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It all felt so normal and good. We had a fire roaring between us, casting our smiling faces in warm, orange light. The sounds of conversation and laughter filled the night in every direction. Behind us, the stream burbled calmly and the voices of children playing and splashing in the cool water never completely faded. I’d occasionally hear Termite bark as she worriedly paced the shore, watching the latest kid who was plunging in and swimming to touch the pillars of the bridge.
It felt like a dream I didn’t deserve, like I’d somehow swooped into this fairytale town and stole somebody else’s perfect life. Hell, my apartment didn’t even smell like the Tinkerbells anymore. Mr. Stone’s people had thoroughly seen to that. I even had twenty-thousand fresh dollars sitting in my bank account, seductively whispering in my ear that everything would be okay every time I checked my phone.
So why did I still feel this nagging sense of unease? Why did it still feel like something wasn’t right?
I’d zoned out while Chase was explaining some issue he had with his guitarist. My eyes were unfocused, and I was looking off into the darkness toward the bridge. That was when I saw him. Tall, dark, and shadowed from where he stood away from any of the fires. He was leaning on the bridge and looking straight toward me.
Mr. Stone was here, and he was watching me. I felt suddenly aware and self-conscious of the fact that Chase had at some point scooted his chair closer to mine. Our legs were almost touching. Like a kid caught by her dad, I cleared my throat and lifted my chair, scooting a few inches away. I immediately felt silly and wished I hadn’t.
Chase trailed off and looked toward me. “Everything okay?”
“Oh, yeah. I just kept getting hit by sparks there. I was trying to dodge them.”
“Ah,” Chase smiled and lifted his chair, scooting it closer again. “Yeah, some were hitting me too.”
I didn’t miss the meaningful look Paisley gave me. Cassie was getting ridiculously drunk for some reason and was too plastered to notice. She was leaned back in her chair, eyes partly unfocused and mouth hanging open. Every once in a while, she’d jerk her head upright, smile, and act like she knew what was going on.
“Actually,” I said. “I really have to pee. I’ll be back.”
I got up and rushed away before Chase or Paisley could say anything. I headed for the nearest building, which was some kind of bakery that had its front door propped open even though nobody was inside. I wanted to see if Christian was following me, but I stayed strong and didn’t look over my shoulder the whole way.
Once I had the bathroom door inside the bakery closed, I let out a long breath and sighed. I silently decided to make a deal with the universe. If Christian was out there when I finished, I was going to tell him exactly how I felt, even if I didn’t know how that was. If he wasn’t out there, then it meant I needed to move the hell on and take the unspoken offer Chase was making.
Maybe I hadn’t planned on a relationship when I came out here, but it seemed like the only way I was going to keep my sanity was either embracing normalcy and dating Chase or taking a step into insanity by seeing where things might lead with Mr. Stone.
I finished up, put my hands on the door, and pushed it open.
24
CHRISTIAN
“What are you doing?” I breathed. Internally, I winced. I knew I was about to make things worse with her. That seemed to be all I was capable of.
“I was peeing,” Lola said. Her cheeks were still rosy from the chill outside, and her hair was wind-tossled. She looked fucking gorgeous, especially in that simple pair of blue jeans and flirty cropped top she wore. “Sometimes, I do that.”
She folded her arms, watching me as if knowing I was going to have to marinate in how stupid my question had been. Once she was satisfied, she grinned. “Let me guess. You chased me in here because you were pissed that I was sitting by Chase, right? Well, let me spoil it for you. I don’t want to date Chase. I don’t want to date anyone. I still haven’t tied up the loose ends from the life I left behind. The last thing I want or need is to complicate my life here with a relationship.”
I let out a sigh of relief.
She shook her head at me. “Why don’t you just come out and say it, Mr. Stone? It’s pretty obvious.”
I stared. There was no point in playing stupid. We both knew what she meant. I chose my words carefully, speaking as calmly as I could. “You have your reasons for not wanting a relationship, and I have mine.”
