“What?”
Felicia’s lips slant down, and I fight back a smile. She’s pissed. “I said let’s go. But you were staring off into space.”
Zach looks at her and then back to Wyatt and me.
“You should go, Zach.” Wyatt smiles and kisses my cheek. “Presley is my hot date, and I need a dance before someone else tries to swoop on in.”
My eyes widen when he says date. Zach zeroes in on that too. “Date?” he asks.
“Well, yeah. She’s single. I’m single. That doesn’t bother you, does it, brother?” Wyatt goads him.
He looks at me and shakes his head. “Of course not. All I’ve ever wanted is for her to be happy.”
If I hadn’t known Zachary my entire life, I might actually believe the bullshit he just spewed. There’s nothing he likes about this. My being here, his brother touching me, him having to see me—it’s all eating him up, and I’m glad. I hope this makes him hurt because the scars he left from ripping my heart apart are starting to ache.
“Zach!” Felicia practically yells. “Now!”
I can see the struggle in his eyes. He watches me before letting out a sigh. “Have a good night.”
“You too, buddy,” Wyatt says to his back.
Once again, Zach walks away.
Now to decide how many ways I can kill Wyatt. He knew this was going to happen. It was bad enough seeing Zach, but seeing him with Felicia—torture.
“Dance with me.” I step out of his grasp.
“I’m about to pay for this, aren’t I?”
“Yup.” I turn without another word.
We head off to the dance floor and a part of me crumbles again. Wyatt takes my hand in his and pulls me against his body. “Don’t knee me in the balls or something, please.”
Our bodies move to the music as he leads me around the floor. He’s lucky I haven’t stomped on his feet. “Why would you let me walk in like this?” My voice is filled with anger. “How could you not tell me?”
He spins me as our feet shuffle in time. “Would you have come?”
“No! That’s the damn point.” I shove his hand, and he laughs.
“Look, you were going to see him eventually. This town is way too small, and this way, Trent and I were here.”
“I’m so mad at you. You have no idea. You should’ve warned me. You should’ve told me he was here. If you were my friend,” I pause, “I wouldn’t have been blindsided.”
He shakes his head, clearly not agreeing. “I’ve always been your friend. I’ll always be your friend. But you’ve got a thick head, and sometimes you’re going to have to trust me.” Wyatt looks over toward the bar and smirks. “Right now, my brother is ready to rip my arms off and feed them to me.” I glance over where Zach is shooting daggers at Wyatt as we dance. Wyatt’s hands move lower toward my ass as he spins us again, breaking my view. “Payback’s a bitch.”
“That’s what this is?”
Wyatt’s light brown eyes bore into mine. “I would never use you for payback. Ever. I wouldn’t think of you that way. You’d be the reward.” My breath hitches, and I try to decipher what he means. Is he saying he thinks of me as more? Does he have feelings for me still? No. He couldn’t. He must sense my panic, because he continues, “I’m just saying this isn’t some game. Your friendship isn’t something I’d fuck up for fun.”
“I know that.”
“Good.”
When the music stops, he bends in a dramatic bow. “I’m still pissed.”
He chuckles. “You’ll get over it. Just like you’re over him.” His chin raises in the direction of the bar. I’m a fool if I look, but I’ve always been stupid when it comes to Zach. He leans against the railing, staring at me while Felicia vies for his attention. When our gazes lock, everything disappears.
There’s no one else in the room, this town, or this world right now.
Zach and I might be over, but my heart doesn’t seem to care. I’m deluding myself if I think otherwise.
But I’ll never go there again.
I remember why I’m here. The reason my life is now on the path I’m traveling. Zach left, I met Todd, and this is the consequence.
I AWAKE THE NEXT MORNING with a killer headache. It was exhausting trying to avoid Zach all night. I ducked out pretty early. Thankfully Grace offered to take me home.
Not wanting to wallow in my fury of conflicting emotions, I decide to head into town to get a few office supplies. I’m lucky that most of the town is at church so I can get around undetected.
Or maybe not.
“Oh, my God! Presley?” a woman shrieks as I exit my car. “Is that you?”
I turn to see one of my high school girlfriends. “Emily Underwood!” I pull her into a hug. “You look amazing!” Her blonde hair hangs to the middle of her back, and she’s ridiculously skinny. She was always pretty, but she’s stunning now.
“Thanks.” She fixes her shirt. “I’ve been singing up in Nashville, so lookin’ good kind of helps get you a gig in that town.”