Page 38 of Stalker's Valentine

My Scarlett knew.Shit!

I wasn’t overreacting. I glanced off to the side where Oleg sat. For some godforsaken reason, he had chosen to step in and be the man who tailed her tonight. He didn’t do these kinds of jobs. They were leaps and bounds below him.

Yet there he was, the nosy motherfucker. He shook his head slightly, telling me wordlessly to let it go, but there was no way. I could tell by the way she was looking at me that she knew. I’d seen it all come together while she was on stage. Like pieces of a puzzle clicking, one after another, until she stared at me like she didn’t know who I was.

And it almost knocked me on my ass.

That look.I could see the trust in her start to splinter away. The bright genuine smile she’d worn when she stepped up on stage was long gone, leaving nothing but a fake one in its wake.

“Merritt, right?” Coral grinned as I extended a hand to help her down from the stage.

“Yes. Merritt Hart.”

“The hot and cursed.” She smirked then looked behind at one of her sisters. “Maybe we’re cursed, too? Maybe Scar had the right idea all along about not dating.”

“Cursed?” I heard Scarlett repeat. Our eyes connected, and even though I was helping her sister down the steps, all I could see was her. Scarlet and her deep dark gaze.

“I was wondering if we could talk,” I said. My eyes never wavered from hers.

“I’m hanging out with my sisters,” she pointed out cautiously. I might not be positive of how much she had put together, but she definitely had. Her gaze wasn’t completely mistrustful, but it was close.It’s different.

“Ohmygod!” Coral jumped and turned around. “You should! Just don’t get attached,” she warned. “Cursed hearts, remember,” she muttered, obviously past drunk.

“Okay, lightweight.” The youngest Trejo sister came up and took Coral’s hand from mine. “You, my little songbird, Olive, and I are going to get some nachos.”

“Nachos are so good. I could never eat them before. Jack couldn’t eat them because it gave him the farts; he was lactose intolerant.” She giggled as she walked past us, leaving my cutie and me alone.

Well, without them around.

“You wanted to talk?” she asked, crossing her arms over her chest to guard herself, but all she did was press her beautiful tits together, drawing my attention towards them. Fucking hell, she looked sweet in that white dress with tiny red hearts printed all over it.

I rubbed the back of my neck. “I think we should talk,” I croaked. I felt like I was under I microscope, and I only had myself to blame.

“I was thinking the same thing,” she mumbled, dropping her eyes from mine and down to the floor. That was when something came over me. Sure, I’d fucked up. I’d gone about this all the wrong way. Completely. Sneaking around. Following and watching her.Don’t forget hiring someone to tail her every move,a voice reminded me.And switching out her pills.

I batted the thought away. At the end of the day, it was because I loved her.Cursed Harts,my head reminded me, and I shook it.

Not this time.

Not with her.

I reached and took Scarlett’s hand and didn’t miss the way she tried to take it back. I didn’t let her. I simply pulled her towards me, using my free hand to hold the back of her head. “I know you’re pissed, and you have every right to be.”

“Merri––“

“It was me,” I admitted. “I fucked up.”

“Merri––“

“But I need to tell you why, and I need you to listen to it. Please.” Scarlett’s shoulders sagged before she nodded. Tangling our fingers together, I led the way out of the brewery, ignoring people call out our names or the eyes watching us. I led her to my car and buckled her up in the passenger seat even though we both knew she was more than capable. I got in and drove. Not to her place but mine.

“Where are we going?” she asked when she realized we were going in the opposite direction of her house. “Merri?”

“My place. Our place,” I added at the end because if I had it my way, that’s what it would be sooner than later.

“I don’t know if there is an us or if there will ever be an our anything,” she mumbled. My hands gripped the steering wheel with a white-knuckled grip. I loved her fiery spirit, but in this moment, it was killing me.

I felt like I was losing her with every stroke of the clock, and I didn’t know how to stop it.

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