Page 81 of Twisted Hearts

“Well…” I glanced over as a raucous noise started up. Servers, men and women in cowboy hats, stomped their boots and shouted a version of a birthday song I’d never heard before. “That, for one.” I laughed and grinned at Shawn. “I would say it’s less stuffy and proper for sure.”

“You don’t really strike me as a stuffy person.”

“I’m pretty sure I was, until I went to college. Then I tried to figure out who I was, and I shed a lot of it unless it was necessary.”

“Why?”

He was leaning on the table, forearms crossed over each other. His focus was so intent on me it was unnerving.Neverhad a person shown so much interest in me.

I breathed out a laugh, shaking my head. “I don’t know, to be honest. I think I just saw all the people I grew up with so stressed and unhappy, already knowing exactly what their lives were going to become. But then, every else on campus always seemed so curious, so excited toexplorethe possibilities. I wanted to be them, even though I’m sure a lot of people looked at me and all I had and wanted to beme.”

“Do you know one of the first thoughts I had about you, that night I saw you in the alley?”

“That I was a hot mess?”

He smiled. “No, Addi. I was so damn thrown by how you could be crying, obviously upset, but still strong enough to throw me sass and show your backbone. I thought you werestrong.”

“Shawn—”

“And the view of your ass in those leggings was pretty fantastic, too.”

I grabbed my napkin from my lap and chucked it at him. “You’re the ass.”

He grabbed the napkin before it smacked him in the face and grinned at me so salaciously I didn’t have to wonder what he was thinking. His heated desire for me was stamped clearly on his features behind his smile and laugh.

“Tell me more. About your family, your life.”

My family.

My smile was wiped away, and Shawn cringed. “I’m sorry. But it couldn’t have been all bad. Think back.”

I took a sip of my drink and licked my lips. “It’s okay,” I said, but it wasn’t. None of my family or what I was going through was okay. “But, um, excuse me for a minute. I need to use the restroom.”

“Addi—” He reached for me, but I jumped out of the booth, shoes crunching peanut shells beneath my feet.

“It’s okay, really.” My trembling voice belied my words. I knew it, and it flashed in his eyes. “Five minutes. I’ll compose myself and we can get back to dinner.”

His tongue pushed against his cheek and he reached for his beer. “I didn’t mean to upset you.”

“I know.” I leaned in and kissed his cheek. “I know. I’ll be back.”

I hurried through the restaurant on shaking ankles and with adrenaline in my fingertips. How far back would I have to go to find agoodmemory, especially knowing all I knew now?

I opened the restroom door, heavy wood with a cowgirls sign stamped in metal, shoving so hard I almost collapsed onto the tiled floor.

“Shit,” I snapped, going straight to the sink. The stall doors were closed, but it was okay. I didn’t actually need to use the restroom. I needed to get control of myself, learn how to handle all these hits that kept coming without losing my mind every time a new one came barreling around the corner.

I flipped on the water, turned it straight to cold, and ran my hands under the freezing water until it iced my wrists and sent that coolness up my arms. A toilet flushed, and I stepped back, giving the woman room to use the sink, and dried my hands.

Somehow, the simple movements calmed me, made me feel more settled. I waited another beat and wished I’d though to grab my purse so I could take more time stalling before returning to the table.

Shawn must have thought I was a lunatic. How could a simple question throw me into a tailspin? As it was, I was wiping my hands on paper towels way longer than necessary, and the woman in the mirror flicked her gaze to me more than once.

I probably looked like a creep. I flashed her an awkward smile and turned to leave. I needed to get my head together, but I was so hung up oneverythingthat I turned and slammed right into a hard chest.

“Oh shit, I’m sorry.” I dropped my palms that had slammed in a black suit coat worn open with a black dress shirt beneath, and I stepped back.

When I looked up, realizing the man hadn’t moved out of my way, a chill went down my spine.

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