His gaze meets mine, his expression unreadable, but definitely not unpleasant. “You’re right,” he says softly. “It was nice.”
Oh.
OH.
Everything else falls away—the loss of expected tips, the bruise on my cheek, the worry for the woman I wasn’t able to help—as I fall into the depths of his eyes. As my heart doesn’t just flutter, but leaps.
Never in my life have I felt likethisbefore.
I’ve heard stories of people falling in love at first sight, but I didn’t really believe it. I thought it was revisionist history, the couple innocently putting a romantic spin on their relationship. After all, how could two people know that quickly?
It’s always seemed an impossibility. Until now.
Not that I’m inlovewith Dave. How could I be? I’ve known him for what? Fifteen minutes, if that?
This strange connection is probably a result of far too many months without sex.
Okay, it might have been more than a year, actually. Now that I’m thinking about it, I haven’t been with anyone since the January before last, back when I had that unfortunate date?—
Nope. Forrest and his unhealthy obsession with video games have no place here.
Not that I have a problem with video games. But when the guy hurries through sex so he can go to a virtual raid with his online friends… That’s a whole different story.
Anyway. I’m not in love with Dave. Obviously. But I’mdefinitelyattracted to him.
“So.” Dave coughs. Twin spots of pink tinge his cheeks, and it might be the cutest thing I’ve ever seen. “What happened outside? While you were following the couple?”
I press the towel-wrapped ice to my cheek, closing my eyes for a moment as the coolness soothes the throbbing bruise. It also serves as a good excuse not to answer right away, so I have a little more time to rearrange my out-of-control thoughts.
“I followed them to the parking lot behind the bar,” I finally answer. “And yes, I had my phone in my pocket, at least. Just in case I needed to call for help.”
“But?”
“They were halfway across the parking lot when he slapped her. And then… I don’t know what came over me. Now that I’m sitting here talking to you, I could rattle off all the smart, careful things I should have done. But once I saw him hit her, I just reacted.”
Large fingers wrap around mine, engulfing them in warmth. Belatedly, I realize my hand is trembling. “What happened, Hollis?”
“I ran towards them. And I yelled at him to stop. To leave her alone. And I might have called him some names that weren’t very nice.”
A tiny smile pulls at the corner of Dave’s lips. “I can think of some names I’d call him that wouldn’t be appropriate here.”
“When I yelled at him, he just looked… surprised at first. Then angry. But it was when I told the girl to go inside that he really lost it. That’s when he punched me. He knocked me down, actually. Then he took off.”
A low growl sounds in the back of Dave’s throat. “He knocked you down?”
“It was just the punch,” I explain. “I wasn’t expecting it. So I stumbled and fell.” Lowering the ice to the table, I add, “He left without her. His girlfriend, I discovered. The asshole.”
“Then what? Did you call the police?”
“We did. Well, my manager did. Once I got the girlfriend inside. But she wouldn’t press charges.” Frustration bubbles up in my chest. “She wouldn’t even tell us what her boyfriend’s name was. She didn’t want him to get into trouble. So all the police could go on was my description and some fuzzy security footage from inside the bar.”
“Shit,” he mutters. “So he’s still out there?”
“He’s banned from Maxwell’s,” I reply. “So I doubt I’ll see him again. But it’s frustrating that the girlfriend will probably go right back to him.”
Dave sighs. “Unfortunately, she might. I see it happen with some of the calls I respond to. And it sucks. Knowing these women are in trouble and no matter what I say, what the police say, they’re going to go right back to the person who’s hurting them.”
“Yeah.”
