Page 86 of The One Who Never Left: Colter

He closed the distance between them in two long strides. “I couldn’t let you walk away like that.”

Her lips pressed into a thin line. “I wasn’t walking away. I just needed air.”

“Yeah?” His voice was edged with something warmer than frustration, softer than command. “You looked like you were about to suffocate in there.”

She didn’t move, just stared at him, chest still heaving, eyes bouncing between his.

“Okay,” he said, running a hand through his hair, trying to look calm, though he felt anything but. “I need to explain what that whole thing inside was.” He gestured vaguely toward the bar.

“You don’t need to explain anything,” she said quietly. “It’s all just fun and games.”

“It’s not a game. Not to me.” He forced the words, though they came out shaky. “It was a setup. Kind of. Sort of. Nan orchestrated it. She told me it was just a comedy night at the bar. Nothing serious, nothing to do with dates, nothing to—” He stopped, exhaling slowly. “Nothing to do with me being publicly—uh, well—paraded in front of every woman in town.”

Sutton’s lips twitched, and he gave her a side glance, seeing the beginnings of a smile. “You’re saying Lady Rea lied?”

“Not lied,” he said quickly, shaking his head. “She just didn’t tell me everything. And honestly, I get it. She’s trying to help, but I had no idea she’d orchestrate a whole thing like that.”

“So you’re not angry?”

“I’m not angry,” he admitted. “I’m impressed, honestly. And slightly terrified, because somehow, magically, you managed to ruin my composure in front of the entire bar without even touching me.” He paused, then added, softer, “And somehow I think I like it.”

Sutton shook her head, her fingers gripping the edge of the car door. “Colter. What about the what ifs? You know, everything that could go wrong. Us, Lynlee, the fallout if anyone in this town finds out.”

“Yeah, I know exactly what could go wrong. And that’s exactly why…” He hesitated, searching her eyes. Then his heart fractured when he found what he was looking for. “You want me to go on this date. Don’t you?”

“I’m not sure,” she said. “It’s not that I want you to go. I need you to. For our relationship, for the boundaries we’re trying to set, and for Lynlee.” She shook her head. “It’s for the best.”

“That’s a lie,” he said firmly.

Her lips pressed into a thin line, then she gave a slow nod. “It doesn’t matter. We can’t work. None of this changes that.”

Colter’s chest tightened. He wanted to argue, to pull her back and tell her she was wrong—but the time wasn’t right. He’d give her this reprieve for now.

He shoved his hands into his pockets, trying to appear calm. “What about the kiss?”

“It was just a kiss.”

Direct shot to his chest.

“Fine. I’ll go on this date, and you can pretend like you’re not affected underneath all that bravado. But you’re lying to yourself if you think this thing between us will go away.”

CHAPTER 33

The shelter smelled like disinfectant and old blankets and the quiet, stubborn persistence of creatures who had every reason to give up on people and somehow hadn't. Sutton had always loved animals for how they just kept loving you back, even when the evidence suggested they probably shouldn't.

Lynlee pressed her face to the glass of the first kennel, breath fogging it instantly.

“They’re all sad,” she whispered, like the dogs might hear her and feel worse about it.

Sutton crouched beside her. “They’re not sad,” she said gently. “They’re just waiting.”

“For what?”

“For someone to notice them.”

Lynlee considered that, then moved down the row with purpose, tiny sneakers squeaking against the concrete. She stopped short at the very end, where the noise dropped off. No frantic barking or jumping, just a large, gray-muzzled mutt curled on a bed, eyes half-lidded but alert.

“Dis one,” Lynlee said immediately.