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Cara’s hand tightened on my arm. “Wesley, please don’t.”
Her touch only emboldened me. “I don’t know what you see, but what I see is a man trying to take advantage of a woman who clearly would rather be anywhere but here with him.”
Danny’s pupils dilated. “You want a fucking fight, Taves?”
“That won’t be necessary.” Without a second thought, I clocked him, my fist cutting a sharp line across his chin. Danny’s grunt of pain resounded through the bar, followed by gasps from the other patrons.That’ll show him.
“You’re a fucking lunatic.”
“Yeah, well, at least I’m not a fucking predator.” I turned around to Cara. She looked up at me with shocked eyes, her mouth gaping open. Part of me wanted to take her with me, out of the bar, and protect her even further from this piece of shit. But I couldn’t bring myself to do it. “Sorry.”
Before she could answer, I rushed out of the bar. I needed the fresh air.
A hand landed on my shoulder. I jumped, nearly knocking Jenson to the ground.
“Woah, you okay man? It’s just me.”
“Sorry, I’m just…” I wasn’t able to form coherent thoughts. My mind was still on Cara and what I’d done to Danny. My knuckles were pulsing. I could feel a bruise forming as I opened and contracted my hand.
Jenson touched my back. “That was intense. Let’s get you home.”
“Yeah…that’d be good.”
We only made it halfway down the block before I heard Cara calling out after me. “Wesley, wait!”
I turned around to see her running toward me, her shoes clicking against the sidewalk. I should have rushed to meet her, but I was too ashamed, so I stayed glued to my spot.
Cara slowed a few feet in front of me. “I wanted to say thank you.”
I shook my head, glancing back at Jenson.
My friend nodded as if reading my mind. “I’ll be in the car.”
“Thanks.” I turned back to Cara.
“You didn’t have to do that.”
I lowered my gaze to the ground. “Of course, I did. He was taking advantage of you. I always knew he was a scumbag.”
“I just mean…you don’t owe me anything, you know? I can take care of myself.”
“You really think I would have just sat there and let that happen? After everything we’ve been through?” I focused my eyes on Cara’s. It was like sinking into warm honey. Like coming home after our week apart. I had missed her immensely. And seeing her again just reminded me how much I adored her.
How much I needed her.
“We’re not together anymore, Wesley. You don’t have to stake your claim or —”
“You think that’s how I think of you? Like my property?” I shook my head and took a step closer to her. “I wouldn’t care if you never spoke to me again or if you hated my guts. For the rest of my life, if I know you’re in trouble, I’m going to fucking do something about it, Cara.”
Cara inhaled shakily as she looked up at me. “I don’t hate you. Even though you broke my heart, I don’t hate you. I can’t.”
She was so close to me, I could smell her. That beautiful, summery perfume alleviating the chill of March. “I regret letting you go.”
“It was for the best.”
“It wasn’t. I miss you. Lucy misses you, I…” I touched her cheek, half expecting her to flinch away. She didn’t. “It was a mistake.”
For a prolonged moment, we looked into each other’s eyes. I leaned forward slightly to kiss her and then decided against it. It was all too much, the moment too heated and adrenaline-filled to make any sort of rational decisions. I retracted my hand from her face and looked down the block to the entrance of the bar. “Let me take you home.”
