Page 59 of Playing the Field

You didn’t ask before. Didn’t seem to care when I said I had plans.

I figured you’d tell me if you wanted me to know.

Maybe I figured you’d ask if you wanted to know.

Another pause. Then⁠—

Jesus, Ana. