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Once again, silence filled the air.
“Why do you say that?”
“Say what?”
Brielle got up from the bed and crossed the room. “How would you know if he was brooding? Whenever he’s in public, he’s pretty happy. He doesn’t show that other side of himself very often. He says it makes him feel weak.”
Chills crawled up Eloise’s spine. That was strange. The more she thought about it, Brielle was right about one thing. He’d been pretty happy before she’d shown up with his cousins in tow. After that, she’d only been alone with him.
She released a breath and faced Brielle once more. “I don’t know. I guess he was really stressed out about the restaurant opening a few days ago.”
Brielle pressed her lips together as if trying to decide whether or not she should push the subject. Finally, she moved away. “I’m curious to hear Marc’s side of things. I’m beginning to wonder if I ever really knew Shane like I thought I did.”
“Does it matter?”
Brielle shot Eloise a sharp look.
“I mean, you broke up with Shane a while back. You didn’t break up because he was dishonest.”
“Yeah, well it’s starting to sound like maybe thatshouldhave been the reason.”
Eloise scrambled to smooth over the edges of this conversation. Brielle was starting to get worked up over this, and Eloise didn’t know how far she would take it. “Then be grateful things didn’t end on bad terms. You knew you weren’t going to work it out. Maybe your gut was telling you that he wasn’t any good for you.”
Brielle didn’t speak right away. She crossed her arms, tilted her head then sighed. “Yeah. Maybe you’re right.” Then she moved closer and pointed a finger at Eloise. “But you should be careful. We don’t know who Marc is, just like we probably don’t know who the real Shane is. One or both of them could be bad news. I’d stay as far away from them as you possibly can.”
Eloise let out a nervous laugh. “I’m sure they’re both just fine. And it’s not like I’m going to start dating the guy. I just want my phone back. Getting lunch doesn’t mean we’retogether.”
“Just be careful. There are a lot of bad people out there. Take it from me.”
* * *
It was probablya good thing that Eloise had opted not to give Marc her address—though if he really wanted it, he could probably ask anyone in town. But after her conversation with Brielle, Eloise was a lot more on edge.
She was leaning against Faye’s truck as she waited in the diner’s parking lot. Sal’s was the perfect place to meet a stranger and exchange her phone. It was a public place, and she could count on any of the local cowboys to come to her rescue if anything were to happen.
Those thoughts needed to vacate. The more she contemplated the possibility that Marc was dangerous, the more antsy she became. She really shouldn’t have let Brielle get into her head like that. She shouldn’t be this nervous; he was Shane’s cousin, after all. She’d picked them up when they were having car trouble. Then again, he’d had his sister with him.
Eloise shoved her hands into her pockets and heaved a sigh. She should probably just head inside and wait for Marc in there. At least then she could get something to drink. Just as she was about to walk toward the door, a car pulled up. Marc got out of the back seat and waved to the driver. Whoever it was, waved back. Marc’s eyes found hers and he smiled wide.
“Hey!” Marc jogged toward her. “Thanks for seeing me.”
“Well, you were holding my phone hostage, so…” She offered a small smile. He was just as she remembered him. There wasn’t anything about him that stirred trepidation.
“Right. Here.” He held out her phone with a sheepish grin. “We didn’t try to break into it or anything.”
“Thanks? I guess?” She tucked her phone into her purse. “It doesn’t have a lock on it or anything. All the security measures are on the specific apps.”
“Oh. Well maybe you should change that. There are some pretty scary people out there who could do some damage.” He flashed her a smile and a dimple appeared on his chin. His square jaw, dark eyes, and dark hair reminded her of a movie star. He was fit and wore nice clothes—definitely a city boy.
She tilted her head, studying him. Waseveryoneconcerned about how bad the world had gotten? Perhaps she’d been far too sheltered. Maybe she shouldn’t be so willing to trust people at their word. Maybe she shouldn’t allow herself to find him attractive, either.
Marc jerked his head toward the diner. “You hungry?”
“Absolutely.” She stepped away from her sister’s truck, and he fell into step beside her. His hand gently touched the small of her back, and almost immediately, her heart leaped into her chest. It wasn’t an unpleasant experience, but it was definitely unexpected.
He pulled open the door to the diner and gestured for her to head in first. His manners were impeccable. She couldn’t help the small smile that touched her lips as they were led to their table.
Much like Brielle, she’d been spending a lot of her free time going on dates with various guys. She had no interest in settling down right away because she was having too much fun. Marc might be the next guy she gave her attention to, but like she told Brielle, she wasn’t going to date long-term any time soon.
