My heart stutters, nearly stops.
“Oh…” is all I manage.
Penny’s knowing eyes cut to mine.
“Summer, I wanted to ask if you wanted to go out with me tonight,” she says as Lily ushers Mia toward the cookies.
“But it’s Friday. Isn’t girls’night next Thursday?”
“You’re working yourself to death,” she says, waving her curling iron like a weapon.“One drink, Summer. One. It doesn’t even have to be alcohol.”
It’s strange seeing Penny here before dinner, she usually comes with Cas every evening.
“Penny’s right,” Lily adds.“Some grown-up girl time would do you good. And it gives Josh and me an excuse to spoil this adorable princess.” She taps Mia’s nose, making her giggle.
“A sleepover with Lily and Josh?” Mia’s face lights up like I handed her a puppy.
Lily is absolutely in on this. I should’ve known.
“One drink,” I warn, narrowing my eyes at Penny.“And I’m having a soda.”
“Deal.” She grins, already victorious.
And I already know I’m going to regret this.
???
The bar is packed, music, laughter, low lights, the smell of whiskey and citrus peel. Penny and I weave through bodies and take our seats at a small table near the bar. My pulse stumbles the second I see him.
Ethan.
He’s standing with a few guys from the station, sleeves rolled up, hair mussed, that same damn almost-smile tugging at his mouth, only this time it doesn’t quite reach his eyes. Someone cracks a joke beside him, and he laughs, but it’s muted, practiced. Controlled.
Two gorgeous women hover close, leaning in when they speak, touching his arm, tossing their hair the way women do when they want to be noticed.
A sharp, ugly twist hits my stomach.
You have no right to feel this way, I tell myself. You told him you didn’t want him.
But jealousy doesn’t care about logic. It burns, quiet, humiliating, deep in my chest.
The thought of him with someone else makes my heart ache like a fist has wrapped around it and started to squeeze.
And yet… Ethan doesn’t flirt back.
He laughs politely, but his shoulders stay rigid, the muscles tight beneath his shirt. His gaze keeps drifting away from them, scanning the room like he’s searching for an escape. Like this whole thing is a performance he wants no part of.
Then his eyes find mine.
Time stops.
My breath catches.
For a single heartbeat, neither of us looks away.
Then the muscle in his jaw tightens, and he looks away.
That hurts more than I expect it to.
