Every self-protective instinct I had told me to stay at the bar and let it play out.
He was never really mine to begin with. I’d only gotten to borrow him for thirty days.
It wouldn’t matter if he ended things one night early to be with her.
I’d survive it… somehow.
But not before I put up a little bit of a fight.
My feet started moving in their direction, carrying me back across the room with both beers in hand, and I caught the tail end of what Pink Shirt was saying as I got close.
“You took the wrong girl home the other night, sugar. Should’ve been me. I could’ve given you arealride.”
Amos’s voice came out low and flat, nothing like his usual easy drawl. “Shelly’s my girlfriend now. I’m going to need you to clear out and leave me the fuck alone.”
He looked up then and spotted me.
His eyes softened, and he stood up from the booth, stepping around Pink Shirt as if she weren’t even there.
He took one of the beers from my hand, slipped his arm around my waist, and pulled me gently to his side.
“I like the Cozy Bean better,” he rumbled against my temple, quiet enough that only I could hear it.
My lips trembled as emotion shot through me.
“Can we go outside?” I whispered. “I need to talk to you.”
It was time to tell him everything. He had to know how I felt about him. And after what he’d just said, I had more than a little hope in my heart.
He stared down at me for a moment, reading my face, and then he nodded and steered me toward the door with his hand at the small of my back.
A minute later we were sitting on his tailgate, holding hands, as the distant sound of music drifted out from the Bear Den.
“I hope you know I wasn’t flirting with her, Shelly Bear.”
“I know.” The look on Pink Shirt’s face when he’d told her to clear out had been unmistakable. She’d been furious. “I could tell by her face that she was pissed. She wasn’t expecting that.”
He turned toward me. “Then why are you crying a little?”
I hadn’t realized I was until he said it. I pressed the back of my hand to my eye.
“I don’t know. I guess seeing her got me thinking about tomorrow.”
Amos was quiet for a beat. “What about tomorrow?”
“It’s the last day of our agreement.”
He looked at me steadily. “I wouldn’t mind getting a permanent extension on it. What would you say if I told you that?”
My heart leaped… and then immediately tried to protect itself.
But it was too late. My chest cracked open as hope bloomed and then flourished.
“Do you mean that, Amos?” I squeaked out.
His eyes landed on mine, a soft warmth in them that I’d grown used to seeing.
He dragged a hand down his beard, exhaling hard. The man looked more serious than I’d ever seen him before.
