Page 47 of A SEAL's Heart
My upbringing has me reaching my hand out on instinct. It would be rude not to. But I regret it as soon as our hands touch.
He squeezes my hand too tight, and I’m caught in his clammy paw. I try to pull away and he keeps hold of my hand, brushing the back of his palm against my breast.
My heart sinks. The last thing I want is some moron getting handsy with me. “Sorry, I’m not interested.”
I turn back to Paige and roll my eyes at her. Why on earth do men think just because you’re in a bar you want to be picked up? And tonight, of all nights, with the auction about to start.
At that moment, Joel steps up to the makeshift platform they’ve put in the middle of The Landing.
“That you all for coming,” he says into the microphone.
There’s a tap on my shoulder, and I turn around to find the sleazy man, Karl, still there. He leans toward me, and I catch a whiff of beer and hotdog on his breath.
“You didn’t tell me your name.”
“She said she’s not interested, fuck face,” Paige says, just as the room falls silent.
All eyes turn to our corner of the bar, and the only noise is feedback from the microphone Joel’s holding.
The man still doesn’t get the hint. He chuckles and lifts a hand to the sea of faces that are now watching us.
“It’s all right. My future girlfriend is just playing hard to get.”
The arrogance of some men is unbelievable. I cross my arms over my chest and turn towards the stage and Joel.
I’m not one to swear at strangers the way Paige does. Ignoring unwanted attention is my usual MO when a guy can’t take a hint.
I focus on Joel, willing him to continue and get this auction underway. I’ve dealt with plenty of men like Karl in my time, and they all go away, eventually. Eventually he’ll get the message that I’m ignoring him and his sleazy lines will turn to insults, no doubt about my weight.
But he’s a persistent sleaze ball. I feel his spindly fingers on my arm, and I brush him off and take a step sideways out of his reach.
There’s movement from the other side of the room as Ed pushes through the crowd. He leaps onto the stage and strides across it before jumping down the other side and landing straight in front of me.
I suck in my breath, because I haven’t been this close to Ed in days. His scent permeates my senses, and I’m transported back to his bed and the things we did there.
His gaze lingers on mine for only a moment. But it’s enough.
Memories flow between us of what we shared, of his bed, and everything that happened in it. His gaze is soft and full of regret. Then he turns to Karl and his expression hardens.
Ed’s fist connects with Karl’s face, sending him reeling backwards into the people behind him. A gasp goes up from the crowd, and a bar stool falls over as Karl goes down.
Karl screams and holds his bleeding nose, writhing on the ground in pain.
Ed flexes his fist and advances on Karl and I pull him back, scared for the man on the floor.
“What are you doing?”
He tears his eyes off Karl and turns back to me, flexing his fist. He’s breathing hard and his mouth tries to form words, but all that comes out is a grunt.
Paige claps her hands together. “Nice one, non-verbal boy.” She gives Ed an appreciative look that turns stern. “But you’re still the biggest asshole in the room.”
“You had no right to hit him,” I say.
The entire town is looking at us, and Mom’s mouth has dropped open.
Ed just looks at me in frustration, like there are things he wants to say. But unless it’s to tell me he’s staying, which it isn’t, then I don’t want to know.
Who the hell does he think he is, sending me that note and then punching out a guy as if he owns me?
