“Maybe I’m not asking for that.” He glared at me.

I eased away from him, pushing my dress back into place. “You want me because you can’t have me.”

His eyes narrowed. “Don’t fucking tell me what I’m feeling.”

“I need to go.”

He braced his hand against the door, barring my way. “Back out to him?”

I shook my head because I couldn’t go back out to Angus like this. Craig had lipstick on his mouth, which meant mine was now smudged. “Home. Thanks to you.” Angry now, I pushed his arm away, unlocked the door, and hurried out, practically throwing myself out into the main club so he couldn’t stop me. Without looking in Angus’s direction, I fled the bar and Craig Lanaghan, at once cursing the bartender to hell and back for ruining my first night of revenge and thanking him for giving me the excuse to get out of a situation with Angus I really didn’t want to be in.

Rain

In the end I was glad to have escaped Angus mid-revenge. It was the whole flirting, seduction campaign that got to me. As much as I tried to convince myself that Darcy would understand what I was doing, the truth was I knew she wouldn’t.

Craig’s anger at my tactics and the subsequent passionate interlude in the toilet at Club 39 had nothing to do with my decision to review my current strategy.

Really.

It didn’t.

Okay, so it did. A little. I mean I was already realizing it on my own . . . Craig just nudged me over the edge.

So as I determinedly tried to erase the memory of the best kiss I’d ever received in my life I opted to rethink my approach regarding Angus. I believed part of the reason it so quickly turned flirtatious with him was because of the environment we were in. A nightclub. It was all about dancing, drinking, lowering your inhibitions, and yes, sex.

Perhaps if I encountered Angus “accidentally” in a different environment I’d be able to change the course of our interactions. I knew it wouldn’t be easy because he was a sleazebag who clearly wanted to get into my knickers, but I had to try.

Darcy had told me that Angus liked to work at Black Medicine coffeehouse in Old Town. A coffeehouse was certainly more about conversation than flirtation (for the most part), so I decided it was my next step.

I wasn’t a stranger to Black Medicine. With its carved wooden furniture, delicious coffee, and quirky ambience, it was my kind of place. Most of the time I was too busy these days to do anything but drop by for a takeaway cup of coffee, but for however long it took me to get Angus’s attention, the coffeehouse would become like a second home to me.

I got there early enough to grab a table near the back of the room where I could face forward and see people entering. Two hours, two green teas, and one panini later I was still sitting watching the door. I had a book with me but I was afraid to really crack it open and get lost in it in case I missed Angus coming in for a flyby coffee. So instead I pretended to read the book, all the while staring straight over the top of the pages. If anyone were paying attention to me they’d think I was a crackpot.

For those two hours I tried to keep my focus solely on Angus, but just like it had for the last forty-eight hours plus, my mind wandered to Craig. I honestly couldn’t believe the intensity of the chemistry between us. It was off the charts! But I had to wonder . . . Craig was this incredibly sexual man. Flirtation and heat just oozed out of him. So perhaps the kind of kiss we shared was merely due to his inflated sexuality and it actually had nothing to do with a real connection between us. In that scenario, I was going to be the one who got hurt—chemistry like that and the fact that I liked being around Craig meant lust would develop into something more for me. I wasn’t the kind of girl who could have sex without letting my emotions get tangled up in it all, and as much as Craig insisted this wasn’t just about sex for him, I wasn’t sure I fully trusted that as truth.

And then of course there was the whole Angus plot. I couldn’t get involved in a messy situation with Craig or anyone just now because I couldn’t split my focus. Maybe . . . well maybe if it was with someone who I trusted wouldn’t hurt me, then yes, I could split my focus, I could make it work . . .

But Craig wasn’t that guy.

I groaned. I had to stop thinking about him.

The door to Black Medicine swung open and in stepped a tall, good-looking dark-haired man.

See! You’re thinking about Craig so much, now you’re actually hallucinating about him!

“Oh shit,” I muttered, thrusting my book right up so it hid my face. It was Craig.

Of all the coffeehouses in all the towns in all the world, he walks into mine at this very moment!

Sick joke, Life, sick joke!

I ducked my head, holding my breath, praying he was in for a coffee to go.

Two minutes later a familiar voice sounded above my head.

FUCK.

I lifted my gaze and lowered my book at the same time.

Craig stood by my table, smirking down at me. There was a hard edge in his eyes though that told me he was still mad about our last encounter. Except if anyone should be mad it was me.

“Seriously?” I moaned and slumped back in my chair.

“Nice to see you too.” He slid into the empty chair at my table.

“What are you doing?”

“Joining you.”

“No, you’re not. You’re not bloody well ruining this thing with Angus again. I’d really like it to be over with as quickly as possible but your interference keeps delaying it.”

Craig raised an eyebrow. “You’re meeting Angus here?”

I sighed. “No. But apparently he comes here quite a lot. I’m just waiting . . .”

“To ambush him with your feminine wiles again.”

I heard the bite in his tone and glowered at him. “No. Not that it’s any of your business but I’m rethinking that strategy.”

“Too late. The sleazy bastard wants to fuck you, Rain.” Craig leaned forward, the hard edge in his voice giving away to concern. “It’s dangerous to play this game with him. I think you’d better overhaul your entire strategy.”

His assertion caused a flare of panic within me because it echoed my own deeply buried concerns.

“All that matters is doing this for Darcy.”

“And keeping yourself safe. After meeting this guy . . . Rain, he’s a creep through and through. Who knows what he’s capable of.”

I stared at him, not knowing what to say, and frankly more than a little unnerved that I’d come to the coffeehouse with the intention of meeting Angus only to end up across a table from Craig. “What do you want from me?”

He settled back in his seat and lifted his mug to take a sip as he stared at me. He stared so long I was practically squirming in my chair. “I’d like to sit here and have my coffee with you. Talk to you.”

Uneasiness moved its way through me because more than anything I wanted to sit and have my green tea with him. Talk to him. “I’m not sure that’s a good idea.”

“Well I’m sure enough for the both of us.” He threw me a wicked grin that caused a familiar flush of attraction inside of me.

I rolled my eyes and looked away. “Of course you are.”

“So, Rain Alexander, what was it like growing up in Inverness?”

I guffawed at the question. “If you want me to stay at this table with you, you might want to lead in with a less loaded question.”

“Loaded?” He raised an eyebrow at me. “Interesting.” When I treated him to an unhappy look he nodded. “Fine. Why Edinburgh?”

“I tried London at first. I moved there when I was eighteen. For a while I enjoyed it. Had a job in a vintage clothing store—as you can imagine that was right up my alley. I thought I fell in love but after a year together I realized I wasn’t in love with him. It was the catalyst for moving back to Scotland. I’d always intended to come back for Darcy when she was eighteen anyway. The guy didn’t want to move and it was the last in a long line of issues between us.”