Page 285 of Trick or Stalk

“I know.”

“All of it.”

I grit my teeth. “I fucking know.”

That's the problem. Presley thinks she knows the worst thing about me.

She doesn't.

Not even close.

At five fifty-two the next evening, I pull into the parking lot at Bramble & Bean.

I sit in my truck, staring at the building.

I don’t go inside.

I’ve spent five days desperate to see her. In eight minutes, it becomes a reality.

Of course, I thought about seeing her without her knowing.

But then I’d hear her voice telling me not to follow her, so I didn’t.

It’s been fucking miserable.

Now I'm eight minutes away from seeing her because she asked me to.

At five fifty-nine, I get out of the truck.

The bell above the door jingles when I walk inside.

My eyes find her immediately.

Presley sits at a table near the back, alone.

Her green eyes meet mine.

Everything inside me goes quiet.

She looks exactly the same, yet completely different.

I want to cross the room, pull her into me, bury my face against her neck, and breathe her in until the ache that's been sitting inside my chest finally fucking stops.

But I don't.

I walk to the table. “Hi.”

Her lips part slightly. “Hi.”

There's an empty chair across from her. I don't touch it.

Her gaze moves from me to the chair. “You can sit.”

Only then do I pull it out and sit down.

Her expression barely changes, but I see it. I see everything with Presley.

For several seconds, neither of us speaks.