Page 43 of Love Arranged
I jump to my feet and wrap an arm around her to stop her from falling over. “You good?”
She leans into me and shuts her eyes. “I’ll answer once the world stops spinning.”
I take the opportunity to get a good look at her. Even with tangled hair, a sickly tinge to her skin, and smeared eye makeup, I still can’t take my eyes off her.
“I can feel you staring at me,” she says without ever opening her eyes.
I deflect in an act of self-preservation. “Your mascara is running.”
“Just when I thought tonight couldn’t get any worse.”
I grab my pocket square and wipe at her cheeks and underneath her eyes before cleaning the corners of her mouth.
Throw that infested rag away right now, the voice speaks up.
I’m about to when I look up from her mouth to find her staring back at me with wide eyes.
“What?”
She looks away. “Feeling a little dizzy.”
My arm curled around her tightens.
You’re supposed to let her go and walk away before she gets you sick.I breathe heavily through my nose.
And what are you still doing holding on to that disgusting pocket square?I drop it on the ground and kick it away right as someone calls Lily’s name.
“I thought I recognized you, but I couldn’t be sure,” the woman says to my back.
Lily’s gaze snaps toward the person, and her already wide eyes stretch to their limits.
“Jane,” she squeaks out. “What are you doing here?”
“Uh…it’s Trivia Night at Last Call.” Jane, the Rose & Thorn employee Lily recently hired, comes up to stand in front of us.
Lily turns her head and finally notices where we are. I follow her stare and clock a few people standing in front of the bar’s window. They’re quick to turn their heads, but it’s too late.
Lily and I seem to be collecting witnesses like some protection program.
“Lorenzo.” Jane shoots me an indecipherable look before her attention is diverted to the fire hydrant. “Are you okay?”
Lily winces, and I absorb the recoil like it’s my own. I’d remove my arm from around her waist, but Lily still looks shaky, so I keep my hand glued to her hip, pretending I don’t notice the slight tingle in my fingertips at the close contact.
“I’m not feeling my best,” Lily replies.
“What happened?”
“I think I got a bad case of food poisoning.”
“Oh no!” Jane’s gaze flickers over to me. “Good thing Lorenzo was here to help you.” She sounds genuine.
“Yeah, he was giving me a ride home.” Her eyes comically widen when she notices the mistake.
“From where?” Jane asks, giving me a second glance.
“Uh…” Lily scrambles, making our situation worse.
I step in. “I took her out to dinner to apologize for the incident with her car.”
