Page 8 of Undeniable

I thought I’d found the perfect place—I liked the atmosphere and the people. The bar was in a good area and it wasn’t too far from our apartment. But of course, I happened to take a job at the only place in the city where the one person I was hoping to avoid would frequent.

Shelby nodded like she was taking in all of the information and formulating a plan to help get me out of this situation. At least, that was what I hoped she was doing.

“You talked to him?”

“Yes,” I breathed. “Apparently…”Fuck.“Apparently, he’s told his friends about me. I’m not sure what he said, but one of the owners, Amanda, knew who I was. She called mehisIvy.”

“Oof.” Shelby sucked in a breath. “Bet that didn’t go over well.”

I ground my teeth together, remembering the way those two words made my temper flare. “Nope. I ran upstairs into the break room, only to be followed by none other than the man himself. He practically held me hostage, demanded to know what I was doing there, and then told me to leave Austin like he’s the fucking mayor or something.”

“What’d you tell him?” The way she said it, I knew she was curious if I’d told him everything. The real reason I’d finally made the move from Willowwood to the city. But like hell did he deserve to know anything about my damn life.

“I didn’t tell him much. I told him that I was working there, and he wanted me to quit.”

“But you’re not going to?”

“No!” I all but shouted as I began pacing across the kitchen with the tequila bottle back in its rightful place—my hand. “He can’t act like he has any sort of control. They hired me because I’m a good bartender and I need the extra cash, at least for a little while. I don’t want to drain my savings trying to make it all work. Once the school year and volleyball season start, I think I’ll be in a better position. But for now, this is what’s happening.”

She nodded slowly, and I knew the look on her face well. She wanted to start therapizing me.

“And you plan to do what? Ignore him every time he comes into the bar?”

“Yes, of course.”

“And you think that’s going to work after everything that—”

“Yes,” I said immediately. She gave me an unamused look as she popped a chip into her mouth.

“What else was said?”

I sighed and took another sip of tequila. “He brought up the car accident again.”

“And I’m assuming you didn’t tell him why—”

I didn’t have to say anything. I just threw her a look over my shoulder and paced to the other side of the kitchen. She knew I didn’t plan on telling him a damn thing—about the car accident or anything that happened thirteen years ago—so it was pointless to ask.

The liquor was finally doing its job. And with my head beginning to swim, I kicked off my boots and slid down the wall.

Sadly, the alcohol wasn’t making me forget everything. I hoped that it would make the memories—past and present—disappear. But that was wishful thinking. Those memories were ingrained in me, like they were another part of me. No amount of time or liquor was going to change that.

“Can I just say one thing?” Shelby asked, and I tilted my head back until it hit the wall and I was staring up at the ceiling. As much as I didn’t want to hear what she was going to say because it was the same thing she’d been saying for nearly thirteen years, I knew I wasn’t going to stop her.

She took my silence as agreement.

“And I’m saying this as your best friend who has your best intentions at heart and not a therapist, but… you’ve got to deal with this shit. It’s been thirteen years, Ives. It’s time to talk to him… to tell him.”

“Thank you for your input.”

She leveled me with an annoyed glare, and I reached to set the tequila bottle on the counter.

“Things like this don’t just happen. There’s a reason y’all are back in each other’s lives—back in the same place. Maybe this is the universe telling you that it’s time to talk to him.”

“We are not back in each other’s lives. And you’re giving the universe a lot of fucking credit. Also,” I said as I stood a little too quickly and nearly stumbled into the counter. “Also, I’ve seen him several times, too many times, since… everything.”

She pushed away from the counter and stood on legs that were much more stable than mine.

“You and I both know it’s not the same. And if you don’t do something about it, it’s going to bite you in the ass. And thatisa therapist’s take.”

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