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“Look, this could totally get worse,” Kru uttered, holding his smile back.
“How?”
His eyes flicked to the door, and the expression fell from his face. He just went blank.
Cadence twisted in her chair to follow his gaze, but she didn’t see anything of interest. It was crowded in here with a bunch of people laughing and talking. A few were shooting pool in the corner.
“You good?” she asked when she turned to find his expression just as blank, but now all the blood had rushed from his face. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”
He shook his head hard and looked back toward the door. “I’m just imagining things.”
“Hey,” she murmured, reaching across the table to squeeze his hand. “It’s okay. It’s crowded in here. Want to go outside?” The look on his face didn’t scare her. On the contrary, it made her protective of him. He seemed…vulnerable.
He looked to the door again, his dark brows drawn down in confusion. “It could get worse.”
“One minute!” the announcer called.
“Hey. Hey, look at me,” she told him, squeezing his hand. “Tonight is a good night. We’re going to finish the speed-dating, and then I’m going to challenge you to axe-throwing. I don’t know if you have realized this, but I’ve snuck in here two times since that first time I did it, and I’ve been practicing so I can beat you.”
His eyes cleared and drifted to her, and there was that smile again. It was faint, but it counted. “Have you really?”
“Yeah. I’m still C-team, but I get lucky every fifth throw or so. I’m coming for your title.”
He snorted and leaned back in his chair. “What title do you think I have?”
“Bad Axe Barfly,” she said, gesturing around them. “This is my bar now.”
“Oh, is it?”
“Mmm-hmm. I’ll share custody of the bar with you if you ask nicely.” This seemed to be working. He was distracted off whatever had set his animal on guard.
Before she could change her mind, she slid her ankles to his and squeezed one of his calves between hers.
She could see the exact moment the tension left his shoulders. As he lifted those lightened green eyes to hers and huffed a relieved sound, she couldn’t help her smile. Felt good to touch him.
“Did you hear her?” someone said. “The announcer said time.”
Cadence shook her head, confused, as she looked up at the man standing next to Kru, waiting for his seat to open up. The announcer had called time?
Kru looked just as confused as her. Holy shit. They’d lost track of time. The entire bar had melted away, and it was just her and Kru there for those few loaded moments.
Her heart was pounding so hard as he stood and moved back to the table with the woman looking longingly after Gunner.
The next two dates were eternal. She kept looking at Kru to make sure he was okay, but he seemed vacant and faraway. Time after time, his gaze drifted to the door.
It wasn’t until he stood to go to the third table away from her that her instincts kicked up huge. A dark-haired woman handed the woman who was sitting at that table a margarita, and told her low, “I’ll give you fifty bucks to let me have this table.”
Kru’s face as he watched the woman take that seat made her guts feel all scrambled.
It was horror, mixed with anger. He didn’t want to sit, she could tell.
“Give everyone a fair chance,” the announcer called over the megaphone. She was looking right at Kru.
He looked at Cadence, and his eyes were asking her something she couldn’t understand.
“Who is that?” she asked at normal volume. He would hear it. He was a saber-toothed tiger. He could hear a heartbeat from across the room.
“Cadence!” Lucia barked from across the room. “Let it be.”
