Page 19 of The Way We Were(wolf)

“She already has. She wouldn’t hang out with me if she didn’t enjoy my company. We’re friends.”

“Friends.” Nathan chewed on the word and grimaced like he’d eaten a piece of lemon. “Alright, then.” He nodded once, and Eric’s shoulders dropped to their normal height for the first time since this conversation began. “Just remember,” Nathan said as he turned back around, “she’ll never love you. No one can love a monster.”

Eric held the breath he’d sucked in at his brother’s parting words and didn’t exhale until he’d disappeared into the wood line. Because what was there to say? How many times could he tell Nathan the only thing he felt for Lucy was friendship? No matter how much time he wanted to spend with her, they had an expiration date.Unless…there was a legend he’d read about where love could save a werewolf. Where true love could turn a werewolf into a human forever. Not that he’d ever seen that happen firsthand, but…no, that was crazy! That meant he’d have to fall in love with Lucy in a week’s time. And worst of all, he’d probably have to tell her that he was a werewolf—something Nathan could confirm was the worst idea ever.

Nope, not happening. He needed to stick to the plan, not engage in the ridiculous ideas swirling in his brain.

The full moon was the evening after the Fright Night festivities—the last night of the month Nathan had agreed to let Eric spend in Wheeling. After that night, they’d retreat into the woods, and he’d never see Lucy again. And while he’d known that from the start, it was only now that he realized the weight of that agreement he’d made before this woman had stumbled into his life.

No one can love a monster.

Like it or not, that was what he was—at least half of him. He could pretend all he wanted that a human was what he was really meant to be, but at the end of the day—or night—he couldn’t deny he wasn’t like everyone else in this town. He and Lucy were nothing alike. Plus, he’d made a deal with Nathan. And he’d promised Stella he’d take care of her cousin. Once Fright Night was over, he would have accomplished both.

So why did it feel like he’d lose more than a friend when this was all said and done?

“Are you trying to recreate the magic of the Bowling Bonanza?”

Lucy’s chuckle echoed through the empty salon as she pulled faux pumpkins out of her bag. Her head bobbed to the music pumping through the speakers. “‘Thriller’ is an oldie, but I was really just using it to get us inspired. I mean, I wasn’tintentionallytrying to remind you of a couple nights ago…you know, when I wiped the bowling alley floor with you. That would just be mean.”

In the dim light of the salon, she watched the corner of his mouth wiggle, and noticing that part of his body wasn’t doing her any favors for staying in the friend-zone. But looking any lower was even worse, as was evidenced by the way she hadn’t been able to keep her eyes off his arms as he flung ball after ball down the lane. He had bowled with such force that the crescendo of pins crashing drew the attention of fellow bowlers more than a few times.And while it had thrown her to see Chad at the alley, she couldn’t forget the way Eric had made her laugh, and smile, and feel…safe.

“That you did, Lucy. That you did.” Eric hopped up onto the raised platform in front of the window with a chair tucked under his arm. The streetlights flickered on behind him, bathing him (and his muscles) in a glow that highlighted every hunky part of this burly man. “I prayed at the top of each frame that something might distract you enough that you mightnotbowl a strike for once.”

“Oh, I was plenty distracted.” She pulled a strand of garland from her bag, but her hands froze mid-pull.

Maybe he didn’t hear the flirty way you said you were distracted.

She hazarded a glance up from the empty plastic bag to see a slow smile building on Eric’s face.

“What had you so distracted?” His words and the evenness with which he spoke them seemed innocent enough. But the hook of a single brow and the way his posture perked up like a puppy who’d just heard the wordtreats…maybe her glances at him the other night hadn’t been as subtle as she’d hoped.

She felt the color drain from her face. Was that something a person could actually feel? Probably not, but she was sure she was as white as the ghost he’d hung in the window moments ago. This was the moment she couldn’t avoid anymore. The one that would either make Eric say, “Aw, shucks, Lucy. I like you too,” or have the man running for the hills. Either one she could manage. Most likely.

