Page 16 of On the Rocks

His arms tightened around me, keeping me on my feet, practically pinning me to his chest. Despite my best efforts, I couldn’t help but notice how good he smelled. It was woody and earthy. Sandalwood, maybe? My hand splayed against the firm muscle of his chest, and I was suddenly overwhelmingly warm as his heat enveloped me.

I scowled at my reaction and lurched back. “Are you following me?”

“No. Why the hell would I be following you to…” He looked up at the shop. “J&D Electronics?”

“That’s a good question.” I stared at him, still waiting for his explanation.

“I’m not following you,” he insisted. “So you can park the suspicion.”

“Then what are you doing here, on this street, in front of the store I was just shopping in? Don’t you have influencers to throw money at somewhere?”

“My dad just bought the bar across the street,” he ground out, pointing toward the Red Lion. “He’s in the process of remodeling it. I was checking in on him to see if he needed any help. Contrary to what you seem to think, I don’t have enough time in my day to be your stalker.”

“Oh,” I said, my spikes retracting a bit at the mention of his dad. I’d always liked Tony—I could still remember the time in my junior year, after Aiden and I had long since broken up, when I’d gotten a flat tire. Tony had been driving by when he spotted me, and he’d immediately stopped to change it for me. He even made me promise to call him once I was home so he could be sure I hadn’t had any trouble driving on the spare. “I didn’t know Tony was into remodeling.”

Aiden snorted. “Neither did I. It’s his retirement project. Actually, he’s not quite handy enough for the job, so he’s brought on some help. Which is good. At least I don’t have to worry about him shooting himself in the foot with a nail gun.”

“Your dad was always a sweetheart from what I remember. Maybe I should pop over and say hi to him.”

Aiden stepped in my way, his arms crossed. “I wouldn’t go over there right now. He’s in the middle of stuff—sorting out the light fixtures and all that. You’d only be bothering him.”

I narrowed my eyes, heat leaking into my cheeks. “Bothering him?”

“Yes.”

“And how exactly would I be bothering him?”

“He doesn’t need you in there pestering him with questions when he’s trying to focus.”

“Really?” The heat spread down my neck, flaming across my chest. “Like you kept pestering me the other night with your damn Elixir bottle?”

“I was doing my job!”

“So was I.”

He scoffed. “Not sure you really know how this influencer gig works.”

“At least I can read the room enough to understand when someone isnotinterested in what I have to say.” My entire face flushed in anger. I knew it was flashing red like a traffic light. “Unlike you, who can’t seem to leave me alone!”

“Excuse me? You’re the one who just ran into me!” he said, voice rising. “I was minding my own business when you rammed into me full force. Impaling me with your…What the hell do you have in that bag, anyway?”

“A tripod.” I shook it at him. “And maybe I wouldn’t crash into you if you weren’t hanging around where I was shopping. Stalker.”

“For the last time,” he said through his teeth. “I was not following you. F.Y.I, you are nowhere near important enough to require a stalker.”

“Whatever.”

“Maybe if you’d actually try paying attention to your surroundings, you wouldn’t be attacking people on the sidewalk.”

“I never attacked you.”

“Actually, that’s an even better reason for you to stay away from the bar. The last thing my dad needs is you in there, ramming into things with your tripod like a bull in a china shop.”

God, he was insufferable! What the hell did he know about me anyway? “You know what? Fine. I didn’t want to see Tony that badly anyway.”

Without another word, I turned on my heel and stormed off in the opposite direction. Sure, it would take me longer to get home this way, but it beat having to spend one more second looking at his face. Because, yeah, Tony might have been a sweetheart, but Aiden was a complete and utter asshole.

5

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