Page 33 of Make Me Love You

“Hey, man. I was hoping you would swing by tonight,” Luke said. If he noticed the air had suddenly gone thick with tension, he didn’t show it. He cocked his head at Emma. “You should have brought Suzie along. We could have made it a reunion.”

Eli continued to glower. “I didn’t expect to see you here. It doesn’t seem like your kind of place.”

Emma narrowed her eyes. “And what kind of place would that be?”

“Wherever I’m not, would be my guess. But you know I come here. You know my friends come here. Which means this isn’t your kind of place.”

The tension rolling off him gave her pause. Was he seriously mad that she had encroached on his turf? What did he think, exactly? That she was here to turn Luke against him? Rude. It occurred to her that once upon a time, she had done exactly that—with Suzie, not Luke. But that was when the wound was still fresh and she was still young. She wouldn’t do that now. She might want nothing to do with Eli, but she wouldn’t dictate who other people could see.

“I like it here,” she snapped back. “I like Luke.”

Luke beamed. “Of course you do, honey.”

Eli clenched his jaw so tightly she could see the muscle tic in his cheek. “Outside. Now,” he ordered through gritted teeth.

She stared at him with patent disbelief. “You must be joking. In the first place, because you do not get to order me around like I’m your lapdog. I am your boss now, thank you very much. Secondly, my fries would get cold, and cold fries are disgusting. And lastly, nothing good can come of me following you into the dark where there are no witnesses.”

He raised an eyebrow. “Are you chicken, Ms. Andrews?”

It was exactly what he had said three days ago, right before she had grabbed him by the face. Right before the kiss. Was it rage or lust that made her cheeks heat from the memory? A combination of both, probably. That seemed to be the way of things, when Eli was around.

“Your schoolyard taunts have no effect on me. I am an adult.” But because this was so obviously a lie—schoolyard taunts always got a rise out of her—she slid from her seat and stood. “Fine. We’ll talk outside. Don’t go anywhere, Luke. I’ll be back in five minutes.”

“It will take longer than that,” Eli said. “You might as well go back to the bar.”

Emma spun furiously to face him. “I am here to discuss business. Don’t get in my way, Eli.”

She pivoted on her toes and stalked toward the door. Out of the corner of her eye, she caught sight of the dartboard. She hated to ruin her dramatic exit, but she couldn’t resist taking a quick peek. She lifted the dartboard and peered underneath.

There they were, four sets of initials, carved into the wooden beams. Suzie had encircled them with a heart, because Suzie was like that. Emma slid the dartboard back in place with a hollow feeling in her stomach.

Funny how the marker of their friendships had outlasted the friendships themselves.

Chapter Nine

Eli knew what Emma was looking for when she lifted the dartboard, but he didn’t know if she would find it. He hadn’t seen it for himself in five years, when Luke hung the damn thing after it became apparent that hikers liked to leave their own marks. For all he knew, five years of dart games had worn their initials smooth. Or maybe the wall was so scratched and scuffed that their initials weren’t readable.

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