I turned, coming face-to-face with Roman. I raised my brows at my brother—this definitely wasn’t his usual scene.
Roman leaned close and shouted over the noise, “It’s crowded in here!”
“You think?”
He scowled. “I know. I wasn’t expecting this when I agreed to have a beer with the guys.”
My gaze swept over the crowd again, still not finding Quinn. “Thanks for letting me know,” I called back over the music.
Roman gave my shoulder a squeeze, and warmth swelled in my chest. It was nice to know that at least one of my brothers was still there for me.
“She’s over there.” He pointed to one of the booths in the back corner.
She sat alone, a half-finished draft beer on the table in front of her. The tops of her cheekbones were dusted red as she propped her chin on her palm. Some guy was standing at the end of her table, speaking animatedly. She blinked at him slowly, looking bored and annoyed and…incredibly sad.
When the guy planted his palm on the table and leaned closer to her, a feeling I was not familiar with prickled at the back of my neck. I didn’t like the way he grinned at her.
“She’s had a string of college guys rounding on her table. They always leave after a while, but it’s part of the reason I didn’t want to leave her here alone.”
I forced a glance at my brother, resisting the unexpectedly strong urge to yank that man away from her table by the collar of his stupid orange shirt.
Who the hell wore orange?
“Thanks for staying to look out for her.” I tried to give him a smile.
Roman patted my shoulder. “If you don’t mind, I’m gonna get out of here and pick up my baby girl.”
“I’ve got it from here.” I nodded. “Give Hailey a hug for me.”
Roman turned with a wave and disappeared through the throng of bodies.
Immediately, I headed toward Quinn’s booth.
I couldn’t hear what the guy was talking her ear off about, but it didn’t matter. Quinn still stared at him with a glassy, glazed-over expression.
I clamped my hand down onto the guy’s shoulder, squeezing harder than I needed to. He straightened, whipping his head toward me.
Quinn’s eyes slid to mine, and she blinked, as if she wasn’t sure what she was seeing. Then they widened.
“What the hell?” The guy knocked my hand off, backing away.
“Sorry,” I shouted. We were so close to the band that the blaring speakers hurt my ears. “But you were in my way. This is my table.”
I said it calmly, taking the empty seat across from Quinn.
The guy crinkled his nose, looking from Quinn to me and back again. He hesitated, but then he shook his head. “Whatever,” he muttered as he shuffled toward the bar.
I scrubbed the back of my neck when he was gone, watching him until he blended into the crowd. My chest loosened.
Quinn glared at me when I looked back at her, an icy edge to her expression.
She took a long swig of her beer, watching me over the rim of the glass before she spoke. “What are you doing here?”
I would’ve sighed, but I stopped myself. This side of her was both familiar and exhausting. I thought we had moved past it. I shifted on the uncomfortable faux leather seat.
“I could ask you the same question.”
She set her glass down a little too hard. “What does it look like I’m doing? I’m having a beer at a bar. That’s a perfectly normal thing for a person to do.” She leaned toward me as she said it so she didn’t have to scream.
