Page 131 of The Stalker

When they entered the building, a bored-looking staff member looked up at their group, and his eyes widened as he saw who was walking toward him.

Sebastian walked up to the counter and smiled at the man. “Hi, could we get a table at the back, please?”

“Uh, sure, of course. Snooker or pool?”

“Pool, thanks.”

The man handed over a tray of pool balls, and they followed his instructions to their table. There was only one other table in use with an older couple playing snooker at the side of the room.

“I might as well get my slaughter out of the way, early. Are you ready to play me, princess?” Sebastian asked Lita.

She laughed and turned to Heather before saying, “Do you want to hold Mira?”

“I’ll do anything to facilitate this match-up,” Heather grinned as she took the baby out of Lita’s arms.

“Tatiana and I can get everyone drinks,” Hayden offered. “Beers okay for everyone?”

The guys confirmed they were fine with that, and Heather said, “I’ll have a rum and Coke.”

“It’s before ten, so water for me,” Ariana said with a laugh.

Hayden nodded, and Tatiana turned to head back to the counter. She walked slowly, and Hayden was next to her.

“I dislike not getting to touch you,” he murmured.

“That’s not very professional, Hayden Vega.” She raised an eyebrow at him.

He chuckled, “I flirted harder with you before we had sex than I get to do now.”

“Which was the whole point of me agreeing to be in a relationship with you,” she pointed out.

“We’re officially in a relationship, are we?”

Heat rushed to her cheeks and she shrugged. “I mean, I thought so.”

“I’m just teasing you,” he grinned at her. “I’ve never told someone I loved them if I didn’t want to be in a relationship with them. You’re no exception to that.”

She didn’t have time to respond as they’d almost reached the counter. Hayden asked for the drinks for their group, and when they had them, they headed back toward their table.

For a moment, fear and guilt threatened to overwhelm her as she was struck with the overpowering desire for their circumstances to be different. She hated herself for getting involved with him, because she knew it was wrong.

Before she allowed the feelings to take hold, though, she pushed them away and whispered, “I love you, Hayden.”

He stopped walking and turned to look at her. He stared into her eyes for a second and frowned.

Finally, he said softly, “I love you, too.”

He kept looking into her eyes, and she didn’t know what he saw there. She was feeling strangely conflicted about everything, and she swallowed heavily.

“We should probably take these drinks to your friends soon. They’re probably already going to wonder what the fuck we’re talking about right now.”

“I’ll tell them you told me about the latest stalker email,” he said.

“I thought you hated lying?” she cringed.

“You’re worth it. Tell me about it quickly, and I won’t be lying, though.”

Tatiana shook her head and grimaced as the details came to mind.

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