Chapter Twenty-Two
What the fuck was Zane doing here?
Everything around me went blurry, like I’d forgotten to put my contacts in for the day.
The air felt less readily available than it had previously. I couldn’t fully process what my eyeballs were seeing, but I didn’t need to see it to know it was imperative that I turn back around.
My gaze connected with Maggie’s anguish-filled eyes as she waited for my reaction.
“What do I do?” The words had barely made it out before I had to choke down tears. My feet were already moving to the bathroom, but her arm stopped me before I could clear the crowd.
“Look at me,” she demanded, placing a firm grip on my shoulders. “You’re not going anywhere. This is your town, your bar, and you have way more right to be here than he does. Do not let that man come in here and scare you away. Not tonight. Not ever.”
“I don’t understand why he’s even here.” The image of Zane in the entryway burned into my brain, while I also tried to keep an eye on Stetson at the bar. The anxiety was coming from all directions. “He was supposed to move to Chicago and never step foot back in this town. My town.”
“I don’t know, and frankly, I couldn’t give a shit if I tried.
” She subtly motioned to Stetson. “Look at the situation you’re in right now—your blooming career, a man who is crazy about you, and all the other amazing things happening in your life.
You have nothing to hide from, least of all from Zane.
Instead of being ashamed of the past, be proud of the present. ”
I tried to let her words sink in, but I couldn’t help myself from wondering how we got here.
“Who is he with?” I asked.
Maggie shifted her upper body to discreetly get a better look. “He’s with a big group of people—John, his girlfriend, Matt, his wife…” she said. “Oh shit. Aren’t Patrick and Isabella getting married this weekend?”
Her gaze refocused on me.
“Oh my god. You’re right,” I confirmed. “I didn’t even think about the fact that he’d be invited to the wedding. I feel sick.”
“Don’t let him do that to you. Between your relationship and the wedding fiasco, that man has already taken up too much of your headspace. You have to ignore him. Hell, maybe he won’t even realize you’re here.”
I crossed my arms over my body, using their weight as a comfort tactic, my eyes overflowing with disdain. “You’re kidding, right?”
She didn’t have a chance to respond before both the guys had shifted their barstools to face us.
“Here you go, a whiskey and grenadine with ice.” Stetson handed over a cocktail glass, the maroon-colored liquid sloshing against the sides.
“Thank you,” I said, trying not to let my current predicament sour my tone.
His body pressed onto the bar as his knees spread wide, opening in my direction.
“Are you sure you’re good?” he asked. Of course he’d clocked my uneasiness.
“Yeah, I’m fine,” I said, digging deep to retrieve any trace of a smile I could stick to my face.
“She’s lying,” Maggie barged in for the second time tonight. “Her ex-fiancé just walked through the front door.”
If looks could kill, Maggie wouldn’t be with us anymore.
“What?” she asked, staring at me. “Anybody would be acting how you are if they were in your position.”
“What the hell is that guy doing back here? Didn’t he get too big for his britches and move to Chicago? I assumed we’d never see him again,” Booker said from his place behind Maggie.
“If only we could’ve been that lucky…” My voice was just loud enough for everyone in our group to hear.
“He’s here for a wedding. Patrick and Isabella are getting married this weekend, remember?” In this instance, I was grateful Maggie was the one talking.
While she filled the guys in, I watched as Stetson’s demeanor changed. No longer did he appear relaxed; now, he was sitting straight up, his legs pushed together as he sat on the very edge of the barstool.
His eyes lingered on the space behind me, but never on me.
And of course it was the first time I had been desperate for his attention, for an escape into the daze of his eyes.
“Howdy, ladies and gents!” Wilson’s voice echoed through the microphone and burst through the entire bar. “I just had a to take a moment to raise a glass to Patrick and Isabella. These two are getting hitched tomorrow!”
The entire crowd erupted. Glasses were raised, beer bottles clanked, and the energy in the room spiked. Well, for most.
I’d positioned myself so that I could see the stage, but not enough to allow anyone in the crowd to get a full view of me. I scanned the room, intently looking for that familiar silhouette I’d grown accustomed to for so many years.
If I knew where he was, he wouldn’t need to know I was even here.
There he was. Or rather there they were.
