Page 16 of The Love Wager

Instead, she stops rocking and crosses her arms over her chest. “Go on.”

I swallow over a building lump in my throat, not fully prepared to go forward with my half-ass apology. “I can be a dick, but last night was a bit too far, and I’m sorry. I had a really shit day, and then I came out to see you sliding across the bar, and I lost my shit.”

“Well, I’m sorry you had a bad day. I’m not sorry I slid across your bar, though. It was fun.” She smiles, and I can’t fucking help myself. I answer it with one of my own.

“Does he need you or something?” she asks, and I look in the direction she’s pointing to see Nick looming closer to the window now.

I wave him off, shooing him like a dog that’s done wrong.

“A life is what he needs,” I answer, turning around and catching the tail end of a light chuckle she lets slide free.

“So, all is forgiven, then? We start fresh now?” Indie asks me as I spot Kurt, the town oddball, barreling toward Indie on his bike.

We’re on a slight decline, and I know he’s usually pretty steady on that thing, but still, I keep my eyes trained on him.

“Yeah, sure,” I mutter absently as Kurt peddles harder when he should be coasting down the hill.

“I just mean, if we’re going to survive this week, we should at least be on the same page, you know?” she continues, but I lurch forward and tug her toward me just as Kurt says ‘whoa’ and loses some control of the front end of his bike, nearly taking Indie’s ankles out from under her.

I lose my footing, falling backward into my truck, feeling the moment both our weight causes the exterior to dent inward as the wind gets knocked out of me, and Indie screams.

“Sorry!” Kurt calls over his shoulder at us, not bothering to stop. “New wheels! Trying to break in the wear pattern!” He rings his bike bell and continues down the street as Indie and I watch after him, stunned.

“What the fuck is wrong with this town?” she mutters, turning in my arms as we still lean against the side of my truck.

“Fuck if I know. I’ve lived here my entire life, and I’m still studying the people here.”

“What are your theories thus far?” she asks, placing her hands on my chest as if she’s going to push off, but she doesn’t.

I don’t like the warmth spreading through me, but I allow it to pass. I can’t focus on anything other than the flecks of yellow and brown that blend beautifully within her hazel eyes.

“I—theories?” I ask, snapping to attention.

“For why the town’s weird? You said you were studying them, remember? Oh, did you bump your head when we landed? Let me see.” She tugs my baseball cap off, and I reach up and pull it back down.

“I’m fine,” I grumble.

She smiles. “There’s the surly bar owner I know and tolerate. You are fine, after all.”

I try not to focus on her words as she straightens and dusts off her clothes.

“My theories range from radioactive spiders that bit the entire town, save for a few, or aliens, that are running experiments on us all.”

“Mm, I like those theories. I’d have gone for a poisoned water supply before I leaped to aliens or radioactive spiders.”

I laugh, and Indie stiffens in my arms before relaxing a bit. The moment stretches between us and grows awkward.

“Did they leave you again?” I ask her.

She looks in the direction Taylor and her bridesmaids ran off, leaving her in the dust.

“Yeah, it seems they did.”

“Well, I can take you back. It’s no problem. I have a little time to kill before I have to meet Spencer for the tux fitting.”

Her hazel eyes seem to mull over the idea before she bites her lip and nods. “Sure, yeah, that would be nice.”

I follow her around the truck, and she looks over her shoulder several times as if she doesn’t know what I’m doing. Opening the door for her, I nearly hit her with it. She catches it before it hits her face, backing up as she laughs awkwardly.

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