Page 28 of Crumbling Truth
Esther perched on the tall stool beside me, so close I was afraid I’d elbow her in the ribs. I wrapped my arm around her waist to avoid that and rejoiced when she relaxed against my side. Both Sofia and Ollie were watching intently—I wouldn’t have been surprised if little hearts came floating out of their eyes.
Fortunately, no one asked any personal questions. Sofia dropped a few pointed hints about us hooking up, including a comment about a handyman calendar that left me baffled but drew a fierce blush and a choked giggle from the woman at my side.
When I sent a questioning look in her direction, she just burrowed under my arm and muttered, “Tell you later.”
I was ready to declare the entire outing a success when an older man wearing a bolo tie passed the table on his way back from the bathrooms and did a double take when he saw Esther.
She went stiff and my entire body snapped to attention.
“Esther, how lovely to see you,” he cooed, his pale blue eyes lingering on the hint of cleavage above her tank top. When she didn’t respond, he smirked. “If I’d known you were going to settle for a loser like this, I’d have made a move sooner.”
“Do I know you?” I asked, striving for a polite tone and falling short by a mile.
He sneered at me. “No, but everyone in Spruce Hill knows about you and your little…accident.”
Anger pulsed through my veins at this asshole making light of the moment that changed my entire life, but I forced downmy reaction. Esther deserved a peaceful night out, not her fake boyfriend throwing down with a stranger in a bar.
The tension radiating from her shifted in a way I couldn’t quite read until I glanced down and saw fury written across every inch of her face. I opened my mouth to reassure her that nothing this jackass said was worth expending any energy on, but she beat me to it.
“Now is when you take your sleazeball ass far away from here, Tyler,” she spat, “unless you want the whole town talking about how you’ve spent your entire life enabling abuse. I’m sure the truth won’t impact your career.”
I looked back toward the man just in time to see the blood drain from his face, then he stormed past us to grab his date by the elbow and propel her out the door.
Every one of us stared at Esther, who heaved a sigh and threw back the rest of her drink.
“I think it’s time to call it a night. This was fun,” she said in an even tone, as though the disruption had never happened. “Let’s do it again sometime.”
Sofia blinked in surprise as Esther hopped down from her stool. “Yeah, for sure.”
I followed suit, clasped hands with Ollie, Julian, and Chase, kissed Sofia’s cheek, then looped my arm around Esther’s waist to shelter her as we pushed through the crowd.
When we reached the parking lot, she shifted away, though she took my hand instead of retreating completely. Her fingers were cold, trembling against mine, and the tiny puffs of her breath in the night air came at unsettling intervals.
“Let me guess, he’s a friend of Steve’s?” I asked as I opened the passenger door.
“Business partner. Do snakes have friends?”
I laughed, releasing her hand so she could climb into the seat, then jogged around to the driver’s side. “Other serpents, maybe.”
“God, I hate that guy.”
“Has he messed with you before?” I swallowed back a ball of hot fury at the thought.
“Pretty much on a weekly basis during the length of my marriage. Steve had him over all the time, probably because he knew I hated the guy.”
My jaw clenched hard, but I managed to loosen it enough to ask, “Did he ever touch you?”
“Besides trying to grope my ass at the grocery store a couple years ago?”
I watched my knuckles turn white as my fingers tightened around the steering wheel. “Please tell me you’re joking.”
“Nope. He said Steve told him how hot I was before I stopped ‘putting out’ and he’d been waiting for his turn. I believe he offered to remind me what a real man is like.”
“He’s the one who needs a reminder,” I growled.
Her hand settled on my thigh and I glanced at her in surprise. Under the street lamps, I saw her lips twitch into a tiny smile.
“Please don’t get into any fistfights on my account.”
