The Man I Once Hated by Lauren Wood

Author:Lauren Wood [Wood, Lauren]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2023-07-02T16:00:00+00:00

14

Edward

I knew there was something off when I woke up this morning and Cara was the first thing I thought of. I’ve never been this hung up on anyone before, let alone someone I’ve already added to my list of conquests. The feeling is new and unsettling, and I’m still not sure what to make of it.

But there’s something about her…

“I’m worried about you.”

I blink a few times and realize Zach is grinning at me from across the table. The lights are low, as is the usual case in Suave, but there’s no mistaking the open judgment in his eyes. Or the enjoyment he’s getting out of this.

That’s my job. I’m the one in our group who’s always ragging the rest about being washed-up caricatures. I’m the one who’s spent decades curating my reputation to avoid being labeled as a weak pushover. A nice guy.

I’ll be damned if the tables turn over some stupid wager I didn’t think all the way through.

“Something tells me there’s more to that statement,” I reply, lifting my finger to a passing waitress.

It isn’t Cara. She’s given up her shift at the club so she can focus on her new job. The one where she’ll be spending most of her days pretending to be in love with a twenty-something-year-old male model.

Zach chuckles heartily, raising his hands in surrender. “I’m just saying, man… Looks like you’re losing your touch.”

“My touch? Do you even know me? That isn’t something I can lose. It’s who I am.” I down the last of my whiskey and glance over at Nicole to make sure she saw me.

She did, and is making her way over with a sultry sashay that seems rehearsed. Most of the girls who work here do that kind of thing, because most of the men who come here like it. Men like me.

“It’s because I know you so well that I know, without a doubt, something is up with you, Bear,” Zach says, slowly twirling his glass with his fingertips as he studies me closely.

His consideration is beginning to piss me off, but I can’t give him that. If he catches even a whiff that he may be right, it’s over. I’ll never hear the end of it. And before I know it, the rest of the guys will be giving me hell about it too.

“Nothing’s up, so give me a break, would you? It was a stupid bet. You’re acting like I lost a billion-dollar merger or something,” I glare at him.

Zach straightens and jabs his finger at me. I don’t like the look of unearned victory on his face. “Exactly! You never lose a bet. Stupid bets are your life force, and yet here we are… You handing over a blank check because you like a girl?”

He sniggers at me. Fucking sniggers like a school boy. My jaw tightens reflexively to hold back the slew of scathing remarks popping into my head. Because fuck this guy.

“It’s a decrepit, old community theater. Trust me, it’s not breaking my bank.

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