Chapter Ten #2
“You look like you need a drink.” She scoots right next to me. My heart starts pounding in my chest at the contact. It’s fucking criminal, the way she makes me feel.
Her red nose and rosy cheeks tells me she was outside for far too long. “Did you walk here?” I ask.
A series of alternate solutions run through my head. I can order her a car. Hell, I’ll buy her a fucking car. I’ll pick her up. Instead, she chooses to walk and cause every instinct in me to fire off because of it.
She nibbles the inside of her lip, then tongues the spot she bit. “That’s none of your concern. It looks like drinks are taken care of.” She nods towards the love triangle standing at the bar. “And please, someone has to tell me the story on that.”
It is my concern when it’s you, Sunny.
I sigh and laugh, rubbing my face because this woman will be the death of my peace.
“Well,” I start. “I’m sure there is much more to the story. I know Sam has hooked up with both of them. I really don’t want to know the details of ‘hooked up’, but I do know that Anthony has basically been in love with her since we were kids.”
Sunny watches the triangle at the bar. “And Cole?” she asks, now looking at me. I like that she cares about my family. Our family.
“Cole is like that off limits thing. You know Sam, when you tell her she can’t do something, it only makes her want to do it more.”
Cole's attention is very tentatively directed to the bar, while Sam’s is on Cole, and Anthony’s is on Sam. I let out a humorless laugh.
Sunny nods as her eyes flick back and forth between me and the bar. “I can relate to that. Like you have something to prove.”
“Is that why you walk alone at night? Because I asked you not to?”
“Makes sense you’re next in line to own an investment company, because you sure are pretty fucking invested in me.” She arches a brow.
I lick my lips and smile. “A girl with a fire who’s not afraid to burn anyone,” I lean into her. “Kinda makes my dick hard.”
Her mouth falls open and before she can answer, Macey seats herself into the booth next to Sunny. “Hey, Sunny!” She slings an arm around her.
My chuckle doesn’t go past her, considering she throws a scowl over her shoulder as she hugs Macey back. I like how comfortable our family is with her, despite how little time they’ve known her. It takes a lot for a person to make their way here, but it didn’t take much with her.
It’s easy to love Sunny.
“So, I did some flirting to make sure we have the pool table for the night.” Macey smiles victoriously.
“So that explains the disappearance,” I say.
I tap my fingers on the table, trying to stop myself from checking Diane's location again and fail miserably. She’s still there. I look up and see Sunny watching me.
The love triangle comes back with beers for everyone, passing them around.
She scoots in closer to me to let everyone else in, and my fucking heart does a somersault inside my chest feeling her so close.
Our thighs press up against one another.
Her face is so close to mine that I can take in all the small details that make up the girl I’m quickly falling for.
The seventeen freckles that cover her nose, the different curls that cascade around her head. The way her smile is forced and doesn’t reach her lips, only fueling my desire to get a genuine one from her.
As the beers are being passed around, she lays a hand over mine, the one that rests on my phone. “Put it away. Be in the moment,” she whispers.
I look at her, bending to her will and immediately put it in my pocket.
I’ll do anything for you, Sunny.
SUNNY
All it took was two rounds of beers and time spent with his family for the Tyler I know to reemerge.
I know now why he loves these small moments with his family. Here, with them, he doesn’t have to be the protector and problem solver. He can simply just be Tyler.
A smile threatens my lips, because he hasn’t touched his phone since I asked him to put it away.
While Macey and Tyler chat, my attention is pulled towards Sam, Anthony and Cole at the pool table.
Sam stands with a pool stick parallel to her.
Her long brown hair runs down her back as she blinks her sparkling amber eyes at Cole.
Despite the fact Anthony is right next to her with an arm wrapped around her and resting on the pool table.
What happened between you two?
Cole doesn’t pay mind to either as he shoots his shot on a striped ball and misses. On cue, Sam steps out of Anthony’s orbit and flips her hair with a mischievous glint in her eye. She bends over in front of Cole even though his eyes are everywhere else.
“Oh god,” I hear Macey groan, watching the love triangle before us. “Let me go intervene.” She scoots out of the booth.
Glancing towards Tyler, I see him sitting with his broad shoulders slumped. There's a boyish grin on his face as he rubs his hands on his jean clad thighs. For someone with such a smart mouth earlier, he looks almost…coy now.
“What?” I face him.
The right corner of his lips tug.
I can’t like you, Tyler.
“Nothing.” He takes another sip of his beer.
“Spit it out, Caddell,” I snap back.
“Don’t use that name.”
“Right.” I forgot. He hates using his family name because of the man who sired it to him. I blame that one on the beer.
Here, with his family, he is simply Tyler. A boyish grin, softer features and greens that seem to sparkle. Outside of this, he is Caddell. Sharp features, lethal calm and suits.
I wonder how often he gets to be Tyler, and how often he is punished for it.
“Dance with me.” Not a question, but a statement.
“What?” I blink at his outstretched hand. It isn’t uncommon for people to dance at Martha’s. But we are not those people.
He arches a brow. “What?”
“How many beers have you had?” I laugh. Before I can protest, he is pulling me out of the booth and dragging me to the dance floor.
The dress shirt he originally wore is long gone. Now he only wears the black undershirt, exposing all the tragically beautiful scars that lace the muscles of his arms.
One spin has me stumbling on my feet and nose diving into his chest. While I’d normally be embarrassed, the way it makes him laugh has me wanting to do it again and again. It’s genuine and light, like stars poking from the darkness that surrounds him.
I like that I make you laugh.
“I wish I could say this is because of the alcohol, but this would happen even if I was sober,” I admit. His hand still grips my hip while the other keeps his fingers threaded through mine.
Our laughter subsides, but our gazes hold. While his breathing is so calm, I’ve almost forgotten how to.
“Sunny…” he whispers.
Then my phone rings.
“Have some decency. She can purr all she wants, but I at least expect dinner first.” He smirks.
I slap his chest and he places his hand over mine, keeping it there, feeling his calm heartbeat. I don’t pull away, and use my free hand to look at the caller.
“It’s my parents,” I say, looking back up at him.
Those greens don’t leave my face, and I look away because I’m scared about what I see forming in them. What it does to me. How it makes me feel that fire wanting to reignite all over again.
Definitely the alcohol.
“Hey mom,” I answer.
“Hey, honey,” She greets me. The tone in her voice has a thickness forming in my throat.
“What’s wrong?” I plug my other ear to hear her over the music.
Tyler tilts his head, his emerald eyes darken. Once a boyish human, turned into a cold predator. Just like that, he went from Tyler to Caddell in an instant.
“Do you have a free minute to talk? And a safe place to do it?” My father asks.
“Sure.” I start walking outside, leaving Tyler alone on the dance floor. “Sorry,” I mouth the words to him as I step into the cold October night.
“Okay, I’m in a quiet place now. Are you guys alright?” I scrape my shoe against the faded paint lines that divide the parking spots. I squeeze the phone tighter, trying to calm my trembling hands.
“We have an update on Ryan.”