Page 28 of Fierce-Hyde

“Have you gone through counseling or just are on the giving side?”

“I have gone through it,” she said. “When Raina was drugged I had nightmares and sought it in college. During that time I realized everything I was doing. I wanted to not be responsible in my life for once and was acting out there.”

“Acting out or acting like a normal college kid?” he asked.

“The second,” she said. “But for me, it was acting out. I felt to blame for what happened to Raina. I’m the one that talked her into going to the party.”

“Then you can understand some of what I felt.”

“I can,” she said. “I don’t even want to imagine how much worse it would have been if Raina wasn’t okay in the end.”

She was the one that felt like crap now and understood why he reacted the way he had to her at the bar.

“I showed up drunk one day at work and was terminated. I had it coming. Maybe I wanted it to happen so it’d be an excuse to leave.”

“And that’s when you came home?” she asked.

“It was for the best. My parents knew what was going on and my mother came down to help pack. I swallowed my pride and called Ryder. We weren’t as close as before but still were in touch. He hadn’t known what happened to Shana so I had to explain it all. I knew I had to be honest if I was going to see if his father’s firm had any openings.”

“I’m sorry, Hyde. That is a lot to deal with.”

“It is,” he said. “And the night in the bar was the one-year anniversary of her death. I told myself I was going to get a beer and nothing more. But I ordered a whiskey and then fell into my old habits. I think if you didn’t give me shit, I would have sat there and got shitfaced again. In a way, you stopped that from happening and gave me another wake-up call.”

“Do you always turn to alcohol when you’re struggling with something?”

She needed to know that going in. She wasn’t sure it was something she could handle.

“No,” he said. “Never. Prior to Shana’s death, I’d have a few beers and that would be the end of it. So when I did it again, I think I was more pissed at myself than anything. This is only the third beer I’ve had since that night in the bar with you. Not sure if you believe it or not.”

“I’ve got no reason not to,” she said. “And every reason to give you the benefit of the doubt.”

10

AN IDIOT

Four days later, Tori was changing after work and getting ready to meet Hyde for their second date.

If anyone told her a month ago she’d have such a great time full of mixed emotions with him, she might have given them a shove and told them to get out of her face while she laughed them out of the room.

But he’d opened up with her more than she had him, then they ended all the high drama part of the conversation and talked about things they liked to do that were fun.

He’d said he didn’t want to wait to see her again until the following weekend, so they’d set this date up for tonight after work.

Could either of them stop in and see the other in their offices?

Yep. But they weren’t.

She wasn’t going to get into the habit of that and she was glad he wasn’t either.

It was too soon and could get sticky on top of it.

One date didn’t mean they bothered the other at work.

Or even scheduled lunch dates where other people could see them.

To her, they were going to approach this just like she would any other guy she’d just met.

She finished getting changed, then grabbed her purse and went out the door to go to the pub they were meeting at.

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