Page 5 of Where Dark Hearts Devour
“One day, if you’re lucky, you’ll find someone who can show you.” The words are out of my mouth before I can stop them, and I feel her gasp in my gut. I change the topic before I can say anything else without thinking it through. “Do you live in the city?”
She shakes her head. “Long Island.”
My ears prick up. “Which part?”
“Near Port Washington.”
Interesting.That’s not far from the Di Santo residence.
Her eyes narrow. “And before you ask, I’m not telling you which house. I may be a little drunk, but I’m not stupid.”
I arch a brow. “Alittledrunk?”
She rolls her eyes to the ground and folds her arms across her chest.
“Why are you here alone?” I ask.
She looks up and coasts one arm in front of her. “Does this look like I’m alone?”
“That’s not what I meant. You don’t appear to bewithanyone.” I flick a gaze sideways. “And those two assholes don’t count.”
Her face contorts into a grimace as if I just trod on her cat. “They are not assholes. They’re regulars here.”
“You’re avoiding the question.”
She falls quiet and starts to chew on her lip. I feel an unbridled need to pull it out from between her teeth.
“We don’t all have idyllic pasts, you know.”
I don’t know who she’s insinuating has had an idyllic past, but I let her continue.
“I have ... memories. And sometimes I just need a little help blurring them out.”
The bartender slides another blue drink in her direction, and she smiles guiltily before wrapping her lips around the straw.
After a long sip, she flashes her eyes up to me. “What’s your excuse?”
“Excuse for what? I’m not drunk.”
She’s about to roll her eyes again, but she stops herself and instead bats her long, dark lashes. “What’s a nice gentlemanlike you doing alone in a miserable dark bar like this?” Those eyelashes are loaded with sarcasm.
I place the glass down carefully. “It doesn’t seem all that miserable to me.”
When she parts her lips to probe, I cut her off. “And besides, I’m not that nice, and I’m definitely no gentleman.”
She laughs bitterly. “Well, if you weren’t the most attractive guy in here already, you certainly are now.”
I bite back a grin and shake my head.
“Seriously. You show me a girl who doesn’t like bad news, and I’ll show you a liar.”
“You think I’m bad news?”
She rests the straw against her lips, drawing every ounce of my focus to them, and nods.
I swallow and try to remember her original question. “I’m surrounded by people constantly when I’m working. All day every day. This ...” I look around the bar and try not to smirk. “Is mymetime.”
She folds her arms. “What about when you’re not working?”
