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“No stalkings from virtual dates or from anyone else for that matter,” she continued. “The date just didn’t go as I’d planned so I’ve decided to put the virtual stuff on hold.”
While he swatted a mosquito and its posse, Egan stared at her, maybe trying to suss out what she’d just said. Maybe he thought she’d been trying to tell him that since the virtual wasn’t cutting it, she wanted the real deal.
With him.
Attraction could clarify or suggest things like that. It could also suggest really stupid things, like more kissing when this wasn’t the time or the place. Or the occasion since she truly had been concerned about Egan.
“I was worried about you,” she went on, swatting at the mosquitos, too, that obviously thought they had a fresh buffet to sample. “Worried, because I heard that Tilly and you seemed upset after your conversation at the diner.”
Egan blew out a long breath, slapping more mosquitos, and adding some profanity that she heard just fine. Thankfully, not aimed at her but at the bloodsuckers. “We’ll need transfusions if we stand out here much longer.”
He glanced around as if searching for a solution, and his attention landed on his truck. Since the tight space would make kissing too easy, he seemed to dismiss it right away. Seemed to dismiss her car, too, since it would also be close quarters and therefore a big temptation to giving in to the heat. The car, though, was sort of a vehicular chastity belt since there was no way sex would happen in it unless the participants were contortionists.
“Mind if we walk to your place?” he asked.
The question both threw her and gave her one of those hot tingles of anticipation. She hadn’t expected him to want to risk being alone with her. And that told her loads. Egan wouldn’t have risked it unless he needed to have a conversation with her where there wasn’t a chance of being overheard.
“Yes, let’s go to my house,” she managed to say after she swallowed hard.
She grabbed her purse from her car and glanced at their vehicles, wondering if someone would question why they were in the parking lot. However, there’d be a lot more questions and gossip if Egan’s truck was outside her house for any length of time. Ditto for if she drove him to her place and someone saw them going inside. Of course, walking together would accomplish the same gossip.
“Just a reminder that if we leave together in any way, fashion or form, there’ll be talk,” she spelled out.
He sighed. “I’ve decided there’ll be gossip if we do anything. Or nothing. So, let’s get out of here so I can tell you how I screwed up things with Tilly.”
Now it was her turn to sigh. And nod. Alana hoped whatever had happened, that it could be fixed. For Egan’s sake since he had that haunted look on his face. For Tilly’s sake, too, since she probably wasn’t in a good place about whatever had happened, either.
Alana didn’t say anything else until they were well away from the Watering Whole. “Is this about the photo Tilly took of you?” Alana whispered just in case there was still someone within earshot.
“No. But I’m not happy about that,” he added in a snarl. “I’m pretty sure, though, that Tilly will try to get it taken down.”
Oh, no. If this wasn’t about the photo but Tilly would likely be doing such measures to remove the photo, then something really bad had happened between Egan and the woman. And it occurred to Alana exactly what that something really bad had to be.
“Crap,” she muttered.
“Yeah,” and that was all Egan said.
Alana didn’t push for any details. She just kept her mouth shut while they walked around the block to her house. The mosquitos tried to follow them, buzzing around their heads and making them pick up the pace so they made the quick trip in record time. Alana unlocked the door with hands she wished were steadier than they were. That applied to the steadiness of the rest of her, too. Egan was likely going to need a strong shoulder to pour out his heart.
And there would be hurt.
It would be amplified because of his own grief and the misery he’d caused Tilly by telling her the truth. Or rather what Egan would have perceived as the truth.
“Should I pour you a stiff drink?” she asked, closing the door behind him. Then, she remembered the only thing alcoholic she had in the house was a fruity wine cooler. Thankfully, Egan declined the offer by waving it off.
He didn’t jump into an explanation. He paced across her living room a few times, giving a brief frown to the odd little clay figure on the end table. It was a weird-looking man and had features of both a leprechaun and a Hobbit. She refrained from telling him it was a gift from Loralee. She just waited for Egan.
“Tilly was going on about theheroin the photo she took,” he finally said. He stopped pacing and met her gaze head-on. “So, I told her what happened, why Jack was where he was when he died.”
“You told her that you were responsible,” she paraphrased.
“I was,” he said, giving her his usual insistence.
Since she seriously doubted it would do any good just to dispute that, again, Alana did some spelling out of her own.
“Fine, we were both responsible,” she told him. “You for asking Jack to visit you and me for the argument that would have been a huge distraction that day. In fact, it’s possible the main reason Jack agreed to go see you was because he was upset over what I said to him.”
She stopped and gave him a moment to let that sink in.
