There’s a tug on my heart I can’t explain, a pull at the gentle way he says my name.
He reaches out, and tucks my windswept hair behindmy ear. The nerves there light up, then trail a path down my body, sparking every inch to life along the way.
I’m in suspended animation, waiting forsomething.
Suddenly, he blinks. He pulls his hand back, and stuffs it into his pocket.
He says, “Have a good night,” not bothering to meet my gaze.
Why do I feel like I just lost something? Confusion swirls through me as I grope for mental purchase. Isthishis game? To act decent, get me worked up just for the fun of it, before turning icy?
Wait, no!The denial echoes through me.
I wasnotworked up.
The lingering heat between my legs whispers otherwise, but I ignore it. Sawyer Strong will not get to me. The game has changed, but the player is the same, and I refuse to be duped this time.
When he starts walking in the direction I’m going, I can only follow. I catch up when he stops at the next intersection.
“Are you following me?” His tone is teasing, but there’s a dolor to it.
“Not intentionally . . . Where are you going?” The question is futile. There’s only one place he could be headed, unless he’s going on a tour of the fire department.
TheWalksign illuminates and we cross together.
“Jolly’s. I’m meeting Ethan and Rich.”
Dread swirls in my gut. It’s just my luck he’s going where I’m headed. And meeting up with his minions.
“I guess I am following you,” I say tersely. “I’m meeting Tess.”
His eyebrows shoot up, his iciness forgotten. “Good for her. I don’t think she gets out a lot.”
I bite my lip. That’s the feeling I had, too. Even though she’s from here, I’ve never heard Tess talk about friends. It’s hard reconciling that with the easy friendship she’s offered me.
As we approach the restaurant, the din inside becomes more audible.
Sawyer exhales raggedly, like he’s dreading what he’s about to do.
Then he reaches for the door.
“Tess and I were just coming for the tacos,” I say dumbly as I stare across the restaurant.
Apparently, Blue Ridge does not mess around for Taco and Trivia Tursday.
It’s a madhouse, it looks nothing like when I met Dev here my first week in town. The restaurant is absolutelycrammed. Tables are pushed together, more seats than they can accommodate shoved into the mix, and they’re all filled by trivia-goers who might as well be holding pitchforks for all the viciousness with which they jeer at one another.
As I stare, a hand appears beneath the sea of tables and grips my thigh. I shriek as a woman’s face appears at my knees. She thanks me as she uses me for leverage to crawl out before heading toward the bathrooms.
People I recognize wave or nod at Sawyer, throwing uncertain glances at me. My insides crawl with anxiety as he acknowledges themall like it’s just another Tursday.
This is not what I had in mind when I agreed to meet Tess out.
If this were literallyanycity, there’d be another place for tacos around the corner, one across the street, maybeanother a few blocks down. In any other city, I could text Tess to meet me somewhere—anywhere—else. But we’re in Blue Ridge, and I don’t want to let her down, so here I am, sitting at the last available table next to Sawyer.
Then my eyes widen and my pulse quickens as I notice Ethan Darvish walking over from the bar. Even though Sawyer was very clear about meeting his friends here, I feel like I’m in an episode ofThe Twilight Zone.
Be a fucking grownup, the voice in my head urges.It’s been fourteen years for shit’s sake. But something about being back in this town, with the same people who made my life a living hell, has me relapsing to the same emotional state I was in last time I was here, like I never left.
