“Wish he could ride.”
“Me too.” I sighed. “It’s just not safe.”
Sundance crossed his arms and we continued to watch Teddy bask in the glory of Orion’s attention. God, these people were so fucking confusing. They were supposed to be degenerate criminals, and maybe they were, but so far, I’d seen nothing but kindness from them. Not counting the incident with Sundance and Aero a few weeks ago, of course, but even that was a contradiction. They’d both apologized for jumping to conclusions and I knew they’d learned from the experience.
I was coming to realize I’d fallen in love with Sundance, but my head was warring with my heart, and quite frankly, it was giving me an ulcer.
“I need to use the restroom,” I said.
“Down the hall, second door on the left,” Sundance said. “You okay?”
I nodded and made my escape, slipping into the surprisingly clean bathroom and promptly bursting into tears. I made sure the door was locked, then let myself cry for a few minutes before trying to pull myself together enough to face the world again.
It took a little longer than I expected, but I managed to get myself to a place I felt I’d be able to fake disinterest. I took a deep breath and pulled open the door finding Sundance leaning against the opposite wall. His eyes came to me and I pushed the door closed again, dropping my head to the wood. A knock sounded and I squeezed my eyes shut.
“Dimples, open the door,” he called.
“Just a minute.”
“Baby, open the door and tell me why you’re crying.”
“I’m not,” I lied.
“I’m coming in,” he warned, and I let out a frustrated groan.
“Do not come in here.”
“Then, open the door.”
I pulled it open and frowned up at him. “What do you want, Sundance?”
“Just wanna make sure you’re okay.”
“I’m good.”
He raised an eyebrow as he ran a thumb over my cheek. “Are these happy tears?”
“Yes,” I lied.
“Baby,” he breathed out as he slid his hand to my neck and tugged me forward.
“I can’t,” I rasped, his touch both comforting and heartbreaking. “I need to check on Teddy.”
“He’s good,” he insisted, sliding his hand into my hair. “I got you.”
I lost my resolve again. Well, at least any that I’d tried to tell myself I had left. Bursting into tears again, I buried my face in his chest and wrapped my arms around his waist.
Little known fact about me, I’m a crier. It’s my Achilles heel and I hate it, but it is what it is. I cry at Hallmark commercials, I cry at the Sarah McLachlan save the animal commercials, and now, apparently, I cry when the object of my unhealthy desire wraps his arms around me.
“Come with me, baby, we’ll go somewhere more private,” Sundance said, guiding me out of the bathroom and down the hallway.
* * *
Sundance
My heart broke when Wyatt admitted she was terrified to walk inside my club, but it shattered the second she’d begged me not to touch her. I knew I’d hurt her, but I hadn’t realized I’d wounded her that deeply.
Jesus, I really was an asshole. Until right now, I hadn’t cared. Actually, I still didn’t give a shit, so long as it wasn’t Wyatt who thought it. I had some serious makin’ up to do, I just hoped to God she’d let me do it.
