Lexy looks down at her feet.
There is no thinking. My body moves before my head can catch up.
My hand closes around Jace’s collar, and he bursts out laughing as I drag him away.
“Hands and eyes off my Tinker,” I growl.
Jace cackles, the sound carrying as I drag him off the dance floor, and loud laughter erupts from the bar behind us. It hits me then, too late, that the laughter is not just from my brothers. Every head in the place has turned toward us.
“Fuckers never know when to mind their own business,” I mutter as I shove Jace away and walk toward my parents’ house.
I need to calm down.
I walk out the front door, drop onto my bike, and pull out a cigarette, already bringing it to my lips before I stop. A curse slips out under my breath. I can’t even smoke anymore, not when I know she hates it. I stare at it for a second, then toss it to the ground and drag a hand over my face, exhaling hard.
“Son.”
When I look up, my dad is standing there. “Can we talk?”
I take a deep breath, then nod.
“Come to tease me too?” I ask.
He steps closer, no smile on his face. “I see the way you look at her.”
I look away. “So?”
“Is she your one?”
Just three words, one simple question, and my heart is screaming yes. Yes, she is. She stole my heart like a professional thief without me noticing.
“What if she is? It doesn’t change anything anyway.” I shrug.
“That is where you’re wrong. Tell me, son, how many women have you been interested in since Lexy came into your life?”
His question makes me bite my cheek, because I know what he means, and the answer is none.
Not one.
“What does that have to do with her?” I ask.
“I know you and your brothers laugh about it and make jokes, but when Hawthorne men meet their one, all others cease to exist.” He gives me a sad smile.
“So she is the one. That doesn’t change the fact that I can never have her,” I say.
“Why the hell not?” My dad steps closer and puts his hand on my shoulder, making me look up. “I see the way she looks at you too. She follows you around the room. She trusts you. You’re not the only one feeling this, son.”
I shake my head. “Even if she does, Dad, she is…”
I exhale and decide to be honest.
“She is gorgeous, funny, smart, fierce. She deserves a man who would never put her in danger, who would love her the way she deserves. I am… I am damaged, Dad. I did things that…”
I shake my head. I don’t want to think about that.
“She should marry a lawyer or an accountant, not a damaged cowboy running the local rodeo bar.”
I look up and find my father smiling.
