Page 40 of The Lilac River

“I need all the gossip on the eldest one because,” Cassidy nodded her head in Nash’s direction, "all I know is that he’s single and looks dangerous in all the best ways."

I couldn’t tear my gaze away. She was right. He looked so good, devastatingly good, but there was a shadow in his eyes now. A shadow I was partly responsible for.

I turned quickly, feeling raw and exposed.

As Cassidy led us toward a booth, arms full of drinks, a familiar voice stopped me cold.

"Lily."

I turned.

Gunner and Wilder stood there, both looking at me like I was a ghost. Both broader, tougher. And neither smiling.

"Gunner," I whispered, throat tightening. "Wilder."

For a heartbeat, Wilder’s mouth twitched like he might smile, but then it was gone.

"Heard you were back," he said flatly.

"It’s been a while," Gunner added.

Cassidy threw him a look I couldn’t decipher, muttered something about grabbing the booth and made herself scarce.

"I’m sorry," I said, because there was nothing else.

Gunner’s mouth pulled tight. Wilder’s eyes were colder than I'd ever seen.

And then?—

Nash.

He stepped between them, and suddenly he was the only thing I could see. Close enough that I could see the tiny scar above his eyebrow, the one he'd gotten climbing the water tower when we were sixteen. His chest rose and fell sharply, like he was holding himself back with sheer willpower.

"You’re still saying that," Nash said, voice low and rough. "Still can’t give a real answer."

I tucked my hair behind my ears, my heart rattling against my ribs.

"I don’t know what else to say."

His jaw flexed, the muscle ticking. But it wasn’t hatred on his face, it was hurt. Bruised, angry, hurt.

"Tell me something I don’t know," he said. "Like why you left."

I dropped my gaze to my toes, too ashamed to meet his eyes.

When I didn’t answer, he exhaled harshly and then added, quietly, his voice almost breaking, "I would've waited forever, Lil. You didn’t even give me the chance."

The breath caught in my chest, raw and painful.

Before I could say anything, he shook his head and stepped back, hiding the wreckage in his eyes behind a mask of indifference.

"Forget it," he muttered. Then, turning to his brothers, he said, "Come on. Let’s get a drink. Try to rescue something out of tonight."

As he walked away, Gunner hesitated, shooting me a look I couldn’t quite decipher. Then Wilder gave him a shove, and they followed Nash.

When I finally slid into the booth across from Cassidy, she was waiting with two full glasses and a sympathetic smile.

"Spill the tea, honey," she said.

---