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“I. AM. NOT. YOUR. FATHER.”
Pang. I felt those words bite me right down to my bone. Time stood still. I could hear the gushing of blood past my ears.
“Richard,” my mother gasped.
I didn’t wait around to hear what more they had to say. I hung up the phone and I headed straight to the counter to get my keys. I needed some air.
Present-day
That was how I found myself in one of the bars in the middle of the town center. I was far from drunk, thanks to my high tolerance. But I was tipsy enough to start making bad decisions.
“Bartender,” I called the guy behind the bar. He shook his head in amusement and walked over to me. “Can I have another gin and tonic, please? I require forgetting.”
“How about I get you some water, sweetheart. Is there anyone I can call for you?”
I stuck my tongue out at him. “You can’t cut me off. I’m a freaking paying customer.”
“I think I can.” He smirked. “Now, is there anyone I can call for you?”
“My…my fiancé.” I hiccupped. “He will come to get me. I don’t think he’s on shift today. But…I don’t know if he will want to hang out with me. I’m kind of a horrible person.”
He ignored my little rant. “What’s your fiancé’s name?”
“Marcus…Marcus Anderson. I think you know him.” I made a gesture to the whole room. “This town is too fucking small not to know each other.”
“What?” He looked taken aback. “When the hell did Marcus get into a relationship? When the hell did he decide to get married?”
Oh crap. Now I had done it.
“None of your business. Now call him so he can come to get me. I’m going to take a nap.”
I laid my head on the bar and closed my eyes. The bartender moved away from me. I hadn’t actually intended on falling asleep but, when my eyes fluttered shut, they never seemed to want to open again.
The next time I opened my eyes, I was moving, but my feet were hoisted in the air. The tipsy lightheadedness had left me, and I was sober once more.
“Really, stink bug? I thought you were classier than passing out at a bar.” I was in Marcus’ arms. The realization brought flutters to my stomach and in the nether region as well. I could feel his heat rolling off his body in waves. I could feel the hardness of his chest pressed up against me.
“I didn’t pass out,” I huffed. “I was just tired. You can put me down, you know.”
“I was going to anyway. We are by your door.”
It wasn’t until he said that did I notice that we had stopped.
Marcus set me back down on my feet, and instantly, I missed the feel of his arms around me. What the hell was going on?
We stood staring at each other awkwardly, unsure of what to do next.
“You want to come in for a coffee?”
He shook his head. “I should probably get going. It’s late, and I need to get packing, seeing as I’m moving in a few days.”
“Oh yeah.” I shifted on my feet. “I need to get your room prepared. I know I haven’t said this often but thank you, Marcus. You didn’t need to help me, but you chose to anyway.”
“I’m awesome,” he teased. “Besides, I needed help with Ash. So are you going to tell me why you were at a bar on Tuesday night trying to get wasted alone?”
I shrugged. “I got into it with my parents. Let’s just say they aren’t overly thrilled about our engagement announcement.”
“Did they take away your black card, stink bug?” He was teasing me but, for some reason, his words were hitting me harder than they should have.
