Page 35 of Heartless

“Sure.” I canfeelCassian’s body heat against me even as I grab a stack of napkins and stuff them into the pocket of my hoodie. I busy myself with being as unattractive as possible, my nose sounding like a goose’s call as I blow it into one of the napkins.

“Cute.” Cass gently pushes my hair behind my ear, his hand resting at the back of my neck. “Is that your mating call?”

“Yeah. The boys are going to start flocking around me any moment now.” I look up at him so he can see the dramatic roll of my eyes. “Thank you.” Mama raised me to be polite, after all. And he did just buy me hot chocolate.

“Anytime.” His warm hand stays on my neck and I can’t find it in me to shove him away. How can I, when the warmth is welcome and he’s…

Well, that’s the problem, isn’t it? I struggle to make the right decisions when it comes to Cass.

“You’re nicer than you were when we were kids.” I don't know where the words come from, but they prompt the blue-eyed man to look down at me, surprise evident on his face.

“Am I?” He blinks, like I’ve surprised him. “Are you sure?”

“Well, you haven’t, ya know.” I make a ridiculous stabbing motion with my hand that has Cass raising his brows and tilting his head to the side in disbelief. “Sorry, did you want the sound effect, too?” I make the back-and-forth knife motion again, this time adding a few creaky, congested squeaks along with it.

He snorts, shaking his head. I see him roll his eyes just as he murmurs, “You’re ridiculous, princess. And I’m not that nice.”

“You haven’t given methe lookthis year, either.” I can't help but keep going, even when he throws a sidelong glance my way that looks a little less amused and a little more exasperated. “You know. It’s—” My grin widens when he turns to look at me fully. “Oh yes, there it is. That one, where you do that thing with your mouth.”

“Winnie.” Cass steps closer, my name a warning on his lips. I fight not to shiver even as I sniffle, my eyes on his. “I’m going to need you to knock it off. This place is a bit too crowded for me to give you the attention you’re asking for. And you look a little too pathetic for me to feel good about it.”

“What attention am I asking for, exactly?” God, I really just can’t help myself.

Cass’s eyes narrow and my breath catches in my throat when his lips part around the words I’m so excited and nervous to hear.

“Here you guys go!” The girl has the worst timing and pulls our attention off of each other. Cass steps toward her, a friendly smile on his face as he takes both cups.

“Thank you.” I take my cup from him and flash the girl a smile. “And thank you for the commitment to the extra marshmallows.” They’re piled onto my hot chocolate and melting into the liquid perfectly.

“Anytime! I hope you guys enjoy Manic Manor tonight!”

We walk away from her as I blow my nose again, closing my eyes at the burn in my nose. “So, did you come here with anyone?” I ask, not turning to look at Cass who’d fallen into step behind me. “The guy you brought to the diner?”

He doesn’t answer.

“Are you ignoring me?” I hadn’t thought he was actually mad at me, but his continued silence makes me rethink that. “Cassian—?” I turn with his name on my lips, only to find that he’s no longer behind me. In fact, as my eyes rove around the open yard, I realize he’s nowhere near at all.

“Okay then.” With a sigh, I bundle up my used tissues and toss them into an overflowing trash can nearby. My feet take me back across the yard and it’s easy to find Reagan standing out with her bright red hair and pink and black hoodie.

“I felt guilty,” I tell her, showing her my cup. “Felt weird to just steal napkins, so I bought a hot chocolate, too.” There’s no need to tell her about Cassian. While she knows the story, she definitely doesn’t know that he’s back and has been giving me a lot more attention than I’d expected.

And he’s making me feel incredibly conflicted this Halloween season. It’s…strange.

“Who was the guy with you?” She hands me a ticket, then shoves the other in her pocket. “Did you know him?”

It only takes me a moment to decide I’m going to lie to her. “He’s come to the diner a few times. We went to high school together, but he moved away pretty soon after.” The lie rolls off my tongue smoothly, and Reagan barely glances at me. There’s certainly no suspicion in her eyes, and I relax when I realize she’s bought my story.

Though she has no reason not to.

Who in the world would believe that I’d voluntarily talk toCassian Byersor let him get near me? It’s much easier to tell her he’s just a friend from when I was younger and leave it as that.

“I didn’t think you talked to anyone from high school.” Reagan snorts, gesturing for us to head to the line for the haunted forest part of Manic Manor. “Except me, because you could never abandon me.”

“Because you’d neverletme abandon you,” I amend, blowing my nose again before taking a large mouthful of marshmallow and hot chocolate. Though, it’s mostly marshmallow.

Reagan tips her head to the side thoughtfully. “Yeah,” she agrees. “I can agree with that. But come on, Winnie.” She slings an arm over my shoulders as we get closer to the front of the line. “You’re my best friend. No way I’d ever let you forget about me.”

“That sounds like a threat, you weirdo.” I shove at her arm, though I’m grinning when I meet her eyes.

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