Page 37 of Rewrite Our Story

Before Pippa can beat me to it, I slide into the booth after Mare. If she’s going to be pushed against Brendan, then I’m going to make my presence known on the other side.

Her knee brushes against mine as Pippa slides into the booth, making everyone scoot a little bit closer to one another.

“Sorry,” Mare mumbles under her breath, totally ignoring whatever Brendan is saying to her.

I should do the whole gentleman thing and scoot into the empty space on my other side. At least that’d make it so we weren’t pressed up against one another. But if she’s going to be that close to Brendan, she’s going to be stuck with being that close to me.

So I keep my jean-clad thigh against her bare one.

The entire time our friends talk, everyone catches up and the night gets more normal the more it carries on. After two beers, I ask the server for water and stick with that for a bit.

Pippa sets her bottle on the table loudly. She looks across the table at Mare, shimmying dramatically in place with a wide smile. “Let’s get on that dance floor, Mare!”

My sister looks over at Chase. She steals the cowboy hat off his head with a proud smirk. “I’m ready to shake my ass.”

“I’m not sure line dancing counts as shaking your ass, Pip,” Mare comments. Her body has become more relaxed with the three beers she’s sipped on while we’ve all been sitting around the table. “You might have picked the wrong bar.”

Pippa swats the air, scooting out of the booth. She bounces on the balls of her feet as she looks past me at Mare. “I’ll do whatever I want. And so willyou.” She hits me in the stomach. “Now move, brother. Mare and I are going to shake our asses however we damn well please.”

“Now that I’d love to see,” Brendan quips next to me. I’m unable to resist the death glare I aim his way at the remark.

He puts his hands up defensively as I slide from the booth. I don’t move that far away from the exit, making Mare press her body against mine to get out.

I’ve never claimed to be a good man.

“Didn’t mean to talk about your sister that way,” Brendan teases.

I grunt. It wasn’t because he talked about Pippa like that. Pippa can hold her own. If she didn’t love the attention, she’d say so.

It’s because he made that comment aboutmyGoldie.

Mare looks at me over her shoulder, her blonde hair billowing down her back as Pippa pulls her to the dance floor.

The moment Goldie’s little hips start moving to the beat, I know coming tonight was a horrible fucking idea.

There’s no way I can sit here and watch her move like that and not do something about it.

20

MARE - PRESENT

My feet ache.I’m four beers and two shots deep into the night. Shockingly, I’m having the best time. It feels good to let go for a bit. Life doesn’t feel as heavy here. Not right now. Not in this moment.

Pippa and I laugh freely as I miss so many of the steps; my line dancing skills are a bit rusty from the years I’ve been absent. With every drink and every new song, I get more comfortable. The steps come back to me, and I’m reminded of all the nights Pippa and I spent here before we went off to college.

Pippa and I almost keel over in a laughing fit when we bump into one another by accident. The impact was so abrupt that we almost topple over.

A hand grasps my arm, steadying me before I can get too off-balance. Looking up, I find a smiling Brendan looking down at me. I’m reminded of how much I appreciated him at nineteen. I liked that I was never guessing if he was interested in me or not—unlike with Cade. Even now, it seems like the interest is still there. He hasn’t bothered hiding it tonight. It’s nice to look a man in the eyes and not question where I stand.

Right now, it’s nice to look a man in the eyes and not see pain, hurt, and anger staring back at you.

I’m nowhere near looking for anything serious, but I could look for fun. Brendan just might be the kind of fun distraction I need.

When he runs his hands down the sides of my arms, I lean into him slightly. I look up at Pippa, who is now dancing with Chase. I attempt to hide a smile when she winks at me.

It turns out maybe we both need the fun.

Another song starts up. Brendan grabs my hand, falling in step next to me as we move to the music. Our bodies brush against each other with the beat.

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