CHAPTER 6 - A ROOM OF DISTRACTION

I sat at the low table in the lounge, but my mind was completely elsewhere. There were only eight people in the entire venue—four boys and four girls, evenly paired up. It was supposed to be a fun, casual group hangout, and I was supposed to be focusing on my date.

To his credit, Sam was actually very nice and funny. He was an older, incredibly good-looking guy with an easy smile and a charming personality. Any normal girl would have been thrilled to be sitting next to him. But as he told a joke that made the rest of the table laugh, I felt absolutely nothing. No sparks. No butterflies.

Instead, my mind kept drifting back to the hallway at the house. I remembered the heavy, raw way Eugene’s eyes had swept over me when I came down the stairs. Even now, just sitting here thinking about that intense look made a wave of heat rush through my body, arousing me in a way Sam’s polite conversation couldn't even touch. Sam was handsome, but he simply didn't move me like that.

Then, the front door of the lounge opened, and my heart completely stopped.

Eugene walked in. He wasn't wearing his usual corporate suits. Instead, he wore dark jeans and a forest green turtleneck shirt that hugged his broad, muscular chest perfectly. He looked commanding, mature, and devastatingly handsome. When he claimed it was a coincidence and casually walked over to the bar with his two friends, my entire body went on high alert. My eyes followed his every move, my breath hitching as I watched the fabric of his shirt stretch across his shoulders.

"Oh my gosh," Chloe, one of the girls at the table, whispered, leaning in closer to our group. She watched Eugene walk away with a dreamy expression. "Emily, I know that’s your dad, but holy wow... he is absolutely gorgeous. Who is he trying to impress tonight in that turtleneck?"

"Chloe, ew! That is my father!" Emily laughed, throwing a crumpled napkin at her.

I kept my mouth shut, staring down at my drink so no one would see the deep blush creeping up my neck. My skin was tingling, and the air in the room suddenly felt twenty degrees hotter. He was just a few yards away at the bar, and even with Sam sitting right next to me, Eugene was the only man in the room I could feel.

I forced myself to smile at Sam’s jokes, nodding along and trying my absolute best to focus on my date for Emily’s sake. She had put so much effort into organizing this, and I didn't want to ruin her night. But it was exhausting. Every time Eugene laughed at the bar, or shifted his weight, my eyes automatically darted toward him.

After a little while, the four of us girls excused ourselves to go to the restroom. The moment the door clicked shut behind us, the other girls immediately started gushing about Eugene again.

"Seriously, Emily, your dad is a total silver fox," Chloe sighed, checking her lip gloss in the mirror. "How is he still single? If I were ten years older, I would be making a move tonight."

"Gross, stop it!" Emily laughed, though she shook her head with a fond smile. "But honestly, he’s just not interested in dating. He’s been focused on work and taking care of me for so long that I think he’s completely crossed romance off his list. He's totally old-fashioned that way."

Hearing Emily say those words felt like a physical weight pressing down on my chest. Not interested in dating. She had no idea how much he had moved me just days ago, or how his gaze had practically consumed me in the hallway tonight.

When we went back out to the main lounge, the rest of the evening became incredibly strenuous. The tension in the air was thick enough to cut with a knife. I sat next to Sam, pretending to have a good time, while Eugene remained at the bar, a dark, protective shadow in my peripheral vision. I could feel his eyes on me every time Sam leaned in too close. By the time our group finally decided to call it a night and leave, my nerves were completely frayed.

As we gathered our coats near the exit, Emily walked over to her dad's table to say goodbye. I stood a few steps behind her, my heart pounding.

"We're heading out, Dad," Emily said, giving him a quick hug. "Just a reminder—I’m spending the rest of the weekend with Josh’s family at their lake house, so I won't be back until tomorrow evening."

"Alright, sweetheart. Be safe," Eugene said, his voice deep and completely steady as he hugged her back.

But over Emily's shoulder, his dark eyes locked onto mine. A sudden, dangerous realization hit me. Emily was going away for the night.

I was going back to an empty house. With him.