Chapter 19 #2
We walk away without another glance. The moment we are out of earshot, Marissa laughs, proclaiming, “I wish I had eyes in the back of my head to see the daggers she’s throwing my way.”
“I promise you she’s not throwing daggers at either of us,” I assure her, even though I’m keeping my sights ahead of us, looking at where they sat the rest of our group.
“Oh, sweet, sweet Hunter. You really don’t know women, do you?” Marissa pats my forearm.
“I know women plenty. You just don’t know that woman well. That’s all.”
“Let me tell you one thing. I might not date men, but I can guarantee you one thing, you know nothing about women. You’re absolutely clueless about women, my dear fake date. That woman might be dating that snoozefest, but she’s only got eyes for you. It’s completely obvious.”
I try to keep myself from faltering when she spills this information my way, but it’s hard to focus on anything else. We find our group quickly. The moment I spot River and Clay, I can already tell they’re arguing about something, while Malloy is probably placing a bet with Kennedy.
I move out of the way in order for Marissa to make her way into the booth, but when I do, I sneak a peek back toward Indiana’s table. I catch her gaze still honed in on me, eyes laser-focused on where my hand is touching Marissa’s back.
I can’t help the little smirk I throw in her direction, knowing it will make her blood boil.
I don’t know why I’m taunting her in this way.
She doesn’t need more stress in her life, especially after everything I’ve already put her through.
But for some reason, we’re at this crossroads and I’m wanting to see how far I can push her to see if we might have a chance together or if we’re simply beyond repair.
“I think you two should consider getting Ella a pet. She’d love having a dog. Have you seen the way her face lights up when she sees Lola?” River says as our plates are cleared.
“Yes, we’ve seen how animated she is, but I think we’ve got our hands full with her right now, Riv,” Abby says, looking over at Clay.
I watch as River pulls out his phone and starts scrolling through his countless photos of his niece and dog. He’s not wrong. Ella is all smiles when it comes to River and Kennedy’s dog, but I can see why Clay and Abby are hesitant to add to their family right now.
I have only heard how things weren’t all butterflies and rainbows for them prior to Ella’s arrival.
Apparently conceiving Ella was a hardship and had contributed to Clay and Abby’s divorce before bringing them back together.
Luckily, thanks to a little scheming on Marissa’s part—something Malloy got roped into—it all worked out in the end.
I sit back and watch the exchange between the brothers, knowing it will likely go full-circle as we settle the bill.
I look around the restaurant, trying to keep my gaze from finding Indiana’s table yet again.
Throughout our entire meal, I was constantly wanting to look over, but tried to refrain to keep myself from coming off like a creep.
“You’re looking desperate. She’s still there and she’s looking over here plenty. Don’t worry. She’s the one more curious about us,” Marissa says, as if she’s reading my mind.
I sigh, this thing with Indy eating at me.
I rub at the back of my neck, irritated and wishing I could talk to her about everything that plagued me years ago.
She seems to want to walk away from us, although the way she stared at Marissa’s hand touching my skin, it wasn’t like she wasn’t disturbed by that connection.
We settle the bill when the server makes her way over, then I excuse myself to the restroom. I’m restless, the unease not only from tonight’s encounter, but from the last couple weeks starting to mount, starting to weigh on me.
I’m about to open the door to the bathroom when I feel a hand settle on my forearm. I look back to see Indiana’s gaze on me.
“How long have you been together?” Her expression is hard to read, but I can’t help and assume she’s jealous.
I turn toward her and cross my arms over my chest. “Indy, you should get back to your boyfriend.”
“I deserve to know.” Her lips are in a hard line. She’s so stubborn, but this side to her is still so new to me. She’s lost so much of her softness from before.
“Do you?” I’m being a complete asshole to her now. I’m annoyed I had to steal glances of her at a table with another man when all I wanted to do was pull her away and put my lips on her.
She stands straighter and I can tell she’s getting angry. “Fine, don’t tell me.” She goes to walk away, but I grab her hand.
I pull her back up against my chest and bring my lips to the shell of her ear.
“Tell me Indy, why do you want to know so badly? All you’ve wanted to do since reconnecting with me is find a way to break our tie.
Now you want to know what Marissa and I have together?
What gives? If I was a betting man, I’d say that you’re jealous. ”
She scoffs. “You wish.”
I can see her breath quicken and I can only imagine her heart is beating at a faster pace. If only I could bring my hand up against her throat to feel her heartbeat on my palm to confirm it.
I continue speaking against her ear. “It’s too bad, Indy, because your boyfriend is a bit of a snooze. Can he see into your soul like I do?”
Her intake of breath is audible, but she pushes away from me right then.
“Maybe you knew me like that once upon a time. But those days are long gone, Tyler.” She’s shut down now, and I won’t get anywhere with her tonight.
My words were meant to take her back to our last night together, but I don’t regret them. She shifts herself far enough away from me so there’s a few feet of distance between us. We simply stand and stare at one another.
Someone walks down the dark hallway, breaking the trance between us.
“I’m heading back to my table. I’ll reach out to get something set up. This time, we should really get things finalized. We can’t keep putting this off.” She looks at me until I finally nod in acknowledgement.
I watch her walk off and once again, it feels like a piece of me is being carried off with her. Why haven’t I learned my lesson when it comes to Indiana Ranton?