Page 27 of Single Malt

Damn.

Now I was really glad I’d invited someone along as my plus one. She’d be here soon, and I’d never needed a distraction more.

Seventeen

Freedom

What the hellhad he been thinking, coming up to Aline and me like that? Granted, he hadn’t approached me first thing. He’d talked to other guests, but he should have just stayed away.

The last thing I wanted was someone to notice us talking and start to put things together, especially since he and I had kissed at the New Year’s Eve party. That’d been a stupid move on my part, but once I’d left his hotel, I hadn’t planned on ever seeing him again, and certainly not at a school function. And while I could explain away the New Year’s Eve kiss and his presence here now to anyone who might ask, I had a more difficult time explaining the remainder of my actions to myself.

One night of fun had been all I’d expected. The second time we’d hooked up, I’d written it off as convenient since I’d needed some stress relief, and he’d been right there. What had happened since then, however, had been pure foolishness. I was smarter than that.

“Whiskey isn’t usually the sort of thing served at art exhibits,” Aline said as we walked. “What made you decide to include it?”

“Dr. Ipres gave me a list of what alcohol she wanted, and Shannon’s was on the list.”

“His name is Shannon?” Aline took her phone from her purse. “I know that can be a man’s name too, but it’s not a common one.”

I shook my head. “Shannon’s is the name of the brand.”

I didn’t offer what his name actually was. Aline had no reason to need it, and I didn’t see the point of continuing the discussion about him.

“I’m surprised Mom and Dad didn’t come up for the exhibit,” Aline said as she took a picture of the sculpture. “Especially since Mom’s thinking about having one back home. She could have seen all of it in person.”

“It didn’t make sense for them to drive all the way up here for only a few hours when she could talk to me and look at pictures.” I was tempted to take the phone from Aline and take the pictures myself, just to have something to do with my hands, but since I was responsible for much of what was going on this evening, I didn’t want to appear preoccupied with anything else. I certainly didn’t want to appear to be one of those rude people who were always focused on their phones.

“You planned most of this,” Aline said as she turned her phone toward another piece. “They wouldn’t just be coming up for a random event.”

I shrugged. “They offered to come, but I told them to stay home. It’s not as if this is what I plan to do with my life or that it’s a big deal that I helped Dr. Ipres with it.”

Aline shook her head. “You really shouldn’t downplay what you accomplished. A lot of hard work went into making this event successful.”

I had to admit, I was a little surprised that she’d noticed. My little sister wasn’t self-centered or arrogant, but she could be clueless about things going on around her, especially when she had her schoolwork to focus on.

“Thank you.” I smiled at her. “It is going well, isn’t it?”

“Of course it is.” She gave me a brilliant smile, filled with pride. “You planned it.”

I smiled back and then turned toward the figure I saw coming from my left. Dr. Ipres beamed at me and reached out with both hands to grasp my right hand.

“Everything is wonderful. As always, you’ve exceeded my expectations.”

My cheeks heated, but I let myself enjoy the praise. Despite the incident with Brody, tonight was turning out to be a good night. All I had to do was put him out of my mind, and I could focus only on the positive.

Except I couldn’t quite stop myself from looking for him. It wasn’t really a conscious action on my part. Just every so often, I’d find myself suddenly watching him. Admiring the way he moved, the cut of his suit. I hadn’t been surprised that he hadn’t worn a tuxedo since this wasn’t a strictly black-tie event, but I was a little surprised that his suit had clearly been tailored for him. I couldn’t tell if it’d been made for him or if he’d had an already existing suit adjusted, but either way, it would’ve been expensive. Shannon’s was apparently more lucrative than I’d realized.

A few times over the next hour, I thought I felt him watching me, but I never caught him. He didn’t catch me either, so that was good. At least I thought it was. I didn’t want to give him any ideas. If today had taught me anything, it was that I’d already spent too much time with him. Tonight needed to be the last time we saw each other. And we definitely didn’t need to have sex again.

I’d given myself a hundred and one reasons why walking away was the best thing for everyone concerned, but it didn’t stop me from turning when I heard a woman say his name.

My eyes found him just as a beautiful dark-haired woman threw herself into his arms. A curvy body in a cute little dress that was as black as the thick hair falling in waves nearly to her waist. As if I needed any other confirmation that she was gorgeous, at least half of the men – and a few women – checked out her ass as Brody lifted her for a hug.

Jealousy hit me like a punch to the gut. I’d never thought of myself as an envious person, not about money or power or sex or love or anything. I appreciated what I’d been given as well as what I’d earned. I’d always known who I was and never wished to be anyone else, or have anything else, for that matter. And I’d never cared about any one man enough to pay much attention to whether or not I had their interest.

If a man didn’t want me, I’d move on to another who could give me what I needed. Since I was never looking for anything more than a single night, my expectations didn’t need to be very high.

The thought that Brody was different irked me.