Chapter 30 Bailey
BAILEY
He was staring at me from across the bar.
Instead of watching all the other women prancing in front of him tonight, he only had eyes for me.
At one time, that would have made me feel really damn good, but after what he did, I was ready to stab him in the eye with the knife in my hand.
“Easy there, Tiger,” Cheyenne chuckled. “I know it seems like a good idea. But then you’re covered in blood and the police are hauling you off to jail, and the press gets a very bad picture of you looking like a modern-day Carrie…that’s just not a look you want to remember.”
“Why the hell is he here?” I snapped. “For the past two weeks, all he’s done is follow me around. And for what? Why is he looking at me?”
She swirled in her chair, sucking in a breath when she saw the same heated look I felt sliding over my skin, making me remember the way he touched me before he threw me away for another woman.
“Um…that would be the look in major need of a decking.”
Snorting in amusement, I went back to my dinner. “Well, he’s not gonna get it from me. That ship sailed long ago.”
“Not that long ago. I mean, if you’re having second thoughts—”
“Believe me, there is nothing he could do to change my mind. I can’t believe he has the nerve to show up here and look at me in that way. Who does he think he is?”
“Liam Parker,” she smirked. “And Liam Parker usually gets what he wants.”
“Not tonight. Not any night,” I snarled. “Asshole,” I muttered, sliding the knife through the steak rather aggressively.
“Okay,” she chuckled, snatching the knife from my grasp. “Let’s not take it out on good beef. You’re massacring an already dead animal.”
I slammed my fork down, pissed as hell that he was ruining my night. “I just don’t understand why he’s here! This is my domain,” I jabbed a finger at the table.
“Well, yes and no. I mean, it is his sister’s bar.
Maybe,” she said, twirling her own fork in the air.
“Maybe he’s glaring at you because you’re in his space.
Maybe that angry look isn’t at all about how much he wants to rip off your clothes, but instead, is about murdering you for daring to come into his bar. ”
I snorted in amusement at that. “Trust me, I know that look, and it has nothing to do with murdering me.”
“God, what I wouldn’t do for a few details to entertain me on the lonely nights.”
“That’s disgusting.”
Sighing, she took a drink. “Not if you had my social life at the moment. You know what we need?”
“For Archer to show up?”
“He’s already proven to not be interested in me, and sadly, none of the other men in town are appealing.”
“You’re too picky.”
“Says the woman who didn’t give away her V-card until just a few weeks ago.”
“Shh!”
“What? Like anyone in this bar cares?”
“You know they all do, and the last thing I need is any more gossip being spread about me. I’ve given them enough to last a lifetime.”
She grabbed her drink, taking a long sip as she eyed someone across the room. “Well, if you really want him to leave you alone, you could always get your revenge now.”
“And how would I do that?”
She nodded, and I followed her gaze, landing right on Archer.
“Seriously? You want me to hit on Archer? I thought you liked him!”
“Yes, but I’m the type of friend who would sacrifice a pleasurable night in the sack with him if it meant you got revenge on your ex, who very much deserves it.”
“I can’t take him home and sleep with him. That’s not me!”
“You mean that wasn’t you. There are a lot of things that have changed in the past few weeks, and I would say Liam has very little to do with any of your decisions anymore.”
My eyes drifted to the man in question, and then over to the brooding man in the corner, who hadn’t taken his eyes off me the whole night.
God, I wished I could just forget about him, erase him from my mind and move on with life.
At least then I wouldn’t have this constant ache in my chest that I was trying to ignore.
I wouldn’t have to pretend that I was completely fine when inside, I felt like I was shattered.
I’d been barely holding it together, ignoring every instinct to cry into my pillow at night, and the annoying thoughts that crept into my mind about running over to his house to fuck him just to get him out of my system.
But that wouldn’t actually make me feel better, no matter how much I wanted to spend one last night with him. No, my heart would truly shatter if I ever had the audacity to do something like that.
“Bailes, you can’t just pine away for the man across the room,” Cheyenne said sympathetically.
“I know you think you’re doing a great job of hiding how much he hurt you, but I see the look in your eyes.
I can feel how depressed you are every time you drift off when you think no one’s paying attention. You can’t hide that from me.”
I huffed out a laugh, trying to brush off her concern, but the desperate look in her eyes had me rethinking my actions.
