Counting On Cole (Wilde Ways #8) - Cynthia Eden Page 0,12
keep the package safe from injury.”
She sniffed. Let him go. Shot a glare at Cole.
Cole stopped in his tracks.
A flushed, young hostess was behind him.
“I’ll sit here,” Cole snarled as he took the table a few feet away from Evie and Leopold. He threw himself into the chair and snatched up a menu.
Evie nodded curtly toward him, then she sank into her own chair. She reached for her menu just to give her shaking hands something to do.
“Ahem.”
Leopold. Crap.
He tugged at the top of her menu, pulling it down so that he could see her. Worry darkened his eyes. “Are you in trouble?”
“Nothing I can’t handle.” Wait, was she suddenly becoming good at lying? What? Since when?
A nod. He glanced toward Cole’s table. Then back at her. “Who is he?”
“Someone I’d like to forget.” She closed the menu. Put it down and leaned toward Leopold. To outsiders, it would probably look like she was leaning in for some romantic talk. “He’s a bodyguard my brother hired, without my permission.”
Leopold pursed his full lips. “He can guard my body anytime.”
“Leo,” she warned.
“What? He’s got that whole dangerous edge—”
“He is off limits.”
“Dang, you just called dibs.”
She had—oh, God, had she? No, no, that was not what she’d meant to do. “He’s my ex. And it’s complicated. And I need you to act as if you think I am the most amazing woman you’ve ever met.” She bit her lip as she heard her own words playing back in her mind. “I am an asshole.”
“No, you’re not.”
“I feel like one, and I can’t believe I just said that stuff to you. I’m sorry. I don’t know what I was ever thinking to—”
He reached for her hand. Squeezed. “He broke your heart.”
She nodded.
“I can break him.”
A laugh sputtered from her. “You just told me that you were a lover, not a fighter.”
He smiled at her. His eyes twinkled. “I did, and I am, but for you, I can try to make an exception.” He leaned ever closer. “But you need to tell me he’s not nearly as tough as he looks. Like, the guy isn’t some Navy SEAL who is gonna beat me into next week, is he?”
Um…maybe? She actually wasn’t overly sure what Cole’s background was. He hadn’t shared a whole lot of specific details with her. But he definitely was as tough as he looked. The absolute last thing she wanted was for Leo to get hurt because of her. “How about no one gets anything broken? Let’s just have our meal, and we’ll pretend he isn’t there.”
Leo glanced over at Cole’s table. “That will be so hard. Especially with the way he glares. Bodyguards aren’t supposed to glare like that, are they? Must be the whole being-your-ex bit causing him to go all Hulk green with jealousy.”
“It was a long time ago.” She tried to focus on the menu even though she always ordered the same thing at that restaurant. God, she was predictable. Maybe I’ll have spaghetti instead of the cheese pizza.
“It was a long time ago, and you don’t care anymore?”
She looked around. “Where is the waitress? I could use a mega glass of wine.”
“I see. You don’t want to talk about what happened with him. Got it. Sharing about feelings isn’t your specialty. I thought we were working on that.”
Her gaze swung back to him. She lifted a brow. Like he was one to talk.
“Should we get down to business?” Leo rubbed his hands together. “Your last show on Broadway ended two weeks ago. Aren’t you twitching to get started on another? Don’t those feet of yours just long to dance and create new choreography routines? Because I have an offer for you, and I don’t see how you can possibly tell me no…”
***
She’d moved the fuck on.
Cole got that. Could see it with his own eyes. Evie hadn’t spent the last two years mooning over him. Of course, she hadn’t. She was gorgeous, smart, and talented. She’d probably dated dozens of guys since they’d last been together—
“Oh, no, sir, are you okay?” The waitress frowned worriedly at him as she suddenly appeared—blocking his view of Evie and Leopold. “Did the glass cut you?”
He looked down at his hand. He’d squeezed the water glass too hard, and it had shattered. Great. Now he was dripping water and covered in glass. He pushed the glass shards onto his napkin. “I’m totally fine.”
Just about to go completely insane.
He craned his head around the waitress. If that blond-haired jerk leaned toward