But the moment I line up my first shot, I feel it again.
That magnetic pull.
I lift my gaze, and there he is. Watching me from across the room. His eyes locked on mine.
Deep blue.
Unblinking.
Searing.
Like no one else exists.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
DECLAN
I should be asleep.
Instead, I’m nursing my second scotch at a bar on the outskirts of Sycamore Falls, wondering what the hell is wrong with me.
I came here to get out of my head. To stop thinking about Claire. I couldn’t do that in my townhouse. Not when photos of her filled the books Joshua left for me. It shouldn’t have surprised me. It’s obvious how close they were.
How close theyare.
But those photos solidified it in living color.
Birthday parties. School concerts. Tree forts. Joshua’s childhood frozen in time.
And Claire was in so many of them.
With grass stains on her jeans and birthday cake on her face. In a soccer uniform, standing shoulder-to-shoulder with Joshua, both smiling and red-faced after a game. In a swimsuit at the lake, her arms flung around Joshua, laughing like she didn’t have a care in the world.
They’ve known each other practically since birth. She’s been a fixture in his life for years now. She’s not just a friend. She’s his constant.
And I can’t stop thinking about how goddamn perfect her body felt against mine.
Which is why I needed to go somewhere without the persistent reminders of her and her connection to my son. I figured a bar far away from downtown Sycamore Falls would be safe.
Clearly, the universe has a sense of humor, because this is where she ended up. I should have left the second I met her eyes from across the room.
But I didn’t.
Instead, I stayed, torturing myself and watching her in a darkened corner of the bar like an obsessed stalker. I try to look away as she bends over the pool table, her dark hair tumbling over one shoulder as she lines up a shot. But I can’t.
I’m not the only one who’s noticed her, either. A group of guys lingering nearby are watching her, their eyes tracking her every move. One of them nudges another and jerks his chin in her direction, clearly trying to help him work up the nerve to go over.
He eventually does, despite my muttered curses and threats that he keep his distance. The music is too loud for me to hear their conversation, but it’s obvious he’s asking if they can join their game.
And Claire agrees.
I reach for my wallet, needing to get out of this place before I do something I’ll regret.
Then I hear it. Her laughter floating through the room. It’s bright and unguarded, the kind of laugh that turns heads… Including mine.
When I look her way this time, she angles her body a little too close to the guy in the button-down for my liking. He passes her a cue, brushing her arm as he does. It’s casual. Innocent. And yet when Claire tucks her hair behind her ear and smiles at him, I’movercome with a jealousy I’ve never experienced before. Even worse than watching Joshua touch her. Because I know they’re just friends.
This guy, though? She could go home with him if she wants.
