They all turned, taking in the sleek white vehicle and watching the door pop open. She felt her heart skip a beat as Devlin stepped out. He certainly knew how to make an entrance.
She swallowed, not sure whether she should be excited about the idea of this or infuriated. He looked good, which did irritate her. She'd been a mess since the other day, yet he looked perfectly fine.
She crossed her arms as Devlin caught sight of her and walked toward them. He was wearing a nice tuxedo, and his hair was neatly slicked back. He gave her a smile, and her insides stirred.
"Kate, I'm glad to see you here."
Phil narrowed his eyes at him, looking pissed. She watched his hands turn into tight fists around the tickets.
"We were just trying to get into the show," she said, waving her hand toward Dana and Tasha. She wanted to make it clear she wasn't leaving them.
He gave them each a smile. "Well, I can get you in."
She scowled. Was no one understanding her tonight? "This isn't a good time for our fourth date. I'm not leaving the girls." She looked at Phil as she said this too. "Sorry, but maybe another time. I have plans to be with the girls tonight."
While Phil looked pissed as shit, Devlin just gave her another smile nodding his head toward the building. "I have a balcony suite. There is more than enough room for you and the girls. Plus, I'd like to talk to you if you don't mind."
She wanted to say no, but Dana and Tasha squealed before she could. "A box suite! Oh my god. Kate, let's go." They turned toward her, and she felt her insides flip. She couldn't refuse.
She, however, liked the idea of having a good excuse to turn Phil down. The girls were already heading for the door, and Devlin held the door open for her. She looked at Phil, not really feeling bad. "Sorry, Phil."
She turned, not bothering to add anything else. She didn't want to say she felt bad because she didn't. She wasn't going to add maybe another time because there wouldn't be. She wanted to be clear. She was not interested.
Devlin showed them up to his balcony suite, but the girls didn't stay long. He mentioned there was wine and free food, and they were gone leaving her alone with him. She didn't know if it was on purpose or not, but she couldn't hold it against them.
She crossed her arms, glaring at him. "Just because you did this and saved the day doesn't mean you won. I'm still angry with you."
He gave her a gentle smile nodding his head. "I know. I was an asshole before, and I wanted to apologize. The show doesn't start for an hour, so can we talk a little before?"
She seated herself and watched him rake a hand over his face. She could suddenly see he was nervous. While he looked put together earlier, now he looked like he was bursting at the seams.
"I've been a dick, and I'm sorry. You're right. I haven't been open to you, and I shouldn't have asked you to move in when there is still so much we don't know about each other. I should have acknowledged that, and I didn't."
She froze. She didn't know what to say to that. She hadn't expected him to see the wrong in his actions. She opened her mouth but snapped it shut. She didn't know what to say.
What did she say? She was so used to everyone hurting her that she didn't know what to do in this situation. It was throwing her for a loop.
"And I want to be open with you, Kate. I do. You deserve to know everything else, just like you opened up to me. I know that was hard for you, and I should have done the same right away."
She swallowed and thought about the only time he had been even slightly open before. She remembered him bringing up his past and being wronged.
"You spoke before about someone that hurt your trust. You never told me who. I'm guessing they hurt you enough, making it hard for you to trust people."
She'd thought about that and wondered if he would ever tell her. It had to be connected to the reason he was so closed off.
Devlin seated himself and nodded. He sat quietly for a moment before he spoke up in a softer tone. "I had a mentor that I trusted for years. I mean, I learned everything from that man and trusted him with any situation I could think of. I thought he was a solid person and someone that would never do any harm to anyone."
She watched as he searched for the correct words. "But a few years ago, I found out he was scamming seniors out of their life savings. He was putting them on the streets. When I found out just how bad it was, I wanted to murder him."
She watched as anger flared in his eyes, and his hands went into fists. "People were trusting him with their future, and he was fucking them over left and right, and they didn't know. Someone that I trusted, someone that I leaned on, hurt hundreds of people. God, probably more than hundreds."
He sighed deeply, shaking his head. "And the worst part about it. He wasn't even sorry. He just looked at me shaking his head with a shitty-ass scowl, and said he was only sorry he got caught. He was angry he didn't make it out before someone found out."
He shook his head. "I leaned on this man. I unknowingly helped this man do his dirty work. I trusted him with everything, only to find out that he didn't even give a damn about me."
She swallowed. She understood pain, but this was another level. She could see he was deeply hurt by this. She couldn't imagine the pain that he was walking around with.
Sure, she'd been hurt, but nothing like that. Someone hadn't used her to undermine others. She could imagine that he probably blamed himself for a lot of what happened. She knew she would.