Page 63 of Extra Dirty

I’m under no illusion that this will change things for us, but hurting her is the last fucking thing I wanted to do.

But Carter doesn’t leave Cat’s side. He and Tessa remain sitting at the table with Cat, and she keeps her attention trained anywhere but at my table.

Growing frustrated, I head to the dance floor and interrupt Mr. Landry and Grace. Vanessa has her arms draped around Cash’s neck while they sway to the music, but Grace is missing it. She’s so wrapped up in her conversation with Landry that she doesn’t see what’s right in front of her. I’m ending this once and for all. I’ll show Grace that Cash is not the man for her, I’ll return Cat’s brother to her, and then I’ll leave this damn party.

“May I cut in?”I ask as I approach Mr. Landry and Grace.

He gives me a nod in understanding and whispers something in Grace’s ear. Then he hands her off to me.

I pull her close and sway to the music. “You’re doing a fantastic job, Gracie. Thank you.”

“Did you know Cash was going to be here?”

I chuckle softly. “I imagined he would.”

She pulls back a fraction of an inch and glares at me. “Jay, you’ve put me in an impossible situation.”

“Grace, I keep trying to show you that he’s not who you think he is.” I spin her so she can finally see how close her darling Cash has gotten with his date. “I may not be the man for you, but someone who shows up with another woman on his arm and holds her as close as he’s holding that woman? He’s not the man for you either. We are made of the same cloth, Cash and me. Neither of us are good enough for you.”

With pain swimming in her eyes, Grace watches Cash, obviously warring with herself over what to think. Without warning, she pops up onto her toes, kisses me on the cheek, and apologizes. “I’m sorry, Jay, but you couldn’t be more wrong. Excuse me.”

And then she slips out of my arms and exits the dance floor with her head held high and her shoulders back.

Blowing out a breath, I head toward the bar. So far, I haven’t accomplished a single thing I set out to do. Maybe another glass of whiskey will temper my aggravation.

As I’m leaving the dance floor, the guitarist strings a few chords together that tug at my memory. And as he sings the opening lines of Coldplay’s “Yellow,” my breath catches, and I turn back toward Cat’s table.

Maybe the author of this narrative has a surprise for us. Maybe our story isn’t over yet. Maybe we’re just gearing up for a second act.

31

TURNING PAGE BY SLEEPING AT LAST

Cat

The world stopped tonight. My brother chased after Grace, Vanessa whined about being ditched, Tessa tried to comfort her, and Carter disappeared to the bar. But my soul stood on the dance floor.

I haven’t felt this alone since I was a little girl. Since I sat at my mother’s funeral, surrounded by people and yet without the one person who made me whole. And that’s saying a lot, because I’ve suffered alone in the last thirteen years more than any one person should.

For a short time, Jay pushed away the loneliness for me.

But seeing him with her tonight cut me open. The pain I felt watching them dance was almost as potent as that day I cradled my swollen belly and stared at the photo of the two of them inJoliemagazine all those years ago.

As the band serenades the crowd with “Yellow,” I push back from the table. And despite how desperately exhausted I am from running, I do just that.

I dart from the tent, smacking into a server on my way out. I gasp out an apology before bolting into the yard. Away from the music. Away from the memories.

But he’s faster. He’s always been faster.

Jay loops an arm around me and pulls me into his chest, cradling my head with one hand. “Shh, I got you,” he murmurs softly, kissing my head and rubbing soothing circles on my back.

Of course he knew I needed him. He knows precisely how to fix me. How to make me feel whole again. Every damn time he breaks me.

Exhausted, I lean against him while he sways to the song. Out here, the music seems louder, and the stars shine brighter than they have in years. Likely because I’m in his arms.

Everything is better when I’m in his arms.

“Do you know how many times I called you?” I whisper into the night, wincing at the pain that lances through me. “How often I worried about you…prayed for you…beggedfor you?” A tear skitters down my cheek, and I swipe at it angrily. Fuck. The dam has officially broken.

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