Afterward, Broderick stood and asked if he could have a word with Rex.
“Excuse me for a minute?” he asked.
“Of course,” I told him.
Lillith was in deep conversation with a couple at the next table, and Nikki made an excuse to head downstairs, undoubtedly to find Ollie.
I went to the bar and ordered another glass of wine then wandered out onto the balcony, drawn to the view.
It was quiet, the air still warm, though it’d cooled with the night, and a slight breeze added to the peace in the air. A blanket of stars opened up the vast canopy that stretched on forever above, and I inhaled the scents of the city, the honeysuckle and the river and old buildings.
Home.
I got lost in it, in the soft music that fell on my ears and the peace that radiated back from the city I’d tried to forget I loved.
I jumped when the breath landed on my bare shoulder. “I’m sorry I ditched you.”
A small smile tugged at my mouth, and I glanced over my shoulder at the gorgeous man standing right behind me. “I understand. It’s a work party.”
“I’d rather be hanging out with you.”
Butterflies.
Was that normal? It didn’t matter. They were there, fluttering at my insides, whipping and stirring and inciting. I slowly turned to face him. “I’d rather be hanging out with you, too.”
A soft gust of wind blew through, soft lashes at the longer pieces of his hair, those hypnotizing eyes filled with so much turmoil and questions. He reached up and touched my cheek. “Rynna.”
Chills skated my spine.
The band had shifted songs, and strains of an acoustic guitar filled the air. The scruffy voice of the same singer who’d played the last time I was there rode on the breeze. He was singing “Collide” by Howie Day. The lyrics grazed across my skin, eliciting a rash of goose bumps, the same as the callused fingertips that trailed down my arm.
The words spun around us, and slowly, Rex edged forward. His arm slid around my waist and pulled me against him.
His palm went to the small of my back, his thumb just brushing against the bare skin exposed by my dress, the other hand landing on my neck.
My entire world shook.
Slowly, we began to rock in the slowest kind of dance. Both mesmerized by the song and the feel and the overwhelming vibe, his heart thrumming in sync with mine. We were caught up in it, as if time had stopped, the two of us giving ourselves over to the moments that passed. I would have been content for it to go on forever.
He drew me closer, his nose running along the back of my ear. “You are so beautiful, Rynna,” he murmured. “So beautiful it fucking hurts to look at you.”
“Rex,” I whispered, my fingers curling in the fabric of his shirt.
He suddenly stepped back, leaving me gasping as he roughed a frustrated hand over his face. “Think we should get out of here.”
Slowly, I nodded and followed him back inside.
17
Rex
What the fuck was I thinking? Inviting her there? Thinking I could handle this?
Friends.
I bit back bitter laughter and led her inside, trying to keep some distance between us when the only thing I wanted was to strip her from that dress and sink inside. We said our goodbyes, thanking Broderick. Lillith gave me a look that promised she would cut off my dick if I did wrong by her friend.
But that was the fucking problem.
I didn’t know how to do her right.
Had no idea how to give her what was so clearly building up between us.
A savage storm.
Brutal.
We stepped outside and into the night. Our footsteps echoed on the sidewalk. All the things we wanted to say roiled in the silence between us. I unlocked my truck and helped her into the front seat. My entire body went rigid when I was struck with another wave of that sweetness, the girl inundating me with every tempting, delicious part of her.
Sugar and spice.
Cherry fucking pie.
She was goddamned stunning.
I rounded the front of my trucfk and hopped into the front seat. But I didn’t start the engine. I just held onto the steering wheel, peering out front and letting her confused silence impale me.
“I’m sorry,” I finally said.
She smiled a tentative smile, graced with all that understanding. “For what?”
I scoffed out a laugh as I shifted into gear and pulled onto the road. “For always being such a dick.”
She laughed the faintest sound. “You’re not always a dick, Rex. I know there’s more to you.”
“How’s that?” I asked. The words flinging between us were almost playful.
“There’s no mistaking it when you’re with your daughter.”
Gruff affection rumbled in my chest. “That’s ’cause she’s the best part of me.”
“She’s amazing,” Rynna mused, staring out the windshield, her striking face filling up my periphery.
“Yeah. She’s all I’ve got.”
I could feel her gaze land on me. Hot and heavy. Demanding in her stare. “Is that the way you want it?”
Unease itched beneath my skin. “That’s just the way life goes for me, Rynna. It feels like most days I’m barely hanging on. Barely getting by. She’s my life. My heart. Don’t think I have room for anything else.”
“Because you lost the other half of it?”
Pain lanced through me, cutting me in two. “Lost myself a long fucking time ago. Not sure I’m ever going to get it back.”
Her gaze returned out front, her voice growing so soft as she murmured her confession. “You know . . . when I came back here, I was terrified of what might be waiting for me.” I could feel her turmoil, the grief this gorgeous girl had kept inside. “Terrified of what had chased me away in the first place. But I knew that what I’d left behind, what was waiting for me, was worth the risk. I didn’t want to be afraid anymore.”
A frown pulled at my brow. “What were you running from?”
Her laughter was hollow. “Shame. Embarrassment. When I look back, I think maybe I was running from myself.” Her chuckle seemed to be completely at her own expense, and her attention dropped to her fingers, which she wrung on her lap. Locks of that chestnut cascaded around her delicate neck. “When I was younger, I was the chubby girl. Awkward. Uncomfortable in my skin.”
My eyes lifted, dragging down her body in a sweeping pass. She was lush and curved and fucking perfect, and I hated the idea that she’d once felt anything less.
Her voice softened in wonder. “It feels so ridiculous now, the way I’d let the teasing affect me. I don’t know if it was really my size or if I just was insecure and everyone knew it and they took advantage of it. When my momma left, she left a vacancy I didn’t understand at the time. I was so lonely, and I think the lonelier I got, the hungrier I got for interaction, but I seemed to always get excluded. I think somehow the kids fed on that. It got worse as I got older.”
She glanced at me. Helplessness struck on her features. “It got to the point where I couldn’t take it anymore, so I ran.”
A shot of rage tumbled through my veins. For her as a little girl. Couldn’t imagine it. What if someone treated Frankie like that? “I’m so sorry, Rynna.”
She shrugged. “Maybe it made me stronger. For years, I was too afraid to return. But after my grandmother passed, it finally set in. I lost all those years with her, and I didn’t want to run anymore. I was tired of running from who I am. Even if I still find myself looking over my shoulder, I won’t allow anyone to chase me from my home.”
“You belong here,” I managed.
I could feel her eyes flicker over to me. “I don’t think it’s any mistake you and Frankie were the first people I met.”
Hesitation brimmed around me. I knew what she was saying. What she was asking for. Never had I felt more at war with what I wanted and what I knew was right. I turned right onto our street, the words grating from my tongue. “My life’s a train wreck. One that just seems to go on forever. Every fucking time I think I’m doing something right, it goes to shit.”
“What happened with your company three years ago?” she suddenly asked. Peering over at me, she fiddled with the silky strap on that lust-inducing dress. Like she knew asking it was crossing a line. Pushing me further and willing to do it, anyway. “What Broderick mentioned?”