Page 53 of All the Ways You Save Me
Garrett
Thank God we’re in a public place and this bar is between us, or the things I’d do to her would make last night’s kiss seem like a chaste peck on the cheek. Damn it, I am so completely screwed. Madeline is like a current pulling me out to sea and all I can do is hold my breath and hope I don’t go under. It’s always been this way with her. And I’m starting to realize that it always will be. Which means that the smartest thing I could do is get the hell out of here.
Madeline tears her eyes from mine when Chloe approaches and sets a tray of empty glasses on the counter. I recognize my chance to flee, but a moment goes by and then another one, and hell, I’m still standing here.
“How’s it going, Garrett?” Chloe asks, seemingly oblivious to the tension.
“There’s some guy who was hassling Madeline,” I say. “Mid-thirties, brownish hair. Let’s keep him out of here.”
Chloe frowns. “I think I know who you mean. The guy sitting here earlier today?” She nods at the seat the guy vacated. “If he’s harassing Madeline, he’s done here.” She turns to Madeline. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine. He was just being a little pushy.”
Chloe looks at me. “Did you toss him on his ass?”
“I was eight seconds away.”
“Good.” She pats my arm affectionately. “Madeline, I’ll drive you home tonight, okay?”
“You don’t have to do that,” Madeline says. “You have your daughter to get home to. I’ll be fine.” But she bites her lip nervously and takes a sideways glance at the door.
Anger rises in my chest, and I promise myself I won’t be so nice the next time I see that guy. I shouldn’t get involved but damn it. I know I’m going to. “You’ll be fine because I’ll walk you home.” So much for getting the hell out of here. But then our eyes meet again, and a bolt of lightning hits me in the chest. There’s no point in fighting it. “I’ll see you at closing time.”
“How do you know Madeline?”
The sound of her name jerks my attention from Madeline’s movements behind the bar. I scrub a hand over my face and focus on my best friend across the table. “Sorry, what?”
Ian hitches his chin at the bar. “Madeline. When I met her the other day, you guys seemed to know each other.”
“Uh.” I hate lying, especially to my best friend. When I moved to Sandy Harbor, I swore that I’d live my life as authentically as possible. There were some things nobody could ever know about me, but I wasn’t going to tangle myself in a web of deceit, unable to keep my story straight. Aside from stretching the truth about a few things from my past—like where I grew up—I’ve kept that promise to myself. Which is why I’m almost tempted to spill the truth to Ian about Madeline. I know I could count on him to listen without judgment. But what holds me back—what’s held me back for thepast decade—is my fear of putting anyone else that I love in danger.
The less Ian knows, the less likely he is to get caught up in anything if the wrong people track me down. So, I keep my secrets locked up tight and give the closest version of the truth I can come up with. “I met her on the beach the other day.”
“Really? I could have sworn you guys were talking like you were old friends.”
I lift a shoulder in a motion I hope comes off as casual. “I guess some people just make friends easily.”
Ian eyes me, a grin spreading across his face. “This is the first time I’ve seen you interested in getting involved with a woman who’s planning to stick around for longer than a week.”
“I’m not getting involved with her.”
“Sure,” he says in an infuriatingly skeptical tone.
“And she won’t be sticking around very long.”
“I heard she grew up here.”
I nod. “Yeah, she left when she was in high school. Did you know her?”
He studies Madeline from across the bar, and I take any opportunity to look, too. Her hair is tied up on top of her head in a messy bun, and little tendrils fall around her face. Ten years ago, I would have tucked one behind her ear, and she would have given me a soft smile.
“She looks kind of familiar,” Ian says. “But I don’t think I knew her.”
“Her older sister might have been closer to your age. Josie Sullivan?”
Ian’s eyes slowly widen, as if he’s processing the name. “I knew Josie Sullivan.” He gives a little shake of his head. “Totally had a thing for her, actually.”
“Really?” I look at my best friend. My old life and new one colliding in unexpected ways. “You guys dated?”
