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I swallowed hard, trying to find the right words since I was the one who’d asked her to have this little chat.
But before I could speak, she lunged at me, her eyes flashing.
“Seriously,Adam?” Paisley hissed, shoving me in the shoulder.
I stumbled back a step, caught off guard by her sudden anger.
“Why’d you bring me over here like we aren’t total strangers? If anyone notices we snuck away, they’re gonna have questions.”
I blinked at her, my mind reeling.
She’d been pretending not to know me all night?
I forced a smirk, shrugging my shoulders. “Don’t get all huffy. They’re all too busy singin’ ‘round the fire to notice us.”
She glared at me, her hands clenching into fists at her sides. “That isn’t the point, and you know it.”
“Then what is the point,Paisley?” I asked, my voice low and edged with frustration. “You’ve been actin’ like you don’t even know me all night, but you do. What’s the point of that?”
Paisley was silent for a long moment, and when I finally looked back at her, she was studying me with an unreadable expression. Her gaze lingered on my face, tracing the lines of my jaw, the curve of my mouth.
“You look good with a beard,” she said, and it seemed I wasn’t the only one caught off guard by that admission.
I ran a hand over my jaw, feeling the soft, short bristles against my palm. “Thanks. Started growin’ it the second I got out of the Marine Corps.”
She nodded, her eyes distant. “I figured as much.”
We stood there in silence, the tension thick between us. I wanted to reach out and touch her, to feel the warmth of her skin beneath my fingertips.
But I didn’t dare.
“When did you realize it was me?” I asked, my voice rough. “Tonight, I mean.”
She shrugged, looking away. “I’ve known since that night. Laney told me what happened inside while we were on the way to the station to bail out my brother.”
I winced at the mention of Tyler, guilt twisting in my gut. “How’s he doin’?”
“Like you care.”
The words stung, but I couldn’t blame her for doubting me. Not after everything that had happened.
“I do care. I’ve thought about you both more than a few times over the last two years.”
Something flickered in her eyes, a flash of vulnerability that was gone as quickly as it appeared. “I’ve thought about you too,” she admitted, her voice barely above a whisper. Then that fire was back in her eyes. “But you probably wouldn’t like the kinds of things I was thinkin’.”
I raised an eyebrow. So. Darn. Stubborn. “Oh, yeah? And what kinds of things might those be?”
She met my gaze, her green eyes smoldering with a heat that made my blood run hot. “All the things I imagined doin’ to you if I ever laid eyes on you again.”
My breath caught in my throat, but I wasn’t buying it. She was leading me right into a trap. I could play along, though. I stepped closer. “Darlin’, if what you imagined is anythin’ like the stuff I’ve thought about, I’d definitely like it.”
The tension between us was electric, crackling like a live wire. I couldn’t tell if I wanted to keep fighting with her or shut her up by kissing her senseless.
I stepped closer, my heart pounding as I backed her up against the ivy-covered trellis. She didn’t protest or push me away, just watched me with those captivating green eyes.
I trailed my fingers up her bare arm, relishing the softness of her skin. “What’re you thinkin’?”
A playful smile tugged at her lips. “I’m thinkin’ you better remove those fingers if you wanna keep ‘em.”