“I just want to pretend it never happened,” I whispered. “If I could erase him from my mind, I would.”
“But you can’t. Not as long as you’re still holding onto hope that something might happen.”
“I’m not—” I started, jerking my head up to face her.
But as I looked into her eyes, I saw the truth of her words staring right back at me.
Had I been waiting around for him? Hoping he would come back to me and tell me it was all a mistake? I didn’t think I was that type of woman, but as I sat there and thought about it, I realized there was no moving on from Liam because I wouldn’t allow it.
Somewhere deep in the recesses of my brain, I must have convinced myself that he was somehow redeemable, but how could that be? He’d slept with another woman—thrown her in my face—all without the slightest care in the world.
And I’d set myself up for it. I dove in headfirst without checking to make sure my safety net was in place.
Downing my drink, I shoved back from the table and grabbed my purse.
“Where are you going?”
“To get over Liam in the only way I know how.”
A grin spread across her face. “I never thought I would say this, but go get that dick!”
Rolling my eyes, I sauntered in the direction of Liam. His eyes darkened as I approached, and his tongue darted out, wetting his lower lip.
But at the last second, I turned and headed across the bar to where Archer was caught up in a friendly game of pool with Remi, the deputy sheriff.
“Any room for me, boys?” I asked, jutting my hip out against the table.
Archer’s eyes instantly narrowed on the action, but it was Remi who looked like he was about to swallow his tongue.
“You can break,” Archer said, tossing over his cue.
I knew absolutely nothing about pool. I’d watched it enough, but never actually tried playing it. However, if there was one thing I had picked up from watching other ladies play, it was how to use pool to my advantage when trying to catch a man.
Walking over in front of Archer, I bit my lip. “Maybe you could teach me. I’m not sure I know how to hold the stick.”
The smirk that grew on his face didn’t surprise me at all. And while I felt a slight lift in my mood from his response, it was quickly drowned out when I turned to face the table and caught Liam watching me.
In a matter of seconds, Archer was behind me, his cock pressed against me as he showed me how to hold the cue in my hands. Hot breath skimmed over my flesh, heating me to the point of discomfort.
I was not this woman, and yet, I couldn’t let Liam win. He had shown me up the last time we were in this bar. He’d let another woman crawl into his lap and kiss him, then he took her home.
So, as much as I didn’t want to take Archer home with me, I played the game. I let him run his fingers along the length of my arm. I turned into him when he whispered in my ear, bringing our lips just scant inches from his.
And I let him grind his hard cock against my ass.
“What do you say we get out of here?” he whispered, brushing his thumb along my jawline.
Swallowing hard, I had a decision to make. I could go through with this and do my best to move on in some way from the man who still had me captivated, or I could back down and walk out with my head held high.
But if I walked out alone, I knew he would follow me, and I wasn’t ready for him to worm his way back into my bed. I never would be.
It was time to cut the cord and let Liam go.
“My place or yours?”
I set my purse on the counter as I walked into the hotel room he was renting. “It’s so homey,” I joked.
“I wasn’t planning on sticking around.”
I shifted uncomfortably, wondering if I had made the right choice to come back here with him. Now that I was standing in his room, I didn’t know if I could actually go through with it. I was not a seductress.
“Why are you here?” I asked, turning to face him. “You showed up out of nowhere, and I still don’t know why.”
Grinning, he leaned back against the door, shoving his hands in his pockets. “I came back to help a friend.”
“Yeah? What did the friend need help with?”
He shrugged casually, glancing away from me. “Getting rid of an annoyance.”
“And is that something you do often?”
His dark eyes slowly came back to meet mine, but I couldn’t read a single thing about this man. In high school, he had been the bad boy, and frankly, he didn’t look very different now.
“I do what’s necessary.”
Chills skated down my spine at his words, but I forced a smile on my face, even though his words made me want to flee the room.
“So, what is it you needed to get rid of?”
Shoving off the door, he walked over to the minibar and opened it, pulling out a bottle of rum. “Drink?”
“Straight up rum? I don’t think so.”
He pulled out a bottle of Sprite next. “We’ll make mixed drinks and call it a night.”
I couldn’t argue with that. I needed something to take the edge off. Walking through his door had been hard enough, but standing here and pretending I had any idea what I was actually going to do was near impossible.