She turned, catching a brief glance of herself in the mirror with a shiver of distaste. Even on a shoestring budget, Ursula normally prided herself on her sense of style. Tonight, she’d chosen a white shirt with tight maroon trousers that could almost pass for leather. She’d accessorized with her favorite boots and a chunky black bracelet. But the look wasn’t working out so well right now. Her ginger hair was a mess, and her soaked shirt clung to her body, showing off the pink bra underneath. Only her black eyeliner remained in place.

With any luck, she’d get the chance to clean herself up before Rufus saw her again. Otherwise, it would only confirm every terrible thing he’d said about her when he’d dumped her.

From behind, the stranger said, “Miss?”

She spun around. “Yes?”

“Pour yourself a drink, on me. It is, after all, your first night at the legal drinking age.”

Her blood went cold. How the hell does he know that? 

Just as she was stammering out a response, she caught sight of Rufus striding up behind him, a stormy look on his face. Her ex leaned on the bar, immaculate in a pressed white shirt.

“Ursula,” he said. “We need to talk about what just happened.”

Chapter 2

“In my office. Now.” Rufus inclined his head toward an open door behind the bar, his face pink with rage.

Flinching at his demanding tone, Ursula followed him through the door. She shoved her hand into her pocket, gripping her good luck charm—a smooth, white stone. Right now, it was doing fuck-all in the luck department, but touching it had become a nervous habit.

She plopped down in a chair. It wasn’t much of an office. Since it was a former storage closet, there was only room for the bare essentials: a dingy desk and two chairs. Rufus took a seat behind the desk.

The room was oppressive—either the lack of windows or the wanker behind the desk. Probably both.

Rufus pushed his blond hair back, appraising her with cool, blue eyes. Maybe his Nordic good looks had somehow fooled her into overlooking his serious personality problem.

“What the hell happened out there?” he snapped. “We could get sued. I could get sued.”

“There was a fight, and I was just trying to calm them down. That’s all.”

“By lighting a man on fire?”

The fever blazed behind her temples. She really should have stayed at home tonight. “I don’t know how…” She trailed off. She had no clue what had happened. “One second, I was trying to stop him from hitting some guy, and the next thing I knew, his shirt was on fire.”

“Was he smoking a cigarette?” Rufus narrowed his eyes. “Were you smoking?”