Page 40 of Surrender
How did she know Nate?
Why were people calling him Blue?
“I… um…”
She bounced excitedly on her toes. “Holy shit, I’m so sorry. My name’s Missy. My husband is in the club with Blue. Me and a couple of the girls have been trying to squeeze details out of him about you.”
I blinked, trying to keep up.
Blue.
Club.
Details about me.
Nate had been talking about me?
I couldn’t fight the warmth that spread from my stomach, climbing up my chest and into my throat before finally settling in my cheeks. I should have known better than to think I had him figured out, because as our interaction the other day proved, there was so much more to him than I even realized. But I still didn’t know what any of it meant.
I didn’t know why he wanted to watch my life from the sidelines instead of being in it.
I didn’t know why these people, people who clearly cared about him, had these bright smiles on their faces when they heard my name.
“I’m sorry,” I finally managed to say, my laugh a little shaky. “This is all kind of new?”
Missy’s smile softened a little, her eyes warm and understanding. “He’s a hard nut to crack,” she said, reaching out and patting my hand. “But don’t give up on him. He deserves to have someone like you in his corner.”
My chest tightened, but her words spurred me on.
“You know where I can find him?”
Her head bobbed excitedly. “He’s in the office. Walk all the way down the bar and turn left where the bathrooms are. The office is the final door at the end of the hall on the right.”
“Thanks,” I told her with a sigh and a smile. “Hopefully we’ll be able to actually have a real conversation sometime soon, in a place maybe a little quieter?”
“Guess we’ll see you Sunday then!” Missy beamed as she pulled away. “Get the details from him. And good luck.”
Sunday?
What had I gotten myself into?
Inhaling long and deep, I followed her directions to the end of the bar and left into a dimly lit hallway. Women’s laughter came from inside the bathrooms as I passed by, and right before I was about to step in front of the last door on the right, it suddenly flung open.
A tall, slim blonde woman stepped out into the hall, her eyes lowered as she dug around in her purse, mumbling to herself.
“Ah!” she announced happily, pulling a lipstick from the depths of the bag before looking up and jerking back in surprise. “Holy crap, you gave me a fright,” she said, a nervous giggle following. “Excuse me, hun, I’ve gotta get back to work.”
I didn’t move, but she still slipped by me, and my eyes followed her, for the first time noticing the black shirt, skirt, and apron that Missy and the other bar staff had been wearing. Her strut was strong and confident, one hand fluffing her hair while the other touched up her lipstick, something that took a lot of talent to do without a mirror.
I continued to stand there even as she disappeared from sight—my feet feeling as though they were made of concrete.
“You need something?”
My head snapped back toward the open door.
Nate.
The air rolling out of the room was hot and thick, logic telling me it was because of poor ventilation and an ancient air conditioning unit, but my imagination screamed it was because of body heat and heavy breathing.