His tall lanky legs and short spikey blonde hair stood out amongst the sea of cowboy hats facing the stage. His gangly arm was laced around the lower half of an equally tall and lanky brunette.
This had to be a joke.
Not only had he come back to Quincey Falls, but he’d brought a girl too?
In the midst of my internal spiral, I uncovered a sliver of relief. Not that he was here, but that maybe since he’d brought a girl, it was more acceptable for me to have moved on too.
The newfound news helped, but the sinking feeling was alive and well, making it hard to be in the same room as him.
I moved to face the rest of the group. “I’m gonna run to the bathroom.”
“Want me to go with you?” Maggie asked, clearly fishing.
“No, I’m good.”
Thankfully she didn’t push any further. Instead, she turned back to Booker, dropping her arms down onto his shoulders and continuing their own conversation.
My feet shuffled around my barstool, but not before Stetson’s fingertips just barely danced across the back of my hand. His eyes caught mine, his creased forehead and tightened jaw looking for confirmation that I was okay.
I blinked up behind my eyelashes, doing my best to give him something but finding it nearly impossible with the amount of anxiety barreling around inside me.
I turned, keeping my head hung low—grateful I knew this bar like the back of my hand—and put one foot in front of the other until I rounded the corner and found a sense of shelter in the darkened bathroom hallway.
I forced my back to the brick wall, feeling the rough scratch snag my jacket.
“Holy shit” snuck right through my lips. The pounding music synced with the pounding in my chest. I hated that this bothered me so much, that I felt like I needed to shrink myself in Zane’s presence, especially because it was crystal clear that he was completely unfazed by all of it.
The echo of footsteps pulled my head from the wall, forcing me to find a hiding spot somewhere else. I reached for the bathroom door, attempting to bring it toward me, but it suddenly slammed shut.
My head swiveled, peering over my shoulder to see Stetson’s neon blue gaze staring back. His mouth descended to my ear, compelling my shoulders to shudder from the warmth on my skin.
“Be mine,” he breathed, the gravel in his throat humming through me.
I rotated my body around, backing up and bracing myself with the strength of the door. “But—” I started.
“Shh,” he demanded, lightly pinning my lips closed. “Even if it’s just for tonight.”
It was clear what he was doing, and the gesture itself was enough to convince me to agree to his terms, but I stayed silent for now, sending him an open invitation to persuade me further.
Even though the thought of being his would now be permanently stamped into my brain.
“I’ve seen the way you fidget that ruby ring on your finger when you’re around me in an attempt to distract yourself.
You feel it too. The constant pull that draws us together, the undeniable connection that we’ve both tried to ignore—you having been much more successful than me—but tonight, let’s just go with it. Let’s let it happen.”
He wasn’t wrong.
And the idea of having this man as mine, even if it was only for a few hours, had me light-headed. I know there was much that needed to be addressed, but right now, the only thing on my mind was him.
What did Maggie say? A future Scarlett problem.
I lifted my chin, finding his attention, his mouth only breaths away from mine.
“Tonight,” I whispered.
The word barely slipped through the opening of my mouth before I plunged into his, gripping his face with my palms. One of his hands supported my chin while the other explored my waist, drawing me in closer until our bodies were fused together.
Similar to before, the world went blurry, but this time, in a euphoric way. Music whirled around us like a storm, the neon lights giving the illusion that they were dancing too, and for the first time, I could enjoy this moment, revel in this kiss and not feel anything besides content.
I didn’t want it to end, but just as I feared, it had to.
Stetson drew back, taking my body with him. “Don’t ever let a man shrink you down. You’re too bright not to shine. Got it?”
His compliment ran through me like a bolt of lightning.
I nodded, finding it impossible to verbally respond.
“Let’s go,” he said, pulling me from the bathroom door as he clasped my hand in his.
“Oh. Well, isn’t this interesting…” Delilah’s voice halted both of us. “You’re gettin’ pretty good at keeping secrets, aren’t you Scarlett?”
My instinct was to release my hand from his, but as if he’d read my mind, he squeezed tighter and pulled my body behind his.
I didn’t know what got in to me, but within a second, I had put myself next to him, still using his hand as a source of confidence, preparing myself to give Delilah a piece of my mind.