But that’s just the thing: She’smywildflower girl.
“Who didn’t?” Rosie adds.
My fists clench.
“I’m sure he’ll keep her smiling tonight,” Penny adds.
Her words aren’t what set me off. It’s all of it. Being in this bar. The talking. And the final straw is watching Tally smile at someone who isn’t me. I can’t handle watching her in Eli’s arms when she should be in mine. As I stalk toward the dance floor, Rosie’s voice carries over the crowd. “Atta boy.”
Somehow, between the time Tally left me in the kitchen and we came here, she changed into another one of her damn floral sundresses. This one is black with white and yellow flowers on it and wraps across her chest, exposing the swell of those pretty tits. There’s a frilly thing going on with the sleeves that makes her seem daintier than she is. Same with the skirt, which falls to the floor, a pair of black cowboy boots peeking out below the hem.
“Tally,” I grind out as I reach for her elbow, pulling her back toward my chest and away from Eli’s.
The man holds up his hands in surrender. Idiot. Whogives up that easily? But when I meet his eyes, prepared to give him a death glare, Eli’s smiling.
Actually, fuck that, he’s not smiling. He’s practically exploding with joy.
Like this was his damn plan all along.
Asshole.
Tally wrenches her elbow from my grip and spins on me. “What are you doing?”
The damn cowboy song is coming to an end, thank fuck, but Tally’s voice comes out loud now that the strumming has stopped. It feels like all eyes in the brewery are on us.
“The Daffodil Festival,” I say pathetically, stepping into her space, keeping my voice down.
Tally’s hand falls to her hip as she stares me down. “What about it?”
Reaching for any excuse to get out of here, I grumble, “The chairs. We never cleaned ’em.”
Tally’s face scrunches reasonably in confusion. Because I’m not making any fucking sense.
“Okay …,” she says hesitantly.
“So no more dancing. We have to go,” I say, digging my grave even deeper.
She rolls her eyes and lets out a heavy sigh before turning toward Eli. “Thanks for the dance.”
“Anytime, Tally.”
She breezes past Eli and rushes toward the bar, probably to tell her sister and Rosie what an idiot I am. I grip the back of my neck, trying to figure out what the hell I’m doing.
“Don’t go soft now, friend,” Eli says, stepping up beside me and turning with me to watch Tally grab her things. “You were just about to rip my head off.Use that.”
He grins before pushing me toward the bar, and my chest rumbles in annoyance.
I played right into his stupid plan, and now I have to own it. I was jealous.Amjealous. I don’t want anyone to touch her. But what the hell am I going to do about that? If I’m not going to touch her, not going to claim her, then I can’t stop her from letting someone else.
My fists clench and I know I’m not allowing that to happen. But before I can make it to the bar, Tally is storming through the crowd and disappearing out into the cool spring evening.
When I get outside, she’s standing there, arms crossed, waiting for me. “Where’s your truck?”
“I walked.”
Her eyes narrow. “So you walked here but you just didn’t want to walk with me?”
She seems even more annoyed by this revelation. But before I can think of a way to tell her I walkedbecauseshe walked—that I want to walk beside her at all times and I hate myself for it—she spins and huffs in the direction of the farm.
