Page 15 of Off the Beaten Path

“What are you doing?” He enunciates each word, his jaw tight. Every line of his body is tense, and I can’t help but notice the muscles flexing in his neck, the unyielding expanse of his shoulders, the flicker in his jaw.

I’ve never seen him this close to coming undone, and part of me wants to push another button, just to see what he would look like when he lost all control. I think it would be a little like watching a flame catch in the fireplace, all-consuming and impossible to look away from.

I smile sweetly at him. “Getting back at you for watching me in the shower.”

His teeth clench hard enough to break, and he blows out a long breath through his nostrils. “I don’twatchyou in the shower, Wren.”

“So you were lying?” I say, cocking an eyebrow.

He sighs, focusing on a spot down the hall, a flush creeping up his neck. “No, I have seen…just not on purpose.”

I’m not sure what I was hoping to accomplish with this line of questioning, but suddenly, the space between us feels too small, the air in here a hundred degrees hotter than the rest of the bar. I know if he ever looks away from that riveting spot on the wall, he’d see the evidence of my embarrassment on my cheeks too.

His anger feels a million miles away, buried under the thick awkwardness hanging between us. Irrationally, I hope I was wearing cute underwear on whatever days he happened to be walking by his living room window.

“Sorry about Charlotte,” I say, desperate for a change in subject.

His eyes snare mine, a muscle jumping in his jaw once more. This time, I think the red on his sharp cheekbones is from exasperation. That, at least, feels familiar.

Holden leans into my space, his hand landing on the wall beside my head. His lips part to deliver what I expect to be a lashing blow, but he’s cut off by a noise at the end of the hall. Our gazes snap in that direction to see Charlotte, who’s staring at us with wide eyes.

“Oh,” she blurts, looking between us.

Holden jumps away from me, dropping his hand from the wall. It’s surprising how much colder it feels without him close.

He palms at the back of his neck, avoiding Charlotte’s glance, and I clear my throat. “Well, I better get going.”

“No,” Charlotte says, holding up a hand. “I was just coming to find Holden to tell him I was ducking out. I didn’t mean to interrupt.”

“You didn’t—” I say, but she cuts me off.

“Good night, Holden.” Charlotte spins on her heel, not sparing me another glance, and I turn to Holden, feeling like I’m missing something.

“Are you two dating?”

His eyes blow wide. “No.”

I look back at the spot she vacated, analyzing the situation over and over again. “Does she know that?”

Honestly, I didn’t think through the comments I made earlier. I would have said it to any single woman of a certain age in town in order to get back at him. My hope was that he’d have to sit through a terrible date or fend off the hordes of women who thought it was finally time to shoot their shot.

“We went out on one date. Kind of,” Holden finally concedes, pinching the bridge of his nose. “I didn’t think it was a date, but I’m pretty sure she did. Now she won’t leave me alone.”

I make a humming noise in the back of my throat, shifting my weight from foot to foot. “Oh.”

He glares at me. “Yes,oh.”

Irritation flares inside me. “Well, she left, didn’t she? She thinks we’re back here necking in the hallway.”

“Don’t saynecking,” he says with a wrinkle of his nose.

I cross my arms over my chest. “She’s been gone for a while now. She’s probably thinking we’re doing a lot more than necking. I’m wearing my overalls dress too, so it’s really easy to—”

“Wren,” Holden snaps, and a grin touches my lips. He rolls his eyes when he sees it.

“I know, I know,” I say. “I’m so—”

“Vexing.”

---