Wen for a cup of water just to dump it over his head if he was really that thirsty. Instead, I settled for smacking him on the chest before following her out the door.
“Stop drooling,” I said over my shoulder.
Killian’s mouth snapped shut. “I wasn’t.”
“Right.”
He hurried after me, catching the door just before it closed in his face. “How do you know that delectable creature, and where can I meet one?”
“Well, if you’d stayed in university, maybe you would have.”
“You met her in university?” Killian snorted. “Sexy and smart? That’s a dangerous combo.”
“Yeah, well, she’s a dangerous woman.” I waved down the first taxi that came this way, holding the door open for Killian to slip inside.
“So,” he said after a few minutes of suspenseful silence, “what’s the story there?”
“There isn’t one.”
“Oh, come on.” He scoffed. “You can’t tell me there’s no story after what I just witnessed. There was definitely some sexual tension.”
“Not from me.”
“Damn, dude. Just tell me already.”
I sighed, knowing he wouldn’t leave it alone until I finally quenched his curiosity. “We dated for a while. Way back.”
“Like, actually dated?”
“Not exclusively.”