Page 23 of Piece Of Me

Scarlett laughed. “I think you’re getting ahead of yourself. We had one dance.”

“The night is young my friend.”

By the time they got back to the table a few others had joined the group, all women, including Angel Simms. She was as beautiful as Scarlett remembered. Taz’s head was bent close to Angel’s and the two of them appeared to be deep in conversation. Unable to look away, she couldn’t help but notice the way Angel looked up at him, or the way he smiled in return.

A sliver of something rifled through her and Scarlett turned away. What did she care that he was already on to the next woman? It’s not like they were a thing, no matter what Lacey thought.

She grabbed the only empty stool left and barely had time to sit her butt down when Mike Paul slid up beside her, a lazy smile on his face. She frowned, her good mood from earlier decidedly gone.

“What?” she said sharply.

He raised an eyebrow. “What did I do?”

“I don’t want to talk.”

“I can see that,” Mike Paul replied easily.

She reached for a chicken wing. “I just like my business to stay private is all. And for the record, Taz Pullman isn’t a part of my business. In fact, he’s nowhere near being up in my business so don’t be asking any questions about him.”

“I didn’t mention his name.”

She glanced at him. “Well, now you know not to.” Then she snuck a look across the table. Yep. Angel was practically sitting on him. Hell, the woman could shove her tongue down Taz’s throat, if she wanted to. He was single. Available. Hot.

Her first instincts were right. He was a player and she wanted nothing to do with him. She’d been an idiot to consider it in the first place. Somewhere between the dance floor and now, her bubble had burst. It was time to leave while everyone was occupied, because she was in no mood to explain herself.

Scarlett waited until one of the guys asked Mike Paul about some stud bull coming to auction, and then slid off her seat. Everyone was busy talking, laughing, eating, or drinking. Not one of them was focused on her. It was sad really; how easy it was to sneak off without anyone noticing. She was an interloper. The girl who’d left Big Bend for bigger and brighter things only to fuck up her life. Everyone here had moved on. They’d forged adult friendships. They were in a different place, and she was still stuck somewhere in the past.

It made that hole inside her feel bigger than ever.

Well, she thought as she turned away, she’d given it a shot. Scarlett slid through the crowd easily; in the dark she was just another sweaty body. Still, it took a bit to maneuver past the throng on account the bar was so packed, and by the time she got outside, she was ready for the fresh air. It was raining, a gentle growing rain her daddy would say, and as she took a moment to inhale that summer scent only found in this corner of the world, the melancholy of it was bittersweet.

She’d been having so much fun. How in hell had she come to feeling this low? Of course, she didn’t need to think too hard to find the answer. Scarlett had made the mistake of thinking she could turn the page and forget the past. Hard to do when the new chapter wasn’t going so well.

Slowly she made her way down the steps, lost in thought and uncaring of the rain. She slid her phone from her back pocket and called her younger brother Ryland. He answered after a few seconds and didn’t hesitate when she asked him to come pick her up. He was in town at a friend’s so he would be less than ten minutes.

She wandered over to the side of the building, where a few lonely picnic tables stood; they were wet, and she was too restless to sit. Arms crossed over her chest she closed her eyes, enjoying the feel of rain on skin. Sounds echoed from inside the bar, but they were muffled, as if she were farther away than she was.

“What are you doing out here?” His voice slid through the darkness, and she jumped, startled at the sound. It kickstarted her heart and Scarlett had to work to keep calm as she turned. Taz stood near the entrance of the Sundowner.

She didn’t answer at first, because all she could think of was how fine he looked with the soft rain glistening on his hair, lit up from the old neon sign hung in one of the windows. His face was shadowed, so she couldn’t read his expression, and she kept her voice light as she answered him.

“I’m waiting for a ride.”

If he was surprised, he didn’t show it, but he moved forward, a predator on the hunt, those long legs of his eating up the distance between them in no time. He didn’t stop until he stood a few inches from her.

“Did something happen?”

“No,” she replied lightly. “I’m not feeling it anymore. I want to go home.”

His light eyes appeared dark and intense as he moved closer still. “You seemed to be having a good time.”

“I was.”

His gaze narrowed and he ran a hand over the hair on his chin. “I have a feeling we’re looking at this evening from different angles.” He waited a beat. “I was hoping to get one more dance.”

“Ask Angel. I’m sure she’ll be more than happy to accommodate your need.” She regretted the words as soon as they fell from her lips. What the hell was wrong with her? Suddenly annoyed with all of it, she turned around, and exhaled. “Look, I just want to go home.”

She didn’t have to see Taz to know he’d moved closer. She could feel him.

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