Page 3 of Fate
He stared at me with a stunned expression on his face.
I had to hide my grin. Of course, I’d made all that up just now. I didn’t add that I only named important things. Betsy Bat was a weapon and that made it an important item. Like old timers naming their shotguns, this was commonplace here in the South. Some men even named their cars and so on.
Now Fate laughed. “That’s damned cute.”
“Cute?” I asked and shook my head.
“Yeah, naming things like that. I think it's pretty clever too.”
“Clever?” I asked.
“Sure,” Fate replied. “You never have to feel like you’re alone.”
He had this large family and they were all very lively, so I felt doubtful about his knowledge of loneliness. “What do you know about being alone?” I asked but I instantly regretted doing it. I shouldn’t even be talking to him. I needed to avoid Fate altogether. Yeah, I noticed he had been flirting with me ever since we met through that door in my apartment building.
“Everyone knows what being alone feels like, Briget,” he replied.
“You have a huge family,” I said. “Like even before you came here where all the Louisiana Walkers are.”
“Being in a crowd doesn’t mean that you do not feel alone,” he stated without that joking tone in his voice.
His answer really surprised me and I actually looked over at him this time.
Our eyes met and we seemed to have amomentas you might call it. Nah, maybe not as I wouldn’t admit to having that with this guy. I looked away again. Damnit, I had to. The man was magnetic along with being hot. But I couldn’t fall for this act. I prided myself on being a smart girl. He reminded me of thetoo-cutetype of guy I knew in high school. The really good looking ones and they of course, took nothing seriously. Like they wanted to get into your panties, then after they accomplished this, they moved on to a new set of panties. You were good enough to fuck but not good enough to be serious with. Besides, I wasn’t that kind of girl. This entitled asshole could get his jollies elsewhere.
“BB,” Belle called to me.
Her voice broke into my thoughts. I raised my gaze and looked over at her.
“Talon asked you a question,” Belle said.
I looked over at him now. “Sorry, I didn’t hear you.”Too busy thinking about a guy I am supposed to be avoiding.
“Do you remember exactly where you saw this SUV?” Talon repeated his earlier question.
“Yeah,” I replied as I took my cell phone out and typed in the name of that little pet shop Daisy and I always went to. “If you will give me your number, I can send you the nearest business address to that alley.”
Talon shook his head. “That’s ok. Ace will get it from you.”
I didn’t care how they got it, but it did surprise me when this guy I never saw before suddenly stood behind my chair. I gave a small startle and stared up at him.
Peering down at my phone, Ace gave me a nod. “Got it,” he said, then he turned away to head down along the dining room table to sit down next to Liv Walker.
I laughed and looked over at Belle. “How did he just appear like that?”
She shook her head at me.
“He’s ex-military,” Fate answered. “Like, it’s in his training.”
I glanced at Fate to see him smile at me. I immediately turned my head away.
Belle leaned in close and whispered, “Why are you being so rude to Fate, BB?”
I blinked as I realized she had picked up on my attempt to avoid any conversation or real contact with him. I whispered back, “Remember Dillion, Rich and that whole group?”
Drawing her brows together, as she looked confused, Belle asked, “Yeah? What does that have to do with…” Her voice faded away as she now seemed to get it. Then she shook her head and said, “He’s not like that, Bridge.”
I scoffed. “Sure, he isn’t.” She didn't know him well, did she? The group I mentioned had been the most awful guys in high school. They literally had made my life a living hell. Yeah, maybe these Walker men weren’t like that, but I’d learned my lesson back then. A man this good looking and well off would not want a serious relationship with a girl like me. I grew up distinctly poor, second hand clothes, family barely scraping by and we all shared everything. Three of us in one bedroom. Taking turns to shower in the one bathroom we had. Food was there but it wasn’t that great, just nutritional at best. My parents managed to feed, house and clothe us but anything beyond that wasn’t realistic.
