Matt didn’t even live on Red Oak Mountain anymore.
He’d found his love. While I’d sat here pining for his sister for far too long.
A silent war of competing thoughts roared through me.
Maybe Matt would understand.
When he’d forced that commitment out of me, she’d just graduated high school. Rissy had been way too young for me, even if I’d held a fond spot in my heart for her.
But we were all adults now, Marissa and I both in our thirties. Our age gap, just a few measly years, seemed smaller now than it had when we were younger.
A zing of knowing flashed between us. If she came to my house tonight, I wouldn’t keep my hands to myself.
After Candy dropped off our to-go bag I rumbled, “Come on, Rissy. Let’s get out of here.”
Her eyes were trained on mine with a shy little glint in them as we stood up. I dropped some cash on the table to cover the bill and looped my arm over Marissa’s shoulder.
As we left the axe house, dessert secured safely in a doggie bag, a drunk tourist bumped into Marissa.
“Hey, watch where you’re going, wide load,” the man growled out as his beer crashed to the ground.
Poor Marissa’s mouth dropped open, pain etching across her face.
I didn’t even think about it. I just decked the man right in the jaw. Then his beer wasn’t the only thing on the floor. The man was laid out flat.
Everyone nearby gasped, his friends gathering around while Walker came around the counter, shaking his head at me.
Fuck.Did I just do that?
It had been worth it, even if I ended up spending the night in jail, because the look on Rissy’s face had changed from shame and humiliation to hero-worship. She was beaming at me.
“Sorry, Walker,” I rumbled. “He started it. I finished it.”
Walker looked down at the drunk fuck on the floor. Neither of us had ever seen him before in our lives. “Yup. I believe it. Why don’t you two get out of here while I clean up this mess.”
And by that he meant throwing the asshole out on the street.
I turned to Marissa, my arm snaking around her waist, and quietly asked, “Are you all right?”
She nodded and leaned towards me, breathless as she stared up into my eyes. “Yeah. That guy was an asshole. I guess you’re my hero tonight, Sawyer.”
I’d happily take the title home with me if it meant protecting that woman.
“Let’s get out of here before Mason shows up and ruins our Valentine’s Day,” I rumbled as I guided her out the front door and into the snowy night.
I was making mistakes left and right tonight. I should be sitting at home safe and sound with my dog.
Instead, I had the most precious woman in the world on my arm, and I was quickly teetering towards the understanding that I could only haveoneof the two most important people in my life. It was either Matt or Rissy.
And right now the odds were slipping in Marissa’s favor.
Chapter 5
Marissa
Is this really happening?
The whole night felt surreal. How had I managed to spend the holiday with the biggest crush of my life?
