Page 61 of Haunted

“I’ve got to get back behind the bar, but let me know if you need anything.” He started to walk away as we all shuffled back into the booth, then called over his shoulder, “Alaina, can I talk to you for a minute?”

“Alaina?”I mouthed to Keaton, who had a sly grin plastered across his sexy face.“Later,”he mouthed back. I followed their movements across the crowded room untilthey disappeared down the same hallway we’d taken earlier.

“Okay, it’s later. What the hell’s up with the sexy bar owner calling Lanie by her real name?” My curiosity was getting the better of me, especially since the impression I had gotten was that her interest fell elsewhere. “He’s gotta be what? Fifteen, twenty years older than her?”

“Sexy?” Keaton grumbled in my ear loud enough for the rest of the table to hear.

“Oh, come on. I love you, you big oaf. Now give me the goods.”

“Say it again.” He took my face in his hands, his features alight with awe.

“I love you.”

“I love you so much, Henley.”

His lips grazed each corner of my mouth before coming to rest in the center, never attempting to deepen the kiss.

“Ugh, I’m gonna lose my appetite,” Koen complained. “Ouch, what the fuck, Jade? Why’d you pinch me?”

“Because you’re ruining their beautiful moment with your big mouth.”

“Get used to it, Jade. He ruins more than moments with his mouth.”

“You’re just jealous, Noah,” Koen quipped.

The camaraderie, the little jabs all in the name of fun…this was what I’d been missing out on most of my life. I’d grown up fairly isolated, never experiencing what it meant to have a meaningful relationship with anyone other than Mom and Nana Rita. I understood the basic concept, just not to the level of Keaton and his team. There was immeasurable trust between them which had been forged out of obligation, then cultivated over the years until it became unbreakable. Their relationship had taken time to foster, time to build until the bond they formed was stronger than anything, even blood.

I’d never considered myself blessed. Happy? At times, I guess. For the most part I was content. Well, everything happened for a reason, right? But until a gorgeous man stumbled over me, flipping my world upside down with his kindness, his protective nature, and his love, I wouldn’t have believed it. Call it fate, call it whatever the hell you wanted. To me, it was the beginning of forever.

The stars had aligned in perfect synchrony that night and I’d do everything in my power to ensure they didn’t burn out.

“Are we going to order? I’m starving.”

My stomach rumbled at the same time Koen spoke. Apparently, my belly was in complete agreement with him. We flagged down our waitress and ordered two of every appetizer on the menu for the table, plus another round of drinks.

Lanie eventually rejoined our group and the rest of the evening dissolved into fits of laughter as the boys competed with one another over who’d committed the most arrest-able offenses in their youth without being caught. Surprisingly, it was straitlaced Noah who shocked us all.

He recounted how he and a bunch of his buddies from high school went around town “relocating” several “For Sale” signs from one house to another. They even went as far as to drive to the community college campus, staking one of the signs in front of the music building. Apparently, their shenanigans even made the front page of the local paper.

Keaton twirled a piece of my hair around his index finger, giving it a little tug to get my attention after I swallowed my last bite of a mozzarella stick.

“I have something for you, but I don’t want to freak youout.” He leaned to the side, reaching into the front pocket of his pants, and pulled out a small blue box. So much for not freaking out because my heart skipped beats and the air in my lungs left in a whoosh.

“Keaton,” I choked.

“They’re earrings, baby.” He placed the box in my trembling hands. “You aren’t ready for that kind of box yet.”

“And you are?” He didn’t respond, which was an answer in and of itself.

“These aren’t your run-of-the-mill earrings though, hence the whole freaking out part.”

“What do you mean?” I looked at the pair of elegant emeralds, trying to figure out what made them so special, other than the fact they had to cost a fortune.

“There’s a tracker in them,” he rushed the words out.

“A what?” I cocked my head to the side, taking in his dark eyes I loved so much. The same eyes that were looking at me with trepidation.

Gathering me close, he whispered in my ear, “I told you how the killer had been watching us the night outside of your apartment. If something were to happen…if he—” Keaton swallowed roughly. “I’d burn the city to the ground to find you.”

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