I had nothing left to respond with because what he’d said was the truth. Time was not my friend. Every moment I spent with him was another opportunity for him to attack my resolve. It had weakened terribly under the power of his slightest of kisses.
Maybe it was the ordeal I’d been through today. The surge of adrenaline that still lingered in my system and left me feeling off balance. That was the reason I felt this way, why I was struggling to resist him.
Thank God.The car pulled alongside the curb, and I flung the door open as soon as it stopped. I scrambled out into the rain and darted under the awning of the restaurant, going to the first place I could find where Shawn’s presence didn’t fill every square inch of the air.
He didn’t let me recover.
His strong hand was on my back, pressing me subtly forward into the fancy restaurant, not allowing me to go elsewhere.
4
SHAWN
Kara ordereda glass of Budweiser in an attempt to piss me off, but I saw right through it. “I thought you don’t drink beer.”
“I lied.”
The corner of my mouth twitched in a smile. She sat across from me, drumming her fingertips absently on the white tablecloth, like she’d rather be somewhere else. She hadn’t lied about her lack of appetite, though, as she’d barely touched her lunch.
That was my fault. When she didn’t order anything, I did it for her, and her expression filled with irritation. I should have known better.
“Do you want to talk about it?” I asked.
“The incident? There’s not a whole lot to say. He knew he was getting fired and was upset.”
“L said you were able to deescalate and calmed him down. How did you manage that?”
The blue of her eyes was intriguing and almost silver as her gaze sharpened. “Scott is going through a divorce, so I talked about mine.”
Most of the time, she’d been so guarded. Not only in person, but while texting with me too, so this was surprising. “How long ago did you divorce?”
She was displeased by the question. “It’ll be two years in September.”
“Then you’re through the hardest part.”
“Yeah, I suppose you would know.”
Because I’d gone through two divorces already. I wasn’t particularly proud to have two ex-wives at thirty-nine, but the fact was, I did. I’d really tried to make it work with both of them.
“Can I ask,” I said, “what happened between you and Paul?”
“You can ask, but I don’t want to talk about it.”
“Why?” I should let this be, but I was curious.
“Do you like talking about why your marriage fell apart? Marriages?”
“There’s not a whole lot to say. Nicolette was pregnant, and her parents required we get married.”
“Oh,” she looked taken aback. “Laurel didn’t mention you have kids.”
“I don’t. We lost the baby a week after the wedding.” I expected it to draw the typical reaction from her, a shocked or sad expression, but she only blinked in response, as if she couldn’t process it. “We stayed together for a few months, mostly to spite her ridiculous parents. She’s married to a finance guy now and has three kids.”
“You two still talk?”
“Occasionally, but mostly because he’s one of my finance guys.”
I didn’t mention that I’d been the one to set them up when it had been clear things weren’t going to work out. Nicolette had been through so much, and I was glad to see her happy. She deserved it.
