Page 56 of Just Between Us

“Yes, girl. I have eyes. You can’t miss him. That night with him lives rent free in my mind.”

Turning slightly in my seat, I try my best to appear as though I’m not listening in.

“Oh, damn. I forgot about that!” The brunette pauses to hand over her debit card, and turns back to the blonde. “And it was just a one-time thing?”

“Sadly so. He made that very clear. We didn’t even exchange numbers.” The blonde juts out her lower lip in a pout. “I don’t even think he remembers me.”

“Okay, but that’s kinda fucked up,” her friend says. And I have to agree. I’m having a hard time reconciling this with the Liam I know.

The blonde narrows her eyes and shakes her head adamantly. “No, it wasn’t like that. We both agreed. But if I’d known it’d be that good, I think I’d have negotiated the terms.”

Brunette’s eyes widen. “That good?”

“That good, Leeann. That damn good.”

Suddenly, my whole body feels hot and I need some air. Not wanting to see Liam right now, I push through the crowd until I reach the side door at the back of the bar and fling it open. The crisp October air hits me, and I close my eyes, gulping down a lungful.

Austin was quick to let me know about Liam’s reputation. But having never seen that side myself, I think I’d convinced myself everyone was wrong about him. But overhearing that conversation just now is proof there’s at least some truth to it.

Why do I care anyway? We’re just friends.Best friends, a voice in my head whispers. But even the closest of friends have things they keep private. That’s all this is, right? One more thing in Liam’s life he keeps intensely private. So many times here lately, I can’t fight the nagging feeling I don’t know him at all.

He goes to Nashville. That, I know. He claimed there’s no one there, and I believed him. And maybe that was the truth. Maybe it’s much closer to home than that. A string of women from hereto Nashville who get a part of Liam I’ve never known. I’m seeing more and more that the man I’ve spent all this time with is only a carefully edited version he’s choosing to show me. Surface-level Liam. And maybe that’s all he intends to give me.

The door beside me opens, startling me, and I half wonder if it’ll be Liam, but then a guy about my age with golden blond hair steps out, setting my senses on high alert. Being alone with a strange man outside at night isn’t the smartest move. But then he shoots me a friendly boy-next-door smile, and some of the tension fades.

He’s a few inches taller than me, a lean frame, like maybe he runs 5Ks for fun, and a jaw sculpted by a potter. His eyes are bright as they trace my face, and I feel my cheeks lifting into a smile.

“Are you okay? I saw you rush to the door and it looked like something was wrong. I’m Sam, by the way.” He sticks out his hand, and after a few seconds of hesitation, I take it. “I teach English at the middle school.”

Where the hell is she?

The line at the door finally dwindled enough for me to take a break, and Cassie is who I want to take that break with.

Scanning the packed bar, I search everywhere for dark hair and that sexy as hell costume. The way she looked when I first laid eyes on her earlier has been fucking with my head all night. I’ve lost track of how many times tonight my mind has wandered to her in that bustier, breasts spilling out. And the way her hands felt on my throat, dragging down my chest leaving sparks of fire in their wake.

Christ, I’m in so much trouble.

Two weeks. The thought surfaces like it has all day, uninvited. And here I am losing my mind over the sight of Cassie in a costume.

Get it together, Liam. Be present in the here and now.

Shaking my head, I push through the crowd, nodding at people I know, ignoring lingering looks from a few women I pass.

I catch Sheila’s eye and mouth,Cassie?

She frowns so I mouth it again and her face clears inunderstanding. She points to the back exit leading to the alley and my stomach drops.

It takes longer than it should to reach the door. What was I thinking, holding a costume contest that would attract this many people? A group of zombies block my path, and I have to weave my way through them until finally I reach the door. Through the small pane of glass, I see her.

And she’s not alone.

Some guy, he’s vaguely familiar, is standing too fucking close. He’s all smiles, looking like the perfect boy next door, and Cassie is laughing at something he’s said. I know her laughs, the fake ones and the ones that come straight from her belly. And this one is real.

My hands curl into fists at my side.

I should walk away. That’s what I’ll do. I’ll turn around, finish my shift, and mind my own damn business. Cassie is allowed to talk to other people. Hell, she’s allowed to flirt. But the possessive urge clawing up my neck says otherwise.

“We are just friends.” I say the words aloud, to remind myself of the fact. But the words leave a bitter taste in my mouth. I have no right wanting anything else when I’m still tangled up with a ghost.