Page 5 of His to Keep
-Your Sweetheart
“What in the…” I clutch the paper to my chest as I whirl in a circle, trying to catch whoever left this for me.
But there’s no one. The parking lot is quiet and still—too still for a Friday night.
My skin turns to gooseflesh, despite the unseasonably warm air, and I rush to get in my car, locking the door after me.
“It’s fine,” I say out loud. “Everything’s fine. It’s…just a note. A harmless note, and who knows, it probably wasn’t even meant for me.”
Yeah, that’s it,I think, as I start the car and put it in reverse. “It’s not like whoever wrote it mentioned me by name.”
And if I was the intended recipient, well… it’s kind of sweet. Weird, too. But sweet, in a secret-admirer kind of way.
TWO
ELLIS
“She yours?”Silas asks as I try—and fail—not to watch Scarlet as she stomps her way across the bar.
“Hell no,” I spit the words, even as my eyes eat up all the tanned skin she has on display in her short-shorts and tank top. It’s unreal how someone so unbearable can be so damn fine.
He hums under his breath, and I cut my eyes his way, only to find him trying to hide his grin behind his beer bottle.
“What?” It’s one word—one fucking syllable, growled out like a dog defending his bone, and I immediately wish I could take it back. Because I already know how I sound…
Defensive.And I hate it, but that’s Scarlet’s effect on damn near everyone. Her ability to get under my skin is unparalleled.She knows my every button and is an expert at pushing them.
From the literal night we met, here in this very spot, she’s done her best to drive me up the damn wall. She’s wild, reckless, a little rude, and a whole lot tempting. But she made it clear she wasn’t into me when she cozied up with my best friend the morning after we met.
And it’s fine. Totally fine. It’s not like I was into her either.
Fuck that.
“Just saying.” He crosses his arms over his chest. “You're awfully possessive over a woman who’s not yours. You want her to be?”
“Possessive?” My eyes nearly bug out of my skull as I try to make sense of what he’s saying. Because there’s no universe in existence where I’mpossessiveover Scarlet Armstrong. She’s nothing more than the devil in a dress. “You’ve got it twisted.”
“Nah, man, I don’t think I do. Only thing twisted is your damn panties. You watch her like a predator tracking its prey… like if you look away, even for a second, she might disappear.”
He’s wrong. Beyond wrong. It’s laughable how wrong he is. The only thing I want from Scarlet is for her to go away. I damn sure don’t want her to be mine. She’s barely tolerable on a good day, and good days with her are few and far between.
If I could find a way to convince Nora—my best friend Atlas’s better half—to ditch her, I’d do it, in a heartbeat. But Nora’s got a soft spot for the she-devil and is intent on forcing us to all get along, like one big, happy family.
Fat chance of that happening.
I’m so caught up in my own head, in refuting Silas’s claims, that I don’t realize I forgot to actually reply. He doesn't seem to notice. Or maybe he does and just doesn't care. Either way, he pushes forward and drops a damn grenade right into my lap.
“Imagine if I'd have taken her up on her offer of a good time?—”
“What did you just say?” I narrow my eyes at him and ball my hands into fists, not giving a single shit that he could most likely squash me like a bug—which is saying something, because I'm not exactly a small guy.
“Look at you,” he murmurs, amusement dancing in his eyes as he stares me down, unflinching and unblinking—a proverbial brick wall. “You're ready to try and knock me on my ass? Over a woman you say you don’t want.”
My brain is working overtime, trying to make sense of everything—from where my night derailed and how to get it back on the track—but there’s only one obvious answer…
Scarlet.I don’t know why or how, but this is her fault—all of it—start to finish. She makes my head spin in the worst way.
“More like ready to warn you to steer clear,”I say. Silas's eyes crinkle in the corners, like heknowsI’m full of it, so I rush to add, “For your sake, because trust me, she... she’s more trouble than she's worth.”
