Page 79 of Promise Me

“Sadie!” Smiling, Linc comes and hugs me.

I wrap my arms around him and squeeze him back.

“How are you today?”

“I’m good,” I say with zero emotion and then look to the bar. My gaze instantly locks with Hudson’s.

“I’m sorry. I should have cleaned that up before I walked out.”

“It’s fine.”

“You broke the glass?” Linc asks. “Hud, you just said it was you.”

Hudson sighs and goes back to cleaning.

“I forced him to teach me how to pour a beer, and then I dropped it, and then?—”

“You walked out,” Linc repeats my words.

I nod.

“Are you two fighting again?” he asks.

“No,” Hudson answers quickly.

His tone in that one small word leaves me fighting a smile. He said it as if insinuating that we could ever disagree would be the worst thing to happen.

I like that he feels that way.

“Then why did you just walk out without cleaning?” Linc asks.

Silence fills the bar, but any response is forgotten when the doors open, and Betty’s and Brooke’s laughter steals our attention.

“I kid you not, three cups instead of one.”

“You can't even fake that kind of mess up,” Brooke says and then turns to us. “Hi, friends.”

“Ladies,” Linc says and returns to his barstool.

“Are we interrupting anything? We need to steal Sadie away for a bit,” Brooke says. “Or, well, I do, since Betty is here for her shift.”

“Nope. She’s all yours,” Lincs says. “Enjoy your day, sis.”

The way he says it, all somber and sad, makes me want to hug him, so I toss my arms around him and squeeze tight.

He starts to laugh and then shrugs me off.

“Go!” He points at the door.

Brooke is still waiting for me, so I take my brother’s advice and head for the door. Brooke loops her arm with mine and tugs me outside. As I look back, Hudson isn’t even glancing in my direction.

Maybe he isn’t as into me as I am him.

No, that's not it.

We’re attracted to each other, and I feel like a fish out of water on what I’m supposed to do about it.

“I have a few things I want to run by you,” Brooke says as she leads us to the bakery. “Do you know yet when you plan to come back?”

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