Page 22 of Just Between Us

I chuckled. “So a black cat and a golden retriever. Who would have thought?”

She leaned away to look at me. Up close, her eyes had a certain luminosity—bright green with darker flecks.

“How did you know?” she whispered, her eyes casting to the side.

A thrill zipped through me as I threw up an internal fist pump.I fucking knew it!

I cleared my throat, doing what I could to appear as unaffected as she did. “I could ask you the same thing.”

Her eyes flashed to mine, then down to my hand as it held hers. When her gaze lifted, one eyebrow went with it. “You have very distinctive tattoos, in case you hadn’t noticed.”

I chuckled, amused at the simplicity of it all. When she came to meet me at the tattoo shop, she had noticed my ink. It was once she realized who I was that she clammed up and bolted.

Our song ended far too quickly, and as soon as the final notes faded, Veda stepped back like my touch had burned her. Her lips formed a tight, polite smile as she moved farther away.

I rubbed my hands together, still feeling her warmth. The haughty challenge in her eyes was a dare I couldn’t resist.

I grinned. “This town is small, Precious. I’ll be seeing you.”

SEVEN

VEDA

Remain in control.He’s the only one who knows. You’ve got this.

My self-reassurance wasn’t doing a damn thing, but I repeated it all the same.

I glanced at the clock by my bedside. The harsh red numbers indicating 4:15 a.m. gave me a sick thrill. It was finally time for me to get out of bed and face the day.

I’d been awake forhours, and I was ready to grab Monday by the balls. I could take charge and get things done before most were even out of bed.

My morning shower was efficient and unfussy, as it always was. I managed to tackle my unruly hair, shave, and exfoliate in under eight minutes—a ridiculous daily challenge I held with myself.

Efficiency was my friend. I didn’t need the tight quarters or the quiet hum of the water to lull me into thinking abouthim. Thankfully the ear-piercing, high-pitched squeal of my apartment’s showerhead was enough to mitigate that.

After showering, I dried and styled my naturally wavy hair into soft curls that hung between my shoulder blades. In high school I’d learned to apply makeup in a way that highlighted myfeatures while also scaring off the boys my age. I checked my reflection in the mirror.

Veda is decently competent and wholly unapproachable.

The flippant remark of my former boss at Franklin & Mirth pinged across my brain. He’d meant that as a compliment, but it stung all the same.

Decently competent.

I let out a disgusted huff and shook my head as I dressed, then slipped on my high heels. I’d been more pissed about that than the unapproachable part.

I had known since I was young that bubbly laughter and sweet smiles were left to the popular girls.

The nice girls ... girls like MJ King.

I grabbed my oversize purse and smiled to myself when thinking of her. She was completely unaffected by my cool exterior, and if her incessant texting was any indication, somehow I’d managed to make my first friend in Outtatowner.

Only a block from downtown, the plan was to grab a cup of coffee before walking to JP’s office. I frowned down at my designer shoes. Sure, I could suffer through pinched toes, but the concrete sidewalk would be hell on the soles.

Annoyed, I slipped off the heels, then tucked them into my bag and slid my feet into a more sensible pair of canvas sneakers. It cut four inches from my height but, really, who was I trying to impress in Outtatowner?

Royal’s face flashed in my mind.

I’d seen his veiny, sinewed forearms, the cut lines of his abs, and the spread of his thighs enough times to lose count, but I never imagined his face would be so damn handsome. He was a striking combination of hard lines and smiling, mischievous eyes. A tingle danced down my spine before I could stop it.

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