Page 15 of Outcast
He chuckled nervously.
“Not so long,” I said. “You’re still running around with Princess Allison.”
He grimaced, then made a sound of pain as he pressed his fingers to his cut lip.
He mumbled something indecipherable.
“What was that?”
He lifted his hand. “Don’t call her that. She hates it.”
“My bad.” It wasn’t Allison’s fault I was suddenly a jealous bitch. My long-ago attraction to Emory had roared right back in as if it’d never been gone.
“And we’re notrunning aroundtogether.”
“You two married now? I didn’t see a ring.”
“No!” His cheeks flushed red. “Damn it, why does everyone want us together so damn bad?”
Well, well.
Things had just gotten interesting.
“Golden boy, I don’t want you two together,” I said. “I’m just out of the loop.”
“Oh.”
“I’m taking you to her place, so…”
“There’s a gala there tonight.” He sighed. “Mayor’s having a re-election fundraiser.”
I nodded. “All right, then.”
We drove in silence for a few minutes until I reached the drive leading up to the farm.
“Can you drop me off here?”
“Don’t want to be seen with me, huh? I guess I don’t fit into this scene.”
“That’s not why. Your brother’s in there, so why not you?”
“No shit? So, that’s where he went tonight.”
Emory put a hand on my forearm, fingers lightly brushing, but that touch rocked me. Damn, but I still wanted this guy.
“I can’t thank you enough for helping me out. I just don’t want to explain where I was or why I need a ride back, you know?”
I nodded, eyes on his fingers. “You’re on the DL?”
“The DL?”
“Closeted?”
“No. Well, not really. I, uh, wasn’t expecting Dallas to…”
I tensed up. “You weren’t a hookup?”
Emory hesitated, drawing his hand away. I wanted to pull the words back, tell him to put his hands on me again. But damn it, if he wasn’t a hookup, wasn’t gay, then I needed to stop thinking this way.
