Page 48 of Devoted Enough

Once I returned to the table, I glanced over to where Haven and her friends sat. I had wanted to talk to her after she had sung that song, tell her how I was feeling, but that asshole Ted showed up, and the last thing I wanted to see was him hanging all over her. So I went back to the table and got suckered into dancing with one of my friend’s cousins who was in town. I couldn’t wait to get off the dance floor; her hands had been all over me.

Frowning, I searched but couldn’t see Haven. Or Ted. They were gone.

“Shit,” I said as I quickly made my way over to the table.

“Where is Haven?” I asked as I looked at Rosie, one of Haven’s best friends. “I need to talk to her.”

Rosie looked up at me and then to Candice, another of Haven’s friends. “I do believe she went back to her apartment, right, Candice?”

Candice nodded. “With Ted.”

Josephine Carter looked between Rosie and Candice and seemed confused, but only momentarily. She laughed and said, “Oh, yes. She did leave with Ted. Didn’t she say she was nervous because it was going to be their first time?”

Candice choked on her beer as Rosie pressed her mouth together into a tight line.

“Was I not supposed to say anything?” Josephine asked, looking like she had broken some girl code.

“What?” I asked, bouncing my gaze over the three of them. “First time for what?”

Rosie raised her brows. “Nate Shaw, if you have to ask that question, I wonder if your reputation precedes you.”

I narrowed my eyes and asked, “Sex?”

“Don’t say it like you don’t know what it is.” Candice laughed.

Without giving them another second of my time, I turned and made my way to the exit. As I walked away, Rosie said, “Better hurry if you intend to stop them!”

Once I got out of The Blue Moose, I made a dash to my truck, got in, and proceeded to break nearly every traffic law I could to get to Haven’s apartment. I pulled into a visitor’s parking lot and jogged up the steps to her apartment. The only reason I even knew were Haven lived was because I had overheard my mother and her mother talking about it when Haven moved in.

My breathing was fast and hard as I lifted my hand and pounded. It only took a few moments, and the door opened. Haven stood there, a confused look on her face.

“Nate? What are you doing here?”

I looked past her and didn’t see the dick anywhere. Turning my attention back to Haven, almost breathless, I said, “Don’t do this. I mean, at least not until we can talk.”

Her brows pinched together. “What are you talking about? Don’t do what?”

“Can I come in, Haven? I mean, after you tell him to leave. Please.”

She looked unsure for a moment.

“I know he’s here with you.”

Her expression went from unsure to downright confused. “Who?”

“Ted.”

After staring at me for a few moments, she shook her head. “Ted isn’t here.”

“You left the bar with him.”

With a long sigh, Haven stepped back and motioned for me to come in.

“Take a look for yourself. There isn’t anyone here but me. I left the bar alone. The bouncer even walked me to my car.”

I walked into the apartment and quickly took it in. The walls were all painted white, and there were no pictures hanging on them. A sofa and a loveseat had fall and Thanksgiving pillows on them. Across from the couch was a blue cabinet with pictures of Haven’s mother and one of Haven standing on an overlook with the Bitterroot River behind her and a pack of dogs around her. Above the cabinet was a TV mounted to the walls.

Haven had plants scattered throughout the open living concept. Her kitchen was on the small side, with a small table and four chairs in a bumped-out nook. Everywhere I looked, there were things for dogs…and cats.

---