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Like I’d been a part of it.
Important.
Seen.
There I was, letting in foolish ideas again.
Ezra was suddenly there, and his heat flamed up my side. He had his hand near the small of my back again, hovering the way it’d been that first night, like he wasn’t going to make the same mistake of touching me the way he had on the dance floor.
Too bad I could feel the outline of his hand tattooed on my backside, anyway.
“Let me take you home,” he rumbled near my ear.
“That’s not necessary. Ryder and Dakota are supposed to give me a ride.”
Except they didn’t look ready to leave at all when I broke through the crush and made it to our table. They were wrapped up in each other, kissing and whispering things to each other, oblivious to the rest of the world.
“Crap,” I mumbled.
“Come on. I’m taking you home,” Ezra said.
“That’s not—”
“I said, I’ll take you home.” It came out hard that time, the man cutting me off as he dug into his wallet and tossed a bunch of twenties onto the table.
I scowled, about to argue, except the words faltered when Ryder broke away from the kiss to send Ezra a grin. It didn’t deter Dakota. She simply kissed down the side of his neck.
“It looks like you made good use of your feet,” Ryder told him, smirking between us.
I didn’t have time to ask what that weird statement meant before Ezra grunted. “I’m taking Savannah home.”
That snapped Dakota’s head up. “Are you okay with that, Snuggle Muggle? We can head out and drop you off if you’d prefer.”
Somewhere through the night I’d earned a new nickname. Even in my buzzed state, I was sure I should refuse the way it made me feel gooey inside.
The way I was falling.
Falling for these people.
“No, that’s fine. I’m actually going to grab an Uber.”
The last thing my rioting body could handle right then was having to be stuffed into Ryder’s car with the two of them. I would likely implode.
“You absolutely are not. I said I was taking you home,” Ezra cut in.
“And I said I didn’t need your help.”
“Fine. Take an Uber. I’ll just follow to make sure you get there okay.”
My mouth dropped open on a heave of disbelief. “And here I thought you were working on this whole overbearing bit?”
“Not tonight, sweetheart.” His breath whisked down the side of my neck as he leaned in close to utter it.
Ryder chuckled like he was enjoying our volleying too much.
Ezra pointed at him. “Shut it.”
Ryder laughed harder. “I didn’t need to say a word. You said it all yourself.”
What the hell were they even talking about?
Ezra ignored him and took me by the elbow. “Let’s go.”
I grabbed my little purse and slung the strap over my shoulder. “Fine. You can give me a ride home if it will make you happy.”
“Very.”
My belly tipped at the way he said it. There I went again. Slipping.
Dakota still had both her arms wrapped around Ryder’s neck as she grinned in some kind of glee. “It was so fun hanging out with you, Savannah. I’m really glad you came. Call me tomorrow if you need to talk.”
Her offer almost stopped me in my tracks. So kind. So thoughtful. But it was the innuendo hidden at the bottom of it that basically had me running. I wound back through the throng, unsurprised that Ezra tracked me the whole way, the man a step behind but clearly still the one commanding the crowd.
As if the weight of his presence carved us a clear path. People kept glancing our way, most of them friendly, though there were unquestionably a few who were speculative of the town Sheriff.
Ezra stepped closer as we got to the door, and he reached out to open it, his other hand low on my back again.
Barely touching.
Burning me through.
Lurching at the contact, I gasped for the cool air that hit my flesh as we stepped out of the bar, thankful for the reprieve, the almost cold night nipping at my skin. It sent a scatter of chills racing far and wide, and Ezra only stepped closer to shield me from the dipping temperature.
“You should have a jacket.”
“I told you that you don’t need to worry about me, Ezra.” The words barely hit the air around the clot of confusion that weighed a thousand pounds on my chest, and I increased my pace like I could outrun everything that he was.
In my haste, I stepped on a larger loose rock in the dirt lot, and my ankle twisted to the side.
Yelping, I nearly toppled all the way over as pain splintered up my left leg.
Then I was gasping for an entirely different reason when I was suddenly off my feet. Completely in Ezra’s arms. It took me a couple of shocked, blissful seconds to come to my senses. “What the heck do you think you’re doing? I can walk.”
