"I beg your pardon? Did you just call me spoiled?" Erin hissed at him. "How dare you?"
"I do not tolerate people digging into my personal life Ms. Gosling. While I realize you may have nothing better to do with your time, please refrain from prying into matters that do not concern you."
"Nicky is my concern, and I certainly have a right to find out as much as I can about any man she chooses to align herself with." Erin spoke through clenched teeth. "For all I know, you could be nothing more than yet another opportunist out to take advantage of her money and connections."
He looked as though she had just pulled a gun and aimed it at his head. Erin bit her lip and wished she could swallow those last words somehow, but it was already too late. The damage had been done.
As she watched him, his breathing seemed to cease and he became still, though the air crackled with tension, as though they were both inside a force field. He looked so dangerous, like a big cat waiting to pounce on his prey and Erin shivered, icy chills of fear sliding down her spine, every sense on alert.
"Opportunist?" He repeated the word so softly, she would have missed it if she hadn't been watching him so intently.
She said nothing, though her heart hammered wildly as she wondered what he would do. This man could be deadly and she was suddenly seized with fear for her delicate cousin. He would tear Nicky's heart apart if he ever got this angry, dear lord, he had not even reacted yet and Erin was already afraid. His knuckles gripping the edge of the table were white and his eyes were ice blue with fury.
"You little fool..." He ground out. "I should throttle some sense into you."
"What's going on?" Nicky had returned to the table and stared at the two of them, frowning in confusion at the palpable tension simmering between them. "Erin?" she looked at Erin, her gaze searching her cousin's face for an answer.
"Nothing." Erin forced herself to remain calm though she really wanted to kill Ethan Lachlan. Twice now, the man had insulted then threatened her in the space of a few minutes.
*****
Ethan glared at the snotty woman seated across from him, resisting the urge to throttle her. The evening had turned sour for him from the moment he had made that stop at the coffee shop.
He had gotten stuck in traffic caused by a car accident, on top of that, he realized he'd left his phone at the office and had spent close to an hour swearing at the cars blocking the road while his mind filled with thoughts of Nicky waiting and wondering if he had stood her up.
Now he was here, and having to deal with Little Miss Snob and her scathing comments that served to only make his mood worse. It was obvious to Ethan that Erin Gosling did not care for him in the least, if the disdain and condemnation in those hazel eyes of hers was any indication of her true feelings.
His anger burned when she'd mentioned she had had him investigated; he valued his privacy and did not relish the thought of Erin Gosling snooping in his background and then having the guts to rub it in his face.
She had even gone so far as to label him an opportunist. Even thinking about those words set his blood to boil and if Nicky hadn't come back when she had…
Ethan studied her from under his lashes. He had expected Erin to look like Nicky in some way, but he had been mildly surprised at the woman sitting across from him now.
Straight brown hair pulled back in a severe bun at the nape of her neck, minimal makeup from what he could see, the pink dinner gown she wore was simple yet undoubtedly chic and he could bet his life savings the price tag would have more zeros than was strictly necessary.
Where Nicky was breathtakingly beautiful, Erin was attractive in a cool professional sort of way, but there was something in her eyes when she'd first looked at him that had hinted at smoldering fires underneath.
He shook his head to clear his thoughts and realized Nicky was looking at him, worry clearly written in those green eyes and he felt contrite for letting his anger ruin the evening.
"I'm sorry honey, nothing is wrong." He kissed her lips gently. "Erin and I were simply getting to know each other, weren't we?" He shot Erin a warning look, daring her to contradict him.
She was no fool and nodded in agreement, accepting the unspoken cease fire. Thankfully their food arrived and the rest of the evening passed with the both of them carefully avoiding any topics that would fan resentment. Later outside the restaurant, he saw the derisive curl of her lips when she saw his truck and Ethan decided there and then that he thoroughly disliked Erin Gosling.
Erin was thankful when the long torturous dinner finally ended. It had been pure agony having to keep silent when all she had wanted to do was give that man a piece of her mind. What on earth did Nicky even see in him for heaven's sake? Watching them together was like watching a pair of mis-matched shoes on someone's feet.
While her cousin was clearly in love with Ethan, the man had shown little or no emotion towards her in return, an act that raised alarm bells in Erin's brain.
"Well, what do you think of Ethan?" Nicky piped up as Erin pulled into the evening traffic, steering the blue Ferrari with skill.
Erin took her eyes from the road briefly to spare her cousin a long look. She could not really bring herself to lie to her cousin and say Ethan was perfect for her. Her protective instincts kicked in and she knew what she had to do to save Nicky from making the biggest mistake of her life.
"Nicky, may I be honest with you?" she began, returning her attention to the road.
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