Page 53 of Recklessly Yours

We stayed like that, with his arm wrapped around me, while he talked with the bar regulars. As the minutes ticked on, hope bloomed in my chest. And each time he smoothed his hand up and down my arm, a myriad of sensations coursed through me.

Maybe he’d come to the same realization I had. Maybe he did want to pursue this.

But by the time we were in the car and driving away from The Dock, the hope I’d been feeling had completely disappeared.

A switch had been flipped, and now he seemed pissed. Had it been a rough day? Or was he upset with me? For the life of me, I couldn’t understand what I had done in the last ten minutes to cause his mood to shift.

“How was work?” I asked, hands clasped in my lap.

“Fine,” he clipped. He was rigid, his body ramrod straight, with a death grip on the steering wheel and a tic in his jaw. Definitely pissed.

Chest aching, I turned and looked out the window.

When “Just a Kiss” by Lady A started playing on the radio, I reached to turn it off. I’d heard it earlier while I was streaming music from my phone, and it had instantly reminded me of Dylan. As I went for the knob, Dylan did too. Our fingers brushed, and he yanked his hand back like my touch had burned him.

My stomach bottomed out as I sat back in my chair, blinking away tears. I was being ridiculous.

I hated this for both of us. Obviously, he was uncomfortable with my presence after the kiss, and I didn’t want him to feel like he had no choice because he’d made a promise to my over-stepping brother.

But I couldn’t go back to my apartment alone. Not with the stalker still out there. Maybe staying with one of my siblings or my parents would be better.

We drove the rest of the way in silence, and once we were in the house, I spun to him.

“Maybe I should go stay with my parents.”

“What?” His eyes widened, and he took a step back. “Why would you do that?”

I shrugged. “It might be better.”

“No, it wouldn’t be.” He crossed his arms in front of his chest. “They can’t protect you. Not like I can.”

I sighed, my chest deflating. “It has to be better than dealing with this awkward tension.”

His expression darkened, but he didn’t respond.

“Look, I know it’s my fault.” I fiddled with my earring. I didn’t want to fight with him. I just wanted him to understand. “I misread signals, and I’ve made things awkward.”

He groaned. “Hattie, you didn’t misread anything.”

“Yes I did. It’s fine. I get it. But…” I squared my shoulders, determined to get through to him. I’d give him an out. Let him know that he didn’t need to keep his promise to Rhett. I would take the blame if my brother got upset. “This situation isn’t fair to either of us. I know you want to keep your promise to Rhett, but now I’ve made it complicated. So I think the best solution is for me to go stay with my parents. I’ll call my brother too. Let him know it was my choice.”

Why did he look even more pissed off than he had a minute ago?

DYLAN

A solution,my ass. Did she not understand that I was her best chance in this situation? Like hell would I let her stay anywhere without me, and it had nothing to do with my promise to Rhett.

Her expression was desperate, pleading, but I wasn’t sure whether she wanted me to agree or disagree.

“I think it’ll be for the best…”

The best for whom, exactly?

“It’ll make everything easier.”

Was that what I wanted? Easy? A solution? When the woman I wanted was staring at me, begging me to say something?

Fuck it.

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