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And…
A light chuckle tore Sarah from her panic, a chuckle belonging to Emilia, the gleam in her eye rivaling Aggie McKey’s. Damn these two women. Damn them and bless them all at once.
Emilia tilted her head, gesturing to Blaine, who stood some yards away over her shoulder. “I should go. Sarah, don’t argue with Aggie. I speak from experience when I say she’s rarely wrong.”
Emilia patted the bar and then swanned away, leaving Sarah with Aggie and her still-beaming face. “Rarely? The cheek of that girl. I’m never wrong.”
Sarah laughed but only so long as it took Gordon to call out to her through the kitchen pass. “Sarah, someone back here wants to see you.”
She gave Aggie a quick nod goodbye and headed for the kitchen where Gordon, busy frying steaks in a giant pan, pointed to the back door. She pushed through the door, only to find Dean waiting for her.
She drew closer and gave him a quick kiss. “Why are you here? You could have come through the front like a normal person.”
His lips inched up, his eyes glinting in that wicked way that made her insides flutter every time. “You wouldn’t like me so much if I were a normal person.”
He pulled her into him, stunning her with a deep and passionate kiss, as though her quick one wasn’t enough. Maybe it wasn’t because her whole body melted into him, only finding purchase when he set her free. “You told me Blaine and Emilia had their party at the bar tonight. I wasn’t sure I’d be welcome.”
She thought back to the day of their fight in the alleyway, her face flushing as a wave of guilt took over. Things had changed since then. “Sorry ‘bout that. I’m sure no one will mind if you join. Besides, while the engagement party is taking up half the bar, the other half is still open to anyone else who wants a drink.”
He gave a soft smile and ran his knuckle over her cheek. She closed her eyes, savoring the tingling sensation overrunning her body. “I’ll come by and join you out front in a minute, but since we’re here and we’re alone…”
He kissed her again, stirring desire until it burst into fully fledged need. She groaned and dragged her arms around his neck, his mouth hard against hers, his hand entangling her hair and pulling her deeper into the embrace, all while he walked her backward into the bar’s brick wall.
She laughed, feeling like an impulsive teenager, all the more thrilling because she’d never had a chance to be an impulsive teenager. This whole thing was an exciting risk since she was still at work and anyone could walk by at any time.
Bad enough Blaine and Aggie had already figured things out. So, as much as Sarah wanted this to continue, she pried her lips from his and vowed to finish this when she didn’t have a job to do. “Whoa, there tiger. Seems I might need to get you a cold beer to cool down.”
“One beer won’t help.” He offered another irresistible smile, his intent stare dancing about her face. “But you got yourself a deal, princess.”
He dropped a lighter kiss on her cheek, his gaze lingering even as he took a few slow backward steps, then disappeared around the corner.
She re-entered the kitchen and slipped behind the bar again, regretting making him walk around Maynard’s to continue the charade of their active rivalry, or at least, barely knowing each other. Then again, Blaine and Emilia’s engagement party wasn’t the time to let loose with her new relationship. Also, she wanted to talk things over with Dean before going public.
The bar’s front door swung open, and she smiled as he strolled in, his stare searching her out and his own instant grin taking over. She schooled her usual stony-faced expression, the one she used just for him, only for a bloodcurdling scream to rip through Maynard’s.
The entire venue fell silent. Everyone turned to Emilia in the restaurant’s far right corner—her hands clapped over her mouth, her eyes impossibly wide. She stumbled back, fell into Frank’s arms, her screams changing to loud sobs.
Blaine stood just yards away, his face pale and frozen. Both he and Emilia stared at Dean.
Sarah’s attention darted between the three people. No matter where her thoughts went, nothing about this scene made any sense.
“What’s all this?” The sheriff rose from his table, not in uniform since he’d taken the night off, and had been having a quiet conversation with his three lifelong buddies—enjoying the engagement party like everyone else. From the stiff look on his face, he’d slipped into sheriff mode. But why?
“It’s him.” Fat tears rolled down Emilia’s cheeks and her fingers, still pressed to her mouth, trembled. “Oh my God, it’s him.”
Dean’s gaze bounced between Blaine and Emilia, his jaw sagging in a look of recognition, his hollow expression akin to a lion trapped in a cage. She didn’t understand. So many here seemed to know what was happening, but she didn’t.
He turned to her, and his name fell from her lips in the form of a question. “Dean?”
“Dean?” Blaine’s voice held a firm edge, and he turned to her, his cheeks easing as though some vague realization took over. “You know him?” He spun around to Dean, expression suddenly hard. “You son-of-a—”
He launched forward and slammed a shoulder into Dean’s chest. Dean’s back slammed into the bolted door, the side latched shut. A thunderous boom split the air. Bolts ripped from the door frame, wood splinters exploding everywhere.
Something indiscernible snapped within her, and before she could think, her legs propelled her forward and toward the grappling men.
“Let him go.” The words flew from her mouth. “You’re hurting him. Let go.”
Blaine’s fist slammed into Dean’s face. She screamed, a sound so utterly unlike her, so wild and heartsick—all while blood welled and spilled from the new split above his left brow.
