Page 22 of Only Be Mine

I needed a distraction, something, anything…

And then Seth popped back up like a caffeinated jack-in-the-box.

“Okay, lovebirds, time for darts. Winner buys the next round; loser gets mocked publicly for at least three business days.”

John sighed. “You see what I put up with?”

Darts happened. Chaos followed. Seth talked too much. John laughed more than he tried to stop him. I was terrible at darts. John stood behind me, guiding my hand, his voice low and steady, his presence grounding in a way that made my knees forget how to work.

At the end of the last round, we were suddenly close. Too close.

His eyes dipped to my mouth. Just for a second.

“Cate,” he said softly.

I didn’t step back.

His fingers brushed my wrist, barely there, and my entire body lit up.

“This isn’t…” I whispered. “I don’t normally…”

“Me neither,” he said.

For one suspended moment, the bar fell away.

Then…

Seth crashed into the booth. “JOHN! I beat a college kid at darts with my eyes closed!”

The spell broke.

I jumped back, heart racing. “I should go.”

“Can I walk you to your car?” John asked immediately.

“No,” I said, panicked by how much I wanted to say yes. “I mean… No, I’m fine.”

He nodded, patient. Always patient.

“Maybe,” he said quietly, “I’ll see you soon.”

“Maybe,” I whispered.

Then I escaped into the cold night air before I could do something reckless.

Like kiss him.

Or let him kiss me.

Or admit how badly I wanted both.

Chapter 8

Cate

Present

John had made everything feel effortless.