Chapter Twelve #3
“I’m Halle.” Halle speaks up a moment later.
He turns his gaze to hers, and I don’t like that he stares at her a beat too long with a smile pulling at his lips. She doesn’t hold her hand out to shake, probably because she noticed his obvious discomfort with shaking mine, but of fucking course, he extends his hand toward her.
“It’s nice to meet you. ” His voice is deep and rugged, and I hate that it bothers me that he’s objectively good looking.
His hair is slicked back and styled neatly in a low bun, and the need to stake my claim over Saint is making me feel a little unhinged if he doesn’t let go of her hand right the fuck now.
She pulls away. “Likewise,” she says before looking up at me immediately. “We should get a drink.”
“The ginger pear old-fashioned is delicious if you’re into whiskey,” Dylan suggests. Who asked you?
“I don’t drink a ton of whiskey, but maybe I’ll try it,” Saint says before turning to walk away. I fall into step with her, grateful that he didn’t try to tag along.
“He’s weird,” I say once we’re out of earshot.
“And what the fuck was with Mike’s comment?” Saint asks. We aren’t looking at each other as we continue to make our way toward the bar, but I already know the annoyed expression she’s got on her face, complete with pursed lips and pinched eyebrows.
“You noticed that too?”
“You probably went on to make more pragmatic decisions,” she imitates. “Fuck off. I’m already ready to go,” she says as we get in the short line for the bar. “I can only imagine what your mom has told him about us.”
“Maybe he didn’t mean it the way we’re taking it?” I don’t know what other way he could mean, but I also know Saint knew how to go from zero to one hundred when it came to people’s judgment.
I’m about to attempt to change the subject when a voice cuts through our conversation to stand next to us in line.
“There’s the dynamic duo.” I look over to see Brant smiling with a drink in his hand.
He looks about the same, with more grown-out hair and a dusting of stubble along his jaw.
He has significantly more muscle than he did in high school, which makes me wonder what he does for a living or if he just spends every day in the gym.
“Hi, Brant,” Saint says with a smile, and although I know she’s just being polite, I’m irritated, remembering the feelings he definitely had for her when we were growing up.
“Halle St. John, I swear you get more beautiful every time I see you.” He smiles, and I push down the growl moving up my throat. “Hey, Sebastian,” he says with barely a nod in my direction before turning back to Saint.
“It’s good to see you. What have you been up to?” she asks.
“Well, I live in Nashville now, and I’m a tax attorney, and yes, it’s absolutely as boring as that sounds.
” He chuckles, and I can’t believe this joker is actually flirting with Saint in front of me.
I know he knows by now that she is fucking off-limits.
Even if he doesn’t think we are still together, he has to know that we were at one time.
“I actually just came home for this. I hoped you’d be here and thought maybe we could go out for a drink? ”
“We’re drinking here.” I chuckle as we move to the front of the line. “What are you thinking, Saint?” I’m glad that Brant approached us on my side, allowing me to be between them and for me to turn my back to him slightly while I talk to her.
“A glass of the Cabernet Sauvignon, please.” She nods toward the bartender, and I order the same. I open our circle a little bit more after we’ve placed our orders.
“Yeah, but I was thinking after this? Sebastian, you can… come if you want?” he says in that way that tells me he absolutely does not want that, but there’s no way Saint is going anywhere alone with him.
“Maybe,” I say. “Depends on what Saint wants to do.”
“We’ll see. I’m a little tired from classes all week and then traveling,” she answers as I hand her the glass of wine.
Brant’s eyes flick to mine in question or maybe judgment. “Well, let me know. It was good to see you both.”
“Good to see you too!” she says as he walks away before letting her drink hover beneath her lips. “Can you relax? I am not interested in Brant. I never have been.”
“He’s clearly still interested in you and still a fuckin’ dork,” I grumble as we move away from the bar and toward a private table. I know it’s only a matter of time before more of my family realizes I’m here, and I won’t have a second alone with Saint.
She lets out a loud laugh before putting a hand over her mouth and setting her glass down. “A dork? That’s what you called him when we were younger.”
“It still stands.” My eyes flit to hers, and I give her a hard look. “You are not getting a drink with him without me,” I say, and she folds her arms over her chest and responds with a look full of sass.
“I’m sorry, are you telling me what to do?”
I glare at her because she'd better be fucking with me. “Do not push me, Saint.”
“I’m not saying I would, but I don’t like that you’re telling me that I can’t.” She cocks her head to the side and sinks her teeth into her bottom lip in a way that my dick responds to instantly.
“Oh? Like when Quinn asked about me getting together when we were back in Seattle? You didn’t answer her for me?”
Saint opens her mouth before closing it. Uh-huh. That’s what I thought. “Fair,” she mumbles out of the side of her mouth.
“I speak for you just like you speak for me when the moment calls for it. This isn’t new, Halle,” I say before taking a healthy sip of my wine, and I hope she takes my use of her first name as I am not fucking around. Not that I’ve ever been fucking around when it came to Saint, ever.
“Fine. Just… we said we weren’t saying anything yet. Be cool.”