Page 28 of Even if You Fall

I swatted at his hand, a breath of a laugh leaving me that sounded far too relieved. “My nerdy shirts are the best,” I defended.

He lifted one of his hands as if to placate me. “I just said you weren’t wearing one.” His mouth slipped into that smirk he wore so easily, one I was sure would’ve worked on anyone else. “After five straight days of showing your inner nerd, I’m a little disappointed.”

“Oh, I’m still showing her,” I said, my tone feigning seriousness even as my smile widened.

At the lift of his eyebrows, intrigue practically pouring from him, I swept my bunny-free hand over my midi skirt, then slipped it into one of the pockets to draw attention to the skirt.

Hudson’s gaze fell there immediately, his eyebrows knitting together as he studied the material. “What...what is this?” Amusement left him on a huff when he realized, “There are people on there.”

Holding my pocketed hand out so I could inspect the material as well, I looked at the outlines of characters hidden within quotes and other designs. “It’sPride and Prejudice.”

A genuine smile lit Hudson’s face as his stare shifted back to mine. “Nerd.”

“I know.”

“So, about this skirt...” he began, his low drawl easily switching into thatI’m about to woo youvoice he’d mastered. “What if we?—”

“You’re relentless,” I said over him, a soft laugh leaving me as I slipped my hand out of the pocket to, once again, swat his hand away from me, this time from trying to pull me closer by the skirt in question.

“I prefermotivated.”

“Delusional?” I offered as my own smile widened.

“Wounded?” he tossed back, not seeming wounded or in the least bit put off.

A disbelieving hum sounded in my throat. “I’m sure it’s a critical hit to your massive ego that I’m not currently swooning.”

His eyebrows lifted contemplatively. “That’s actually why I’m standing so close,” he said, his voice dropping to a whisper. “Whether you realize it yet or not, you’re actually giving into my charms and are about to swoon.”

A louder laugh pushed from my lungs at the words that were as confident as they were teasing. “Is that so?”

“It’s science.” He shrugged, looking like it was his burden to bear.

“Oh, well, if it’s science,” I said as if that was all I needed to be convinced, then leaned just slightly closer to whisper, “How long do you think I have before the swooning happens?”

He drew in a quick breath through his teeth, seeming to think before giving me a devastatingly handsome look. “Hard to tell. Holding a stuffed bunny sometimes offsets my charm.”

A sharp laugh left me as I glanced at the floppy stuffed animal, then back to where he’d inched even closer. Pressing my free hand to Hudson’s chest, I said, “Well, I think I might just hold onto the bunny then.”

Defeat left him on a sigh, but he quickly glanced around. “Where’s Kaia? I’ll get her to get that bunny back from you.”

“You’re ridiculous,” I muttered as I all-too-easily shoved him away. “Go flirt with someone else.”

A wolfish look settled over his features as he twisted to walk backward. “Only focused on you, Nerd.”

“I’m sure.” The words left me on a disbelieving huff as my gaze automatically drifted to the last place I’d seen Adam. My breath caught when I found his eyes locked on me for the first time today. Narrowed. So angry. Wren was nowhere in sight.

My heart stuttered before taking off in a horribly fast rhythm as I stood there, trapped in his stare for far too long, all while I told myself to look away. It was absurd to be so engrossed in a man I hardly knew—then again, I’d fallen for Owen the first day, first hour, I’d met him. But for some unknown reason, Adam hated me. And that was more than enough reason to stay far from him, physically, mentally, emotionally...

I finally tore my stare away when my phone vibrated in one of my skirt’s pockets and hurriedly transferred the bunny to my other hand to grab it. As soon as it was in my grasp, another message came through, and dread quickly slid through my veins because the only people I really spoke to were all in that room.

Well, not including my parents...but I’d talked to them just that morning, and we weren’t atextingsort of family. We spoke on the phone or in person because that’s what my parents needed to continue pretending everything was perfect in their world.

Still, I pulled the phone out and felt every part of me lock up as emotions raged and clashed within me when I saw the awaiting messages from an unknown number.

I told myself half a dozen times to ignore them, to slip my phone back into my pocket and focus on the awkward social gathering I’d found myself at, but before I knew it, I was staring at the photo Owen sent me as Kaia’s bunny slipped from the fingers of my other hand.

My heart waged a war I didn’t want to be in as I studied the signatures on what were clearly divorce papers because it didn’t matter. Itcouldn’tmatter. He’d lied to me and used me, along with an unknown amount of other women.

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