Page 41 of The Leaving Road

“You little bi—” Cassie seethed at me before her sentence was interrupted by a tray of beers being slammed down rather roughly on our table. My grin widened even more as I took in Lexie’s furious features. Now, my best friend was gorgeous with all that red hair, but it’s true what they say about redheads and their tempers…

“What the fuck is this? And who thefuckare you?” She stood ramrod straight, not taking her eyes from Cassie.

“I’m Cassie.” She flipped her hair over her shoulder, clearly not picking up on the rage Lexie was aiming in her direction.

Her funeral.

Lexie’s eyes met mine. “Hell.No. This table is full.”

“Excuse me?” she shrieked, and I giggled, causing her attention to snap back to me. “You think just because you’ve come back into town, you can takemy place?That you can take everything from me. Just remember, I had himfirst.”She licked her lips, and it reminded me of a feral, caged animal.

I stared blankly at her. “I can’t take something from you that you never had.”

“He wasminefirst, and he will always bemine.”

I couldn’t help but laugh at her. “You act as if Icare. You’re still stuck in the past, stuck in high school. I came here to have some drinks with friends, to let off a little steam and maybe grab a bite to eat. And here you are, dredging up things of thepast.I can assure you, Sloan not being here with you has absolutelynothingto do with me, and honestly, honey, everything to do withyou.”

I reached out and grabbed one of the beers that was threatening to fall off the tray that Lexie had slammed down and tried to take a sip of it, but Cassie tried to grab my hand at the same time and the beer sloshed all over the table and ran down the front of my shirt.

“Touch her again and see what happens,” Lexie said. She still hadn’t sat down and she was rounding over to where we were sitting. I shot her an appreciative look but also one that let her knowI’ve got this.

“Do that again, Idareyou. You’ll find outexactlyhow much I really have changed.”

There must have been some unspoken emotion that crossed my face because she backed up from me, and I set my half-emptied beer down, bracing for what might end up coming next.

“Cassie, what the hell are you doing here?”

Sloan’s voice rang from behind us, and I couldn’t help the goosebumps that broke out over my skin.

Perfect fucking timing.

Chapter 27

Sloan

The drive to Montgomery’s did nothing to quell the nervous energy I’d been sporting since Jace let it slip that they’d be headed to my place tonight. I not so subtly invited myself along, which I could tell Jace wasn’t thrilled about, but what could he do? I owned the place, so I was going. After a quick stop at Yuliana’s to make sure they were good for the evening, which took a bit longer than expected, I was finally on my way.

The air was turning a bit chilly for my liking, giving me an inkling that this winter would be coming sooner than anticipated. I was mentally preparing myself for what I was going to say to Magnolia tonight.

Funny seeing you here…

I had no idea…

Is this seat taken?

I groaned, frustrated that I felt like a fish out of water.Helpless.Opening the front door to Montgomery’s, I stepped inside, letting the warmth of the bar and the sound of chatting fill me. I let the familiarity of it wash over me and soothe me. I scanned the crowd for the people I was looking for—oneperson, really.

My eyes caught her, and I immediately took sight of Matt, who was sitting far too close to her. I felt the growl that was constantly being suppressed when I was around her rise to the back of my throat. I was so consumed with how close he was to her that Ialmostmissed Cassie sitting in the other chair next to Magnolia.

What the fuck?

I stormed over just in time to see Cassie try to knock Magnolia’s beer from her hand. Red haze blurred my vision as I ate up the last few steps to get close enough to them,

“Do that again, Idareyou.”

Magnolia’s voice was dripping with warning, and it made my cock twitch. The shirt she wore barely had a back, and I was close to drooling. She had this magnificent tattoo that spanned much of her back and looked like it ran down to her leg, and I had flashes of trailing my tongue over every inch of it.

A flash of blonde hair in my peripheral reminded me that Cassie was here.

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