"Evangeline, where the fuck are your panties?" My eyes widened in surprise that he'd noticed so soon, and then I gave him a sassy smile. The lack of panty lines must have tipped him off.
"I thought I’d cut right to the chase. Didn't want you ruining the new ones you'd just bought for me." I grinned.
"Put on some underwear." He tossed the La Perla bag to me. I raised one eyebrow at him.
"Or what, Mr. Morgan?" I crossed my legs so the dress shifted higher up my thighs. Carter clenched his teeth as his eyes shot to my exposed leg.
"Underwear, Evangeline," he ground through his teeth, still focused on my exposed thigh.
"No. I’m good, thanks." I smiled at him sweetly. His eyes shot to mine, surprised at my defiance. He held my glare for a minute before he realized I wouldn't be backing down.
"You are incorrigible, woman." Carter ran a hand through his hair and then tugged the dress further down my thigh in an attempt to cover me. I smiled in triumph and my girly bits tingled in anticipation at the hell I would put him through tonight knowing I was without my panties.
Carter and I were seated at a private table at the Meritage overlooking the waterfront. The city lights reflecting off the water twinkled and the ambiance of the dining room was magical. The waiter arrived and Carter ordered for us.
"We'll have the '95 Chateau Margaux with the Kobe Beef and the Diver Scallops." He ordered without looking at the menu.
"What if I don't want that?"
"You’re being rather defiant tonight, Evangeline." He regarded me thoughtfully.
"You're being rather controlling." I threw back at him. I took a sip of my wine and worried my bottom lip between my teeth as I gazed out at the Boston night.
"What's wrong, Evangeline?" Carter said with a hint of exasperation.
"Who did that stuff belong to?" My eyes darted to his.
"Back to this?" he frowned. "A friend, an old friend. Someone who hasn't been to my office in a long time, Evangeline. I'll get rid of all of it." His eyes implored me to drop the subject.
"Was it Madeleine's?" I took another sip of my wine to avoid his eyes.
"Yes." Carter shuffled in his seat uncomfortably.
"Why did Madeleine keep things at your office?"
"We were together at one time." Carter held me with a steady gaze.
"Another fuck buddy?"
"No, Madeleine and I were engaged," Carter deadpanned. The air left my lungs in an instant. What? I was prepared to wrap my mind around the fact that Carter was a former womanizer, playboy, modelizer, but he had been engaged? Somehow in the back of my mind it had been easier for me to accept his former life when I thought he didn't care for them; that they meant nothing. But at least one of them had.
I thought back to that night at the ball and what Madeleine had said to me.
He isn't someone you build your dreams on.
What happened between them that made her say that? What had he done to her? Suddenly her cold demeanor and vicious attitude made sense; she was jealous, she did have a claim on him. She had his heart, at least she had at one time. And may have been the only one to have ever done so.
My breathing was shallow and I thought I may be on the verge of an panic attack.
"Are you still friends with her?" I set my glass down and stared at him.
"Yes, but we broke things off a long time ago."
"You still see her?" My heart was thudding so loud in my ears I could hardly hear my own thoughts.
"Yes, we work together on some business things. She's an investor, it's sort of unavoidable that I see her." I bit down so hard on my bottom lip I thought it might bleed.
"I need to go to the bathroom."
"Eva." Carter raised his voice in warning as I stood and rushed to the restroom. When I got there I slammed the door, locked it and plopped myself down on the plush settee. Tears sprang to my eyes as I tried tugging the dress down over my thighs.
"Evangeline." Carter's voice boomed through the door as he pounded with his fist. I sat silently and continued to cry. "Evangeline, open the fucking door." He was pounding relentlessly.
"Go away, Carter," I whispered through sobs.
"Unlock the door or I swear I will break it down," he growled. I took a few deep breaths willing myself to calm down. I walked to the door and unlocked it. He burst through like a bear with an unpredictable look of anger on his face. I sat back down on the settee and waited for him to say something.
"What the fuck is the problem, Evangeline?" I continued to ignore him. "So I was engaged a long time ago, that's all over," he pleaded with me in a gruff voice.
"The problem isn't that you were engaged," I whispered through clenched teeth. "The problem is that you still see her; you're still friends with her." I was grinding my teeth in anger.