“What do you mean? Where’s your damn head at tonight?”
Sawyer’s gaze shifts to where I’ve wedged myself by the food tables.
Cain’s eyes follow. “What the hell is going on between you two?”
Whatisgoing on?
Sawyer huffs, “Nothin’.” That’s a lie.
My stomach tumbles when I shut my eyes to replay the possessive way his fingers dug into my waist. I wanted him to kiss me. I waited for him to take the lead, but I was going to pull him closer, stroke the bronze bristles on his jaw, and kiss him back. I’ve never been with such a big, ruggedman. Even when Sawyer tries to be gentle, his enormous hands swallow me up. I want to know what his calloused fingers feel like when he does everything sordid—tugging off the buttons of my blouse, yanking down my underwear…
Heat blooms up my neck, and I desperately try to suck in more air as I snatch the tongs off the table to toss the salad. Again. It can’t hurt. Nobody will get any of the tomatoes if they’re all stuck on the bottom.
“What did that salad ever do to you?”
Luke leans his hip against the table. The pose is casual, but his smile is slightly tight. Oh great. Another person who’s uncomfortable around me.
“H-hi,” I manage, my voice catching.
“You okay?” His hand lifts, heading for my cheek. “You look a little—”
I jerk out of reach. “I’m fine!” I blurt it out, laughing awkwardly to cover my thoughts about Sawyer.
Luke’s eyebrow arches. “Els?”
Calm down. Everything you imagined is only in your head…
Squeezing my eyes shut, I block out the world and press my palms to my cheeks. I take a deep breath in my makeshift darkspot. I even manage an almost normal smile for Luke when I re-emerge.
His smile is perfectly normal. I suppose he’s grown accustomed to some of my unique charms by now.
“I didn’t know you were coming tonight,” I say.
“Kristen said I should stop in.”
My eyebrows knit together. “She…did?”
Why would she do that? To prove to him she can interact with me semi-normally and not like a cattyb-i-t-c-h? She seems hell-bent on convincing Sawyer she doesn’t hate my guts for reasons I’ll never understand.
Luke plucks a tomato out of the salad. “Kristen said the invite was open to anyone involved in the festival.” He pops the tomato into his mouth. “Hmm… pretty good. Needs more dressing.”
“There are plates.” I point to the crockery piled in the corner. “The meat shouldn’t be far away.” Now that Sawyer’s banned from the grill…
He shakes his head. “I only stopped in to see you.”
“O-oh.”
“How are you feeling?”
“Wh–what do you mean?”
“About what happened?”
“Um…” I whip my head around. Where’s Sawyer gone? Did he talk to Luke about the incident in the kitchen?
“Last week. When I cooked you dinner.”
“Oh!” I’m so relieved, I laugh. “Fine. Great. It was lovely. Thank you.”
