Third Chances (Men Of Manhattan #2) - Ivy Smoak Page 0,64
conversation about one of Penny's exes at all. "Sometimes I have a hard time falling asleep at night because I'm worried I'll wake up and Penny will be gone, as if I just imagined being this happy, and my life will be dark again. And I can't go back to what I was. That fear consumes me. I need her. I need her so much that it scares me." He ran his hand through his hair. "And at the same time...sometimes I feel guilty for seducing Penny in the first place. It was my responsibility as her professor to keep her safe and I crossed the line. And I feel like I shouldn't be allowed to be happy when I broke the rules. Like I cheated fate. That guilt eats at me too. That I should have been better. She deserves the best. And what if that is Tyler? What if I ruined her life?" He looked down at the table.
"James." Rob's voice sounded pained. "You know that isn't true. Penny wants to be with you."
"No, that's one of my truths. Oh crap, I need a third thing, right? I don't know...I hate dirty dishes in the sink."
Everyone was silent.
"No one has a guess? I don't care about dirty dishes. That was my lie. My wonderful maid takes care of them. And Penny sometimes. Because she's still not used to having a maid and she feels bad making her do anything. She's so sweet." He loosened his tie. "Why is it so fucking hot in here?"
Matt started laughing. I glanced at him and then back at James. Matt winked at me. Of course it was Matt. They had walked off together to the bar. I leaned over to Rob and put my hand on his thigh. I hadn't meant it to be sexual, but I could almost feel the heat in the stare he gave me. I immediately removed my hand. "Sorry. I just...this is going to sound strange," I whispered. "And I don't know your brother very well, but he seems different tonight than he did earlier. Kind of all over the place actually. He's slurring his words. His pupils are dilated. He's overheated. I think that maybe someone slipped something in his drink? And I'm sorry, I'm not trying to be presumptuous at all, but by the way Matt is laughing, I feel like maybe he did it? They walked over to the bar together and..."
"Shit," Rob said under his breath.
"I'm sorry, I'm probably overstepping..."
"No. I'm not mad at you. I should have seen it earlier." He cleared his throat. "Matt, can I talk to you for a second?"
"Sure, man." Matt smiled and got up, following Rob to the bar.
Chapter 22
Rob
God damn it. I walked to the bar, waiting for Matt to catch up. I leaned against the counter. The bartender, a woman with a low cut blouse and a skirt that was too short, came over. She was the type of woman that I would normally flirt with. But not tonight. Not when I was trying to win over the most beautiful girl here. Probably the most beautiful girl in any room.
"What can I get for you?" she asked with a seductive smile.
"Water, please. No ice."
She tapped the counter. "That's it?"
"That's it." I turned around just as Matt reached me. I had to take a deep breath so I wouldn't try to kill him. "What the fuck is wrong with you?"
"What do you mean?"
"You drugged James, didn't you?"
"Yeah, I did. He was being such a downer all day. We all get it, he misses his fianc茅e. Whatever. It's his bachelor party, he's supposed to be having fun."
"That doesn't mean you should slip something in his drink."
"He's having so much more fun now, though. Hell, maybe he'll even get lucky with that Kristen girl. She's been throwing herself at him all night."
"Is that really what you want to happen tonight? You want him to ruin his whole life?"
Matt frowned. "No, of course not. But he's allowed to have fun. It's his..."
"I get it. It's his bachelor party. That doesn't give him a free pass to fuck whoever he wants."
"Actually, it kind of does."
"No, it doesn't. He made a commitment to Penny. And if he ever did cheat on her, I'd kill him myself."
"God, you have such a hard-on for her. I bet you're hoping he does screw it up." He waved down the bartender. "Can we have another round of drinks for our table?"