Page 25 of Shattered Veil

“I didn’t,” Claire retorted, her hands up by her face in defense. “I didn’t. Just…throwing it out there since I’ve caught him looking your way a few times.”

Zoey laughed quietly, Liam groaned as he set his beer down, and Luke begrudgingly stated:

“He has looked.”

Cassie took in everyone’s commentary with a chuckle and glanced toward the bar, and if this conversation hadn’t already made me practically grind my teeth down to the gums, I certainly was doing so now. I attempted not to appear as though my eyes were bulging out of my head as I followed suit and snapped my gaze to Garrett.

My thoughts on him, which had been all too positive moments prior, had suddenly shifted, and I couldn’t stop my inner monologue from sneering, ‘fucking string bean,’ as I fully took in his appearance.

Garrett really wasn’t that thin—I was simply looking at him through green-tinted glasses. He was slimmer than Luke, who typically ran to keep his physique, but he wasn’t entirely devoid of muscle. He could have been around my height—six-foot-one-ish. His hair was short—very short—and the bar lighting lit up his blonde strands as he moved. The features on his face were remarkably symmetrical now that I was really looking at him, with his nose pin-straight and his jawline sharp.

Shawn, who had turned to look at Garrett along with me, murmured an awestruck, “Oh.”

“Eh,” Cassie scrunched up her face in a manner of mild disapproval. “He’s alright.”

“He’s ni-ice.”

Just as Claire sang the words, as if he were alerted to being the subject of our conversation, Garrett glanced our way. He lifted a lowball glass that appeared to be filled with whiskey, Cassie threw him a large smile, mouthing, ‘Thank you,’ and he beamed back at her. Even from a distance, I could tell that his teeth were…bright. And well-aligned.

My eyes narrowed. Stupid, attractive fucking string bean.

“I know that he’s nice,” she told Claire. “We’ve talked before.”

And just like that, my silence could be maintained no longer.

“You’ve talked before?” I inquired, looking at her with my eyebrows raised.

Thankfully, the remainder of the group was also wearing an expression of surprise, ranging from Liam’s mild frustration to Zoey and Claire’s delight to Luke’s quiet, obvious contemplation of when they would have spoken at length.

“You guys really don’t need to look so shocked,” Cassie stated. “I’ve been with you here on Wednesdays. He works on Wednesdays. We’ve talked.”

I retorted, “‘Thanks for the drink,’ and ‘Can you get me my bill?’ isn’t really considered talking.”

“You’re not here every day,” she said to the table rather than me. “I’ve been here without all of you.”

Claire nearly squealed. “And?”

Cassie chortled, glanced over to see Garrett making his way toward our table with her drink in hand, and the moment he was within earshot, she sweetly asked:

“Did ya short me?”

He laughed as he set the glass down before her.

“I don’t short you, Cas,” he replied in a voice that I just now realized had a hint of a Southern accent. “You’ve watched me pour your drinks. I’ve measured them in front of you.”

Cassie opened her mouth to reply in what I knew would be some sort of witty banter, and the thrum of unease under my skin had become too much.

Before she could speak, I interjected with a gesture at her drink, “Double Jack?”

Garrett answered, “Yeah.”

I snagged Cassie’s glass, brought it to my lips, and placed it before me with purpose.

“Mind grabbing us another one?” I asked.

“James,” Cassie chastised me.

Liam shot me an appreciative grin, and I pointedly avoided it.

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