“I’m sorry, Lucy,” he said. Wait, what was he sorry for? Had he sniffed out her attraction for him and was gently letting her down?

Ooooooh, this is awkward. Hurry, say something to take the awkwardness away.

“Don’t worry about it.” She waved her hand in front of her face and accidentally swatted her nose in the process, which made her eyes water. To an outsider, it probably looked like she was wafting something foul-smelling, but the only smell in the salon was from the pumpkin candle she’d lit earlier to set the mood. No, not that kind of mood. Just one to make things a little more festive. Though, now that she looked around the space, with limited lighting because of the darkness of night outside and only half the ceiling lights on, it kinda looked like she was itching for something romantic to happen. Would she have been opposed to it if it had? Heck no. She would have welcomed a snuggle—or even a kiss—with the open arms of someone welcoming guests into their home for the holidays.

But the eagerness to cling to him like a firefighter on a pole vanished. She couldn’t so much as tell Eric that she kinda liked him. How pathetic was that?

“Lucy, I—” he began, taking one step toward her and then another. She held her ground, not that her legs felt like doing much of anything else when he looked at her with such intensity. Did people smolder when they rejected someone? She’d been rejected enough in her life. She should have known this bit of info. And yet, she’d never gotten so much as a flutter in her stomach when it had happened. Not like the stampede of butterflies doing their rousing rendition of Riverdance in her gut. It was unfair of him to look at her like this when he was on the brink of giving her thelet’s be friendsspeech. “I shouldn’t have brought it up. Whatever made you feel this way…I’m sorry. It’s just that guy—”

That guy? Oooooooh…thatguy.Eric had seen her noticing Chad, not noticing his muscles. Well, it was possible he’d noticed both, but thinking this made Lucy’s cheeks about five degrees cooler.

“Chad.” She could talk about him. He wasn’t really one of her favorite topics—not by a long shot. But it was sure as heck a lot better talking about him than confessing the desire to eat up those soft lips of his like a Mountain Brew pastry to a man she still wasn’t sure felt the same. “That guy you saw come in was Chad.”

“I’m guessing there’s a story there, but don’t feel like you have to tell me. I only wanted to make sure you’re okay.” He made a micro-movement toward her, like he was about to reach out and grab her hand, but stopped. And until that moment, she didn’t realize how badly she lived for those little touches from him.

“I’m okay,” she answered, just above a whisper. Nodding once, as if to punctuate the statement, she repeated it again. “I’m okay. I wasn’t at first, but yes, I’m fine.”

This time, Eric’s hand completed the action, wrapping hers in it with a hold as solid and comforting as a weighted blanket. He took a step backward, lowering to sit on the window’s ledge, and she did the same. Turning so their knees touched, she took a deep breath because this touch was something different—more intimate—than she’d ever experienced. Something that had her heart racing a little more than usual.

“When I graduated college, I had a year before I found a steady job. And much to my parents’ dismay, I opted to spend that time here in Wheeling and not back in my tiny hometown in Iowa.” She shook her head as she chuckled but wasn’t sure why. There was nothing funny about what she was about to say. “My parents aren’t your typical overprotective parents. In fact, their motto of‘Danger is everywhere’is something that has haunted me to this very day. I think it all started when my mom was mugged the one and only time she went to a big city on her own. She’d gone there for a conference and got mugged. My dad carried this guilt because he wasn’t there to save her, which I get. But then it morphed into this whole overprotective notion that unknown places aren’t safe. Unknown people aren’t safe.”

Eric’s brows drew together. “You don’t really believe that, do you? That danger is everywhere?”

“No, not really. But it’s hard not to when I think about what’s happened to me these past few years. Like with Chad—a guy who I thought was really into me but was just using me. His dad wanted him to stop partying and get serious about his life. He was going to quit paying for his college otherwise. I was good for his image. Of course, I didn’t know any of this. Not until I overheard him telling his buddies at my very first art show how he was only at this ‘stupid thing’ to indulge me and my ‘silly hobby.’ And how happy his dad was that he’d turned things around and that it just stunk he had to waste so much time with someone so ‘meh.’”

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