I cleared my throat and looked at him through my lashes, unable to lift my head to truly face him.
“You know… it’s been genuinely nice knowing you too,” I said. And I meant it.
His eyes held mine for a beat. Were they filled with unspoken words like mine?
“Thanks for all your help,” I added.
His smile dropped as if my words had pierced him, and he nodded.
“It’s what I do,” he replied, tone hollow.
“Cado!” Bill called, jumping up from his seat as he realised the dog was still sitting outside. I’d forgotten anyone else was in the room, and now my cheeks burned pink.
“I’ll walk him home with you Bill, I need the exercise,” Dax said and patted his flat belly. He obviously did not, but he was sweet not to make Bill look like an invalid, and that only made this moment harder.
Bill chuckled loudly and patted his own belly. “Beer used to make this tummy big. It’s gone now though. Look!” he kept patting his stomach as if it were the first time he’d noticed it was flat, although it didn't come close to matching the muscular structure of Dax.
“See-ya Ry,” Dax called over his shoulder.
I couldn’t help letting my gaze fall down the back of his running shorts as he walked away.
They always leave.
But he could call me whatever he liked.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
The next morning,a nimbostratus cloud so big it could cover Tokyo had taken up residence above my head. I’d pressed the snooze button on my phone so many times it felt like I was playing a slot machine. Groaning I kicked that white covers off. I was still thinking about Dax.
Why did I even care that yesterday might have been the last time I’d see him? I’d known him for what, a month? I let the image of his chocolate eyes dimming and the hollow tone of our polite goodbyes flutter down and slap me in the face.
Nope. I wasn’t doing this.
This would not be the Riley Walls pity party of one.
He was a man, that was all. There were plenty of him around. Except… I knew that was a lie. Not men like him. He was strong but not scary, witty without being a complete douchebag. Unless he was on the phone, of course, but even that didn’t bother me as much now that I knew who it was for.
Why did he have to act like that when we kissed and ruin everything?
I shook him from my mind and got ready for the day. A fail-safe way to feel better–and one I hoped never to pass down toany children I was increasingly sure I wouldn’t have anyway–was to look super cute. And get under someone else. Pronto.
“Ooh, look at you,” Dave waggled his bushy eyebrows from where he was paying for his coffee. “Hot date?”
I shot him a dark glare. We were friends. Sort of. As much as you could be friends with the leader of the geriatric pole-dancing stripper crew of the town. But we were notshare-your-personal-businesslevel of friends. Only Rick and Breeze had achieved that status.
Dave ducked his head like he expected my eyes to shoot actual daggers, and I grinned.
“What’s going on here?” Breeze waved a hand from my head to my shoes as Dave joined the rest of the Balls Club at their usual table. Was she referring to my perfectly blown-out hair, which had taken me approximately fifty-seven trillion hours thanks to its thickness? Or the tall wedges I was wearing with cut-off shorts and a semi-opaque sleeveless shirt?
“Thought I’d make an effort today,” I shrugged and beamed a toothy grin at her, which lasted two seconds before dissolving under her eye roll.
I groaned. “Okay, fine, I needed to.” That woman was like a superhero with X-ray vision, except her talent was reading people’s bullshit. If I had that skill, I’d use it to look through the clothing of hot guys. For research purposes. Obviously.
“Does this have anything to do with a certain brooding-eyed man leaving town on business?” she leaned her hip against the counter, retying her hair.
“Bill left town?” I sounded shocked as I pulled my hand up to my chest in a mock gesture.
She rolled her eyes again and found the nails on one of her hands interesting. “If you’re not careful, Riley, you might end up alone.”
