“You’re sweet.”
He growled, but had a spark in his blue eyes. “I’m not sweet.”
“Okay, cute.”
Reece picked me up and put me down on his bike. “Do not say another word.”
Behind the helmet I smiled and held on tight as he gave me a ride to Kix. I just prayed we didn’t meet anyone else on the road; otherwise they’d get an eye full of my legs.
Luckily the ride was only five minutes, if that. We pulled into the parking lot and I waited for Reece to climb from the bike before he turned and lifted me off. But not before he had a gawk at my legs.
He caught me watching him. “Nice.”
Rolling my eyes at him, I walked into Kix and smack into Phoenix. He grabbed me, just stopping me from falling backwards onto my butt.
“What are you doing here?” He was pissed.
Well at least I had my answer. He regretted touching me.
“I can’t deal with you right now,” he spat and I flinched at the anger in his words.
He walked past me and I heard the door close behind me. I just stayed standing where he’d left me not knowing what to do. I felt numb; I couldn’t move.
“Thalia, dance with me.”
Donovan wrapped an arm around me and led me out to the dance floor, where he pulled me against him and held me tight while I cried into his t-shirt. We swayed around the room, to what I couldn’t tell you, while he stroked my back and kept me hidden from everyone else, without saying anything.
Chapter 41
Jack
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What the hell was I doing? I’d just left the woman I loved in there after telling her I couldn’t deal with her. I couldn’t breathe. Sitting on the stoop, I put my head in my hands.
“Please tell me you haven’t just fucked up?”
“Yeah.”
“What the...that girl loves you and you love her. Yeah, I know what’s going down in a few weeks, but you don’t love Mia, you love that girl you’ve just left on her own in there. If you weren’t my best friend I’d be in there trying to talk her away from you, because you’re an idiot. I want what you have staring you in the face.”
Reece clenched his fist and I was sure he wanted to hit me, but he kept talking instead, “I want a girl to be in love with me, someone I love in return, but you have that. Don’t be a dick and throw it all away.”
I just looked at Reece, astonished. He stormed back to his bike and leaned against it.
“Look, you told us what’s going on, after you’d spoken to Liam the other night, but you have to try and find a way out of it. I’ll help anyway I can, you know that... Right now you need to get your ass back in there and talk to her before someone else moves in.”
Standing, I walked to Reece and came to a stop in front of him; I waved my hand in front of his face. “What have you done to my friend?”
He shoved me away. “Ha ha – funny; not!”
“I heard you and I think I better start by apologizing to her.”
“That’s usually a good start.”
Walking to the bar, I turned back to Reece. “Hey, what about Dahlia? You spend a lot of time with her.”
If I didn’t know better I’d have said he looked uneasy. “She’s just a friend.”
Shaking my head, I pushed my way back through the doors and froze when I spotted Thalia on the dance floor wrapped up in Donovan’s arms.
Reece walked into me not realizing I’d stopped.
“Fuck. Um, don’t go getting the wrong idea, okay? Chances are you upset her and he came to her rescue, I hope,” he muttered the last bit, but I caught it.
Without another thought, I walked straight over to them on the dance floor and stood directly in front of Donovan so that he wouldn’t have any chance but to see me.
He saw me all right and he looked angry.
They stopped dancing with Donovan keeping an arm wrapped around Thalia’s shoulders. “I’m not going to let you hurt her anymore than you already have.”
“Thalia, please come with me and let me talk. Explain. Apologize.”
She ignored the hand I held out to her, staying with Donovan instead.
“I don’t want to hear you apologize for touching me again. It hurt enough the first time.”
God, if she didn’t get away from Donovan soon she’d have me on my knees begging.
Not giving her a choice, I reached out and took hold of her hand. “I didn’t apologize for touching you. That’s what I wanted you to believe...I apologized for leaving you out back with Liam. Please Thalia, come and talk to me.”
I nearly sagged in relief when she nodded her head and left her hand in mine. Not having any clue where I could take her for some privacy we ended up in the storeroom again.
She blushed as I pulled her inside with me.
Locking the door, I turned and looked at her. I couldn’t stand the distance I’d put between us.
“Come here. Let me hold you.”