Page 56 of Shadowed Whispers

Abbi and Andy don’t answer me, not so much with words, but they give each other a knowing look.

I think back to all the groups of students that come in and out of the bar, and how a lot of them come in and hang out in little groups. Again, not strange, but now I’m thinking about it with a different perspective.

“What are you overthinking there, echo?” a familiar voice calls to me.

Turning around, I find Leo leaning on the counter, Matteo sitting at the window table, his dark eyes on mine.

“Echo?” I lean on the counter opposite him. I didn’t even hear them come in.

“Yeah, echo,” he taunts me.

“And where did that come from?” Why is he so damn appealing to me? Maybe it’s everything he whispered in my ear while we sat at the diner—filthy words that set my entire body on fire.

That was just lust, though, and lust is lust. This is different. Lust, I understand. Hell, I’ve understood lust from a young age. The way Leo looks at me right now has nothing to do with lust and everything to do with interest.

“Maybe I’ll tell you one day.” He leans in like he has a secret to share with me, and because I’m a fool, I lean in to listen. “But see, you’d have to stick around for me to share my secrets.”

Ouch.

I lean away from him. I know I should apologize for running off, but I’m not going to. I’m not sorry. Instead, I say, “You found me again.”

“Well, when you weren’t in your dorm, and when you skipped your classes, I called here,” he says, not feeling an ounce of guilt over tracking me down.

“Stalker.” I turn to the register. “What’ll it be?”

“If that’s what it takes to gain your interest,” he replies, his ocean eyes peering through me as if they could unravel my deepest thoughts.

“Honestly, I don’t know what it takes,” I tell him truthfully, feeling a tinge of vulnerability as the words slip out.

“Porter and a rye,” he says, sliding a twenty across the counter, which I ring up before moving to get his drinks.

“Well, look at you, sunshine,” Abbi calls out to Leo, her voice tinged with playful flirtation, her eyes sparkling with interest.

Jealousy flares hot inside me, forcing me to look away. It’s ridiculous. Leo isn’t mine. Besides, Abbi is older and more confident in her flirting, seemingly unworried about the boundaries of casual bar banter.

“Officer Hart!” Leo replies with a jovial voice that carries across the bar. I once heard someone describe a person as having golden retriever energy, and I didn’t get it until now.

“Leo,” Andy says, her voice laced with amusement, “found your girl?”

I shoot a glare at Andy, not appreciating the spotlight.

“Sure did, right there making our drinks. Isn’t she beautiful?” Leo sighs, placing his chin in his palm, and it would look adorable if he hadn’t just announced to the entire fucking bar that I’m his girl.

“Not yours, Leo.” I set his beers down on the counter, trying to suppress the heat rising in my cheeks. “Not anyone’s.”

“Yet,” he counters, a slow smile spreading across his face as he lifts his beer to his lips. When he looks at me like that, with so much more than casual interest, I have to force myself to look away.

“Aww,” Abbi coos, clearly enjoying the drama unfolding before her.

“I’m cutting you off. Don’t make me call Tori,” I threaten, the name dropping like a stone in still water, even though that is the very last thing I would do.

“Don’t you dare.” She sobers up quickly, scanning the room with sudden caution.

I hide my laugh and turn back to Leo, my face settling into a more composed expression.

“What time do you get off?” he asks. His tone is casual, but his eyes are fixed on me with an intensity that feels like a physical touch.

I pause, the weight of his gaze unsettling yet oddly thrilling. “Not soon enough,” I respond with irritation and reluctant amusement. This thing between us, whatever it is, is complicated. Leo’s presence stirs a storm within me, one I’m both drawn to and desperate to escape.

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