10. Rosie
Chapter 10
Rosie
I should have known this day was cursed and immediately gone back to bed or planted my ass on the front porch to watch the new neighbors unload their truck. It would have been a much better use of my time.
Instead, I’m hiding in the bookshelves at the tea-and-sandwich shop across from Bambi’s. Thank the gods this place doubles as a community library, or I would be screwed.
The owner, Tanzy, calls my name again, no doubt wondering where I ran off to. I try to spontaneously develop telepathic powers so I can tell her to stop saying my name so damn loudly. It doesn’t work. She calls out, “Rosie B!” a third time, and Dane freaking Daniels looks around the room curiously.
I would recognize that alpha anywhere. I’m sure of it. But what I really want to know is what the fuck Dane Daniels is doing in Tanzy’s tea shop in the middle of downtown Knotty Pines on a Friday afternoon. Last I heard, the man had traded in his jersey for a coaching hat and was busy winning college football titles far, far away from here. I have no idea why he’s standing in my part of town, but I blame the invitation. It’s a classic case of high school spreading its cooties all over the place.
I may be in my own version of tactical gear, but that isn’t enough of a barrier for the alpha at the top of my “never want to see again” list.Whether he’s a figment of my childhood trauma come to life or he’s actually here doesn’t matter. Just his name brings back a rush of embarrassing memories. He belongs firmly in the past, and I plan to hide right here until I make sure of it.
That settles it—I’m taking the afternoon off. I can check in on Grandma and hide in the safety of the house without worrying about running into any more reanimated ghosts.Today has been weird enough.
Peering over the edge of the books to assess the situation tells me that Dane Daniels is even hotter than he was at eighteen— if that’s even possible . He’s always been classically handsome and a little buttoned up, but a decade has refined that into something devastating. With a strong jaw shaded by dark scruff, sharp cheekbones, and expertly styled dark hair, he looks exactly like a former college football star.
I watch, both horrified and mesmerized, as Dane takes a final look around the cafe before picking up a takeout order at the register and heading out the front door.
Waiting another minute for the coast to clear, I check that Tanzy and her staff are busy before I sneak around the shelves and duck into the hallway to pretend I’m coming from the bathroom. I’m committed to the lie now. I’d rather her think it was a bathroom emergency than know I was hiding from some stupid guy I didn’t even know in high school.
I was just some girl who watched his every move and pretended like I was ever a part of that world. Hiding from Dane Daniels is better than facing the pity I’d see in his eyes. It’s bad enough remembering it. I’m not that girl anymore, even if I did hide in sheer panic at the sight of him, and I hate the reminder that I was ever so vulnerable.
Tanzy steps up to the counter when she sees me emerge from the hallway, eyeing me with worry. “You okay?”
“Period problems.” I sigh, trying to sell the lie. I’m sure I look constipated and on the verge of tears, so it’s not far off.
“Ugh, the worst,” she says as she adds a tea sachet to my takeout order. “The tea will help.”
Well, shit, now I’m the absolute worst human who ever lived. Tanzy is giving me herbal tea for period cramps I’m not even having.
The words fall out of my mouth without being stopped by my internal filter. “It’s not my period. I hid from Dane Daniels.”
I don’t know Tanzy beyond the fact that the woman has been making me sandwiches at least once a week for years. I mean, we talk but not talk , and I just blurted out that I’m a lying liar. Why? Why am I like this?
The older beta’s mouth drops, and a laugh slips out, almost like a surprised hiccup. “Well, honey, I figured as much when I saw you sneaking off to the bathroom after he left.” She pats my hand. “The tea will still help, and your secret is safe with me.”
“Thank you, Tanzy,” I try to say, but it sounds like a squeak. My cheeks are on fire as I grab the bag and my drink as quickly as possible and race toward the door.
I dart across the street, paying zero attention to traffic laws, and weave through the row of parked cars. I’m almost to the sidewalk outside our shop and in the clear when I realize Dane Daniels is looking right at me from inside a truck parked on the curb.
He eyes me as though he can’t figure me out, so I do the only sane thing left—I slip into the shop and lock the door.