Page 140 of Make Me Trust Again
My shoulders tense, thinking I must be imagining it, but Justin looks over my shoulder, a smile spreading on his face. Slowly, I follow his line of sight and come face to face with no one other than my sister, only she isn’t alone.
Rose.
My gaze locks on her crystal blues, unable to resist their pull. Her cheeks are flushed; her dark strands tucked neatly behind her ears. Rose sinks her teeth into the corner of her mouth, a hint of something shiny playing under the dim light illuminating the space. She’s dressed in a simple tee and shorts, showing off her lean legs.
“Hell must have frozen over if you’re willingly out in town.”
I force myself to shift my gaze to my sister, who’s watching me with raised brows.
Before I can answer, Justin flashes them one of his charming smiles, “That would be my fault, I’m afraid. I’m not sure we’ve met. I’m Justin, and you might be?”
“My sister.” I shoot him a glare. “Mymarriedsister, so how about you back off?”
Justin isn’t the least bit fazed by my words. “You’re related to this ugly mug? Not surprising I didn’t see the connection.”
“Just ignore him, he’s such a grouch.” Becky chuckles softly, waving me off. “Do you boys mind if we join you? This place is packed.”
She doesn’t wait for an answer as she slides into the seat next to me, pushing me further into the booth.
“What are you doing, Becky?” I hiss softly.
“We’re trying to have some drinks if we can; it’s been a long day. Relax a little bit. You should try it sometime.”
The vein in my forehead pulses. I clench my jaw, which only makes my sister roll her eyes before she turns her attention tothe rest of the group. Grinding my teeth, I do the same just in time to catch Justin turn that blinding smile to Rose. “You guys friends?”
“Umm… Yeah.” Rose rubs at her neck, clearly out of her element, but when she realizes there isn’t much option left, she slides into the booth next to Justin, who extends his hand toward her for a handshake. “We work together.”
My fingers clench around my glass as I watch her slip her hand into his. His fingers curl around hers, his touch lingering way longer than necessary.
Is he fucking for real now?
My ears are buzzing from all the chatter and the music playing, making it hard to hear. Not that I care. The only thing I care about is that his fucking hand is still on her.
That Rose is smiling at him as she listens to whatever bullshit he’s feeding her.
Something ugly twists my insides as I watch them from the other side of the table.
I focus on that point of contact, taking a sip of my drink, and for the first time in years, I wish it’s something stronger than soda. My knuckles are white from how hard I’m squeezing the glass. All the noises fall into the background, that familiar buzzing chiming in my eardrums louder by the second.
After what seems like an eternity, Rose pulls her hand out of his and sits down, taking a sip of her drink. Her face lights up, and she turns to Becky. My gaze falls to those pink lips, just to catch her tongue peeking out, and slide over the bottom one. “This is really good.”
Becky brushes against me as she shifts in her seat, but my gaze is locked on the woman across from me. The way her mouth spreads into a smile, and I wish we were back at the cottage, away from everybody else, and I could hear her laughter. Butthen a hand falls over the back of the booth as Justin relaxes into his seat.
Biting back a growl, I glare at his hand. Not quite touching, but there, and my fingers itch to grab it and pull it away. And if something breaks in the process, oh, well, I guess it would be his damn fault for touching what’s mine.
An elbow connects to my side, snapping me out of my head. Blinking, I find Justin’s gaze on me, and he doesn’t miss my annoyance. But does the fucker move his hand? Of course not.
Shifting my gaze to my sister, I catch the very end of her question. “—this grumpy ass?”
I give her a warning look, but she just ignores me, her full attention on Justin.
“Oh, we go way back.” Justin smirks. “I was his squad leader on his first tour. You should have seen him, this scrawny little kid.”
Rose turns to me, those crystal blue eyes fixing on me. Amusement flickers in her irises, the corner of her mouth twitching upward as she eyes me. “Hard to imagine that.”
Her gaze feels like a caress, and a shudder runs down my spine.
“He’s filled out since, but back then, he was a baby.”
