Page 33 of Hard to Handle
“Thanks.”
“Yep.”And she was off.
“If we’re not talkin’ about … you know … then what exactlyarewe gonna talk about?”Reagan asked, forking her pancakes into small bites.
I honestly didn’t have the first clue, but hell.We could talk about the damn weather just as long as I got to sit here with her.
For me, that was all that fucking mattered.
Reagan
Sharing a meal with Lynx was the most awkward thing I had done in … forever.Maybeever.
Sure, I'd fantasized about what it would be like to spend time with him like this.Although this certainlywasn’ta date, I'd even thought about that, too.Those damn fantasies had been around since I was sixteen years old.However, I had never thought they’d come to fruition.And certainly not like this.
The tension between us was thick enough to cut with a knife, and I knew that was partially my fault.Even though he’d suggested we leave the past in the past, it wasn’t that easy for me.
For one, I'd spent so long watching Lynx parade around town with one woman after another.
Well, okay, so maybe he hadn’t paraded, but he’d been seen, and I'd heard about it, and my heart didn’t seem to know the difference.Every time I thought about Lynx with another woman, it was like I'd ingested acid and it was eating away at the lining of my stomach.
“Where’d you meet Tammy?”I found myself asking before I could think better of it.
Lynx’s hard gaze lifted to meet mine.I could see the frustration there.
“It’s just conversation,” I told him.
“Here,” he told me.“In Embers Ridge.”
“Really?”How had I not known that?
He nodded, putting his fork down and picking up his coffee mug.“She had a girls’ retreat out at DHR.She was at Marla’s one night.”
DHR was the locals’ reference to Dead Heat Ranch, likely the most popular dude ranch in central Texas.People came from far and wide to visit for family reunions, birthday parties, summer vacations, and apparently, girls’ retreats.And Marla’s was a reference to Marla’s Bar, the place most Embers Ridge residents went to when they wanted something more potent than beer.
“Oh.”
“Yeah, oh.”His tone was a little harder than before.“Now, if you don’t mind, I’d like to talk about somethin’ else.”
“Like?”
“Like you finishin’ those pancakes so we can get outta here.”
I glanced down at Lynx’s plate, realizing he’d already finished his food and I'd hardly even started.
With a shy smile, I picked up my fork.
“What do you wanna do after this?”he asked, watching me as I chewed.
Frowning, I tried to come up with something to say.Something that sounded a lot like, “I don’t think we should do anything after this.”Unfortunately, that’s not what came out of my mouth.In fact, nothing came out of my mouth, but I did manage an indecisive shrug.
“The lake it is,” he said quickly.
I instantly shook my head.“No.I can’t.”
Holy crap.That was the absolute last place I wanted to go with Lynx.Extended lengths of time with him would be hard enough.Somewhere secluded like that… No way could I trust myself then.
As though he had expected my rebuttal, Lynx smiled.“Fine.But I wanna take you over to the shop.Show you somethin’.”
