Page 90 of That Moment
“Who am I to judge?” His voice is calm, rough, and detached.
My heart cracks right down the middle. “Don’t do that. Don’t act like it doesn’t matter. You’ve been angry with me all night, and now I know why. But I’m telling you the truth, Scotty. I didn’t want him. I want—” My voice breaks, and I bite my lip hard.
His laugh is low and humorless. “You know my reputation, Adrienne. Hell, the whole town knows it. And we never said this was more than what it is.”
The words land like a punch. I stumble back a step, the gravel crunching beneath my heels. I want to scream, to throw something at him, to demand he stop hiding behind that wall he loves so damn much.
Instead, I whisper, “So what is this then? Because it sure as hell doesn’t feel like nothing to me. And pretty sure last night you made it seem like it was more.”
He doesn’t answer. Just stares at the ground, chest rising and falling like he’s holding something back, but the words don’t come.
I take a step closer, refusing to let him shut me out. “Look at me, Scotty. Tell me this means nothing. Tell me you don’t care. Because I don’t believe you.”
His eyes finally lift to mine, and they’re burning with everything he won’t say. For a second, the world goes silent, and I almost believe he’ll reach for me, pull me into him, admit what I can feel pulsing between us.
But instead, his hand curls tighter around the truck handle, knuckles going white.
“Go inside,” he mutters, voice so low it barely carries. “Get back to your family.”
I don’t move. “Not until you tell me the truth.”
And there it is, the cliff edge between us, wide and treacherous, both of us one breath away from falling. The night presses in around us, heavy with everything unsaid, and I know with bone-deep certainty that whatever happens next will change everything.
Chapter 16
Scotty
Adrienne plants herself in front of me, chin tipped up, eyes flashing in the glow of the streetlamp. Her head cocks like she’s cross-examining me in a courtroom.
“What is this between us, Scotty?”
My throat goes tight. I want to look away, but her stare pins me there.“Apparently it’s the fucking circus because I’m a clown, darlin.”
“What?”
“You really had me—” I hesitate, being so vulnerable, but I let it out. I need to. “You had me out here thinking you actually did want something more with me.” I laugh bitterly to keep from crying. “It’s nothing. You’re fresh off a breakup, and I’m the rebound. That’s all this is.”
Her brows shoot up. “A rebound? Seriously?”
I jab a finger toward her, bitterness burning through my chest. “Look at your ex. Some big-shot MLB player. That’s the kind of guy you want. Not me. We both know that, come on now. You’ve never once brought home a man like me.”
She rolls her eyes so hard I almost hear it. “Keegan has nothing to do with this. Scotty, we’ve had sparks for years, long before him.”
I laugh, but it comes out harshly. “No. You’re just bored. Killing time until the next shiny guy shows up.”
Her lips part, voice trembling with what I assume is anger. “Is that really what you think this is?”
I open my mouth to fire back, but nothing comes out.Fuck. Do I? Do I really believe that?My chest squeezes. “I don’t know anymore.”
She takes a shallow, ragged breath. “That bar incident—you have to believe me. I didn’t text him.”
“Yeah, but you took his number, didn’t you?”
Her shoulders square, defensive. “That’s not fair. We never even set boundaries, and now I’m being judged against some arbitrary rule? I told you, I didn’t text him, and I didn’t want to.”
“Never set boundaries?” Jealousy twists into anger, coming out in a burst of laughter. “You told me I better not be playing with you. And I fucking said I wasn’t… didn’t I? I told you while my cock was still fucking inside you that if I’m fucking you, nobody else is.” My voice is rough, too loud in the empty lot.
Adrienne flinches, and that’s when it hits me: she sees it. Not anger. Hurt.
