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Her eyes flew open. Had Reece just pulled her a tiny bit closer?
Nah. Probably her imagination.
Then she felt the brush of his chin against the side of her head, the gesture lingering and fleeting, all at the same time. Almost as though he was trying to get close in the only way he could.
Lucy’s heart felt like it was cracking as the music slowed, knowing her perfect moment with the perfect guy was coming to an end.
Reece graduated in just a couple months, and then…
Then what?
The music faded away, and Lucy took a deep breath before fixing a bright smile on her face and taking a step back.
“Thanks, brother,” she said teasingly, putting emphasis on the latter word, hoping to put him at ease so he didn’t freak out about the way she’d rested her head on his shoulder like they were together.
Reece didn’t smile back. Instead he frowned, his face all confused guy before giving a quick shake of his head.
He stepped back, looking like he wanted to run away.
Had the dance been that ba
d?
“Call me if you can’t get ahold of your parents,” he grumbled, before brushing past her.
Lucy stared after him in confusion.
What had that been about?
Chapter 19
Reece
It’s taken a few drinks and every ounce of my admittedly crappy conversational abilities, but Lucy’s finally, finally lost that haunted look she’s had since walking in on Oscar kissing that girl.
Hell, for that matter, the drinks have taken the edge off my own anger at the way she turned the whole thing around on me. Fact is, I don’t want to be angry at her. Not last night when she’d looked so shattered, and not tonight when she looks so happy.
Tomorrow will be soon enough to remember all the damage we’ve done to each other.
We’re at our third stop of the evening, a nightclub with a patio. Not usually my scene, but it’s early enough on a weeknight that although the music is pounding and the drinks are flowing, it’s not so crowded that we can’t have a conversation at the table we’ve nabbed outside.
She rests her elbows on the table, chin propped up on her linked fingers, as she gives me a smile that’s so much like the old Lucy I nearly lose my breath at the memories rushing through me. “So when are you going to tell me what you did last night?” she asks.
I tilt my beer bottle to my lips. Wine hadn’t seemed right for tonight’s occasion, and I’m not at all sure I trust myself around Lucy and liquor.
“That’s really bugging you, hmm?” I say.
She shrugs and takes a sip of her rum and Diet as if it’s no biggie, but I know better. Lucy Hawkins is dying to know if I hooked up last night.
Too bad darlin’. I’ve spent days imagining you spending tonight in the arms of some other dude. Turnabout’s fair play.
“I just hate that I wasted a night in Miami holed up in my hotel room. Was hoping to live vicariously,” she says too casually.
I smile wider. “You always were a crappy liar.”
Lucy opens her mouth to retort, but then her eyes light up and I watch as her rum-buzzed brain dances away from the topic at hand. “I love this song.”
She turns back to me, eyes expectant, but I merely snort. “No way.”
