“She’s not your anything.”
My fingers dig into the soft flesh of my palms. “Alana might be yours now, but I’ll always be her first in every way that counts.” First kiss. First love. First heartbreak. No matter how hard Wyatt tries, he will never be able to erase our history, even long after I leave this godforsaken town for the final time.
With the way he stares at me, it feels as if he is reading my soul. “Are you…jealous?”
“Jealous of you? What for?” I give him an unimpressed once-over.
“My question exactly.” His lips curve upward, only stoking my irritation like one would fan a flame.
Isabelle arrives with my burger, saving me from Wyatt and his perceptive stare.
I gesture toward my plate. “If you don’t mind, I’d rather eat my dinner in peace without your toxic masculinity stinking up the place.”
“Of course. Nice seeing you, Percival.” He tips his hat.
Him calling me by my middle name reminds me of too much, all at once. My stomach churns, and the food in front of me becomes inedible.
I flip him off. “Fuck you, Eugene.”
“I think I’ll fuck Alana instead, but thanks for the offer.” He winks.
The bastard. My right eye twitches.
“Maybe I’ll even go there tonight.” His eyes brighten. “It’s not like you could hear us all the way from the guesthouse, right?”
I always kept my aggression on the ice and away from others, but all it takes is Wyatt grinning at me, talking about fucking Lana, to tip me over the edge.
I bolt from my seat and reach for him. Either I’m out of practice or he learned some new moves because I end up slammed against a table, my hands cuffed behind my back within five seconds flat. It’s embarrassing how quickly he takes me down, so I’m grateful only five people bear witness.
As if she read my mind, Isabelle holds up her cellphone and snaps a photo. If that ends up on the internet, Declan will hang me by the Dreamland flagpole for all the park visitors to see.
Wyatt pulls me up and shoves me toward the diner entrance. “Welcome back, asshole.”
11
ALANA
“You what?!” I reach out for the doorframe to hold me up. The flashing blue and red lights on top of Wyatt’s cruiser light up the house. Even though I took my contacts out before bed, I can make out Cal’s silhouette in the back of Wyatt’s police car, glaring a hole into his back.
“I just wanted to get under his skin.” Wyatt’s gaze drops to his boots.
“Wyatt Eugene Williams the third. What were you thinking?”
His weight shifts. “I’m sorry.”
I smack his hat right off his head since I can’t slap his face around. “Delilah is going to be so pissed at you for insinuating you were going to fuck me.”
“I already got an earful from Dee when I called to let her know I would be late tonight. She told me to go sleep out on the porch like a dog if I was hell-bent on acting like one.”
“I don’t blame her. You said you were going to…” Nope. Can’t even finish that sentence.
My stomach rolls in protest. There is no way I would ever touch Wyatt, let alone screw around with him since he is not only a good friend, but my best friend’s husband.
Wyatt crosses his arms against his uniform. “I think he’s jealous.”
I let out a loud laugh. “No way.”
“He tried to choke me, Alana.”
“Cal?”
“Yes, Cal! I don’t think I’ve ever seen him that pissed before. It caught me off guard.”
I try to wrap my head around Cal attacking anyone. The only time I saw him unhinged was while playing hockey, and it never went past the arena. Ever.
I shake my head. “He’s got the personality of a golden retriever.”
“Yeah, a rabid one. I panicked for a moment before my training kicked in.”
I rub my eyes. “Is he under arrest?”
“Hell no. There is no way I would risk losing my job for that.”
Of course not. Arresting a Kane on anything less than tax fraud or a murder charge would be cause for immediate dismissal.
I sigh. “Why did you bring him here instead of the guesthouse?”
Wyatt grabs the handcuff keys from his belt. “Since I can’t arrest him, I thought it would be a fun way to torture him.” He leans forward and places both his hands on the doorframe. From Cal’s vantage point, it probably looks like he might even be kissing me.
“You’re asking for it.” I give his shoulder a shove.
“I’m doing it to save you from him sniffing around.”
I peek over Wyatt’s shoulder to find Cal throwing daggers with his eyes. “Be careful uncuffing him. He looks pretty pissed off.”
Wyatt laughs as he jogs back to his car and opens the back door. He is quick to unlock the handcuffs and send Cal on his merry way with another tip of his hat.
“See you tomorrow, Alana!” Wyatt shouts at the top of his lungs.
Cal looks over his shoulder. I can’t make out the expression on his face since he is turned in the opposite direction, but I get a good look at his curled fists. He keeps his eyes on Wyatt until his taillights disappear down the driveway.
Cal walks slowly toward the house, drawing out the process. He still hasn’t looked directly at me, so the closer he gets, the harder my heart pounds.
“So, first night here and you’re already getting arrested.” I lean against the doorframe and cross my legs at the ankles.
He looks up with narrowed eyes. “Technically, I was detained.” He rubs at his wrists.
I shake my head. “What were you thinking, trying to assault an officer?”
“Are you fucking him?” he asks through gritted teeth.
My heart rate spikes. It’s one thing to accuse me of sleeping with someone else, but it’s a completely different issue for him to think I would sleep with his old best friend. Instead of allowing my irritation to guide my reply, I choose a different tactic.
“Would it matter if I am?”
Oh, Alana. You know better than to taunt him.
His nostrils flare. “Hell yeah, it matters. You should hear the way he speaks about you.”
Wyatt, I hope Delilah gives you hell when you get home. “It’s none of your business who I hook up with.”
He rubs his clenched jaw, as if it can erase the tic. “You can do better than him.”
“He’s not that bad.”
“What a glowing review for a guy who probably couldn’t find your clit even if it was labeled with a neon sign.”
I choke on my laughter, killing it before he has a chance to hear it. “Cal.”
His nostrils flare. “What?”
“Wyatt was right. You are jealous.”
He scoffs. “I’m not jealous.”
“Good, because if you plan on staying here, you’re going to be seeing Wyatt a lot. I’d hate for things to be…uncomfortable.”
Stop baiting him.
It’s hard not to when he is clearly jealous yet won’t admit it.
So, what if he is? It’s not like it matters.
Each of his fingers flex before curling back into themselves. “That’s fine.”