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Better.
Beyond anything I’d ever hoped to imagine existed.
I didn’t want to be the fool who fell for it, but the expression on her face was making it difficult to keep up the doubt.
“You know I am, except I’m afraid I’m going to blur into your shadow. You look crazy hot,” I called out as I approached.
She flagrantly rolled her eyes. “Are you kidding me? Tell me hotels still have mirrors because if you saw what you look like walking up the sidewalk right now… I’m afraid this poor town is about to catch fire.”
I did feel amazing right then. Sexy. As powerful as the car as I slipped through the small opening into the backseat. I just worried who I thought I was dressing for.
Ryder was in the driver’s seat, his tatted hand gripping the gear handle. He glanced back with a smirk on his face. “You look like you’re out to break a few hearts tonight, Savannah Ward.”
I laughed. “Oh, I might be out for one or two.”
Ryder pulled from the curb, and he tossed me a look through the rearview mirror as we were hitting the street. “Just go easy on the soft ones, yeah?”
My stomach twisted into a tight knot. There was no doubt he was referring to Ezra.
Did that mean he was going to be there?
Anticipation spiked.
I did my best to cram it back down where it belonged.
Things were far too complicated in both our lives for us to spend too much time together.
Baggage strewn that neither of us had any control over.
Hurt.
Grief.
Fear.
I mean, the man had lost his wife, for God’s sake. Which, hello, it didn’t matter anyway since I’d sworn off men.
Absolutely no thank you.
I was done with relationships and attachments.
Better for us to keep our distance before it became the latter.
Because I couldn’t shake the words of his last text that had rang like an oath.
I’m right here.
And he might be here right now, but no one ever stayed.
“Soft ones?” I went for light. Carelessness. “I haven’t run into any of those yet. Apparently, you breed giants around here.”
“Ha, these boys around here might look tough, but they’re as sweet as can be.” Dakota gave an affectionate shove to Ryder’s shoulder.
He reached over and squeezed the inside of her thigh, and his voice dropped with the warning. “I’ll show you nice.”
“I’m going to hold you to that,” she whispered.
Ryder stopped at one of the only lights in town and took the opportunity to bury his face in her neck. I couldn’t tell if Dakota was moaning or giggling.
“Would you like me to get out of the car and walk the rest of the way?” I coughed through the tease. “You two clearly need some privacy.”
Ryder pulled back, something sly riding on his face. “You might need to unless you’re in the business of watching.”
Dakota was still giggling when she looked back at me. “Ignore him. The poor baby can go without for a few hours.”
Ryder grunted his disagreement.
And I wondered for the first time in years if two people might actually be fated for each other. If they might belong. Because I honestly couldn’t imagine these two without the other.
It took us all of ten minutes to pull into a rambling gravel parking lot packed full of trucks and cars. An enormous building that resembled a barn sat at the far back, and it was lit in rope lights that came off the sides, which I assumed were outdoor patios.
Up near the roof, a big, red sign flashed Mack’s.
Ryder found an open spot at the back, and he was around the car and helping Dakota out by the time she even got her door open. Dakota pushed the seat up for me so I could climb out and offered me a hand. I did my best to keep from flashing the whole town as I got out, and laughter rolled as I tried to angle just right because I was pretty sure poor Ryder was about to get an eyeful.
Dakota stepped more in front of me, blocking the direct view of my panties like the good friend she was. The whole time, she giggled out of control.
It felt good.
Laughing.
Laughing with a friend.
Dakota smiled at me like she’d known me my entire life and planned to know me for the rest of it, and my chest stretched so tight I thought I might come apart.
“I maybe should have taken this into consideration when I was deciding what to wear,” I said, trying to ignore the emotion that ran rampant.
“Absolutely not. You’re setting this town on fire tonight, remember? And that dress is perfectly flammable.”
I followed them through the doors of the raucous bar. It was packed, bodies wall-to-wall. A dingy haze floated through the air, and the atmosphere was both thick and alive.
Country music blared from the speakers, compliments of the band that played from an elevated stage on the far side of the cavernous room. A dance floor took up the entire middle section, and it was just as jammed as the rest of the bar.
