Chapter 12 #2
“I did.” I smile sweetly. “Like a root canal.”
He laughs—entirely too easy. I latch onto it like a lifeline because this…
I can do. This back and forth with him is safe territory where nothing has to mean more than what it looks.
If we keep things light, then I don’t have to explain the way my heart stumbles or why his attention still affects me.
I can’t help it when my mouth mirrors his naturally warm smile.
The way he looks at me does that—past be damned.
Then it hits me…this is why he’s so late to get home every single day. Not that I’m stalking him, but living on his property and hearing the truck come in so late had me wondering.
Does Tucker work construction all day and the bar all night? Seven days a week?
Why does he work so much?
And why do I care?
Lily leans over the counter, and that’s when Tucker breaks our stare. “I’ll take a vodka cranberry, please. And whatever Scottie wants.”
“I’ll have…” I pause, looking at the shelf of liquor behind him. The moment I see the tequila my attention shifts back to Tucker. One arm drapes across the table, the other tucks under my chin to keep it casual. At least that’s what I tell myself. “Tequila sunrise.”
He shakes his head. “How did I know?”
“I knew you’d order something like that.” Lily laughs, oblivious to whatever is happening between Tucker and me right now. “This girl loves sweet things.”
“I know,” Tucker says matter-of-factly. “I’m willing to bet she has a package of Sour Patch Kids tucked in her bag right now, and a second package to discard the yellow and green ones.”
My lips part and I blink, unable to comprehend how he already assumes I have my all-time favorite snack and that I pick out the two colors I can’t stand. He says it so casually, like it’s no big deal.
Except now I’m the one spiraling, because if he remembers something as small as that from the one time I did it in front of him, when I didn’t even think he watched me do it, what else does he remember?
“How do you know I discard those colors?” I ask.
Tucker huffs in amusement as he makes both of our drinks. “I’m very observant.”
A little too observant.
He passes Lily her drink first and then moves effortlessly around the bar to make mine.
Poppy steps up to the bar on the opposite side of her and says something to Lily along the lines of Griffin and Blair not coming, but I barely register what they’re saying because, again, I can’t fucking stop watching Tucker.
God, what is wrong with me?
When he’s done mixing my drink, he takes an orange slice and places it on the rim. When I reach for it, our fingers brush, and my pulse jumps. My eyes snap to his, and neither of us move. Somehow, even with the music and chatter around us, the air between us feels static.
“One, I Have My Life Together. On the house.”
This is the second time he brought up the memory of that night.
I tried so hard before coming here to file it away, but he keeps tugging it back into focus with a memory disguised as a joke. I remind myself it doesn’t mean anything, however, the way my heart rate is spiking indicates otherwise.
I arch an eyebrow, ignoring it. “Are you trying to get me drunk so I forget how much you annoy me?”
He smiles. That smile again. The one that needs a warning label. “You make it really hard to remember why I’m supposed to be keeping my distance outside of our…arrangement.”
I take a long sip of my drink, swallowing it down. “Who says you’re supposed to?”
He tilts his head to the side, eyes flicking down to my lips and back up again. I can’t breathe all of a sudden. I can’t think from one simple look on his face.
“You did, remember?” He winks.
Ugh, this man is infuriating.
And infuriating looks really, really good under these lights.
I try to look anywhere but at him, but the truth is written in every heartbeat.
I think…no, I know I was mad because he didn’t stay.
For one night, he saw past the performance and still chose to leave.
And maybe that’s the bruise that hasn’t healed.
The part that always comes back to not feeling like enough.
Tucker might not even realize it yet, but he’s the first person to look at me like I’m not pretending.
When I don’t answer, he clears his throat. “I didn’t think you were the going out type.”
“Lily is very persuasive. Besides, when she said karaoke night, I couldn’t miss the small town chaos.”
“If it involves Nan, it’s most definitely chaos.”
“Not so fast,” Nan interrupts, showing up out of nowhere, forcing me to turn my head to face her. “I’m not the only one around here who brings the crazy wherever I go.”
Tucker raises an eyebrow. “You sure about that?”
She huffs in annoyance and crosses her arms. “Tucker, you live and breathe chaos.”
“I guess that is kind of my specialty, huh?”
I laugh. “You? But you’re all about control, Mr. Blueprint.”
He raises an eyebrow. “And you’re not?”
Well, he’s got me there.
I don’t even bother trying to deny it because control over this project is the only thing that’s ever been mine.
When you grow up with a mom like mine who tried like hell to choreograph every step I took and every choice I made, it’s what you do.
So when it comes to this show, I’m holding it tight.
Maybe even a little too tight, but at least I know it’s mine.
When I don’t answer, Tucker tends to another guest at the bar who needs to order a drink. I take another sip of my drink, but when I turn my head to the side, Nan is still standing there with her eyes on me.
“There’s something there,” she finally says.
“Huh?”
“You can’t fool me, girl.” She grins. “I now see exactly what those little producers were talking about with the chemistry. It’s…electrifying!” She emphasizes with her whole body like she’s part of Grease the musical and ready to break out in song. “Oh, I should sing that one tonight.”
“I don’t know what you see, but that’s not it.”
She stands from the stool. “Like I said, you can’t fool me. Besides, I see the way he looks at you.”
I open my mouth to ask more, but the song someone was singing ends. “Hold that thought,” Nan says and she walks away.
I’m still looking where she was standing, when a man who was sitting on the opposite side of her moves one stool over to get closer to me.
“Hey there.” He flashes me a grin. “You from out of town?”
I smile politely. “Something like that.”
“Then you’re new. That means I get to buy you a drink.”
Before I could answer, Tucker’s voice cuts in, sharp and low. “She’s good.”
The man snaps his head to Tucker, narrowing his eyes in annoyance. “I didn’t ask you. I asked her.”
“Still answering, Jeffy,” Tucker says smoothly.
There it is, the edge under all of that confident charm he always has. The protectiveness he’d never admit to makes my chest feel tight, while also sending butterflies right to my stomach.
The man mutters something under his breath, and I watch as he walks away without another word.
When I turn back to Tucker, I arch a brow. “Jealousy doesn’t suit you.”
“I wasn’t jealous,” he says, leaning closer as his voice drops lower. “Just didn’t like his face.”
I shouldn’t do it, but I can’t help the laugh that escapes me.
He’s got that grin plastered on his face again.
The one that could sell trouble in bulk.
It’s ridiculous how easy it is for him to pull off.
Tucker knows what it does to me, no question about it.
My pulse trips, and I tell myself it’s the few sips of tequila, and not him.
It’s definitely the tequila.
Taking another sip, I don’t take my eyes off him as I place my glass back on the bar top.
“You’ve got a dangerous smile, Tucker Daniels.”
“You think my smile is dangerous, Scottie?” He leans in even closer, if that’s even possible. “Good thing my contract only covers what happens on camera.”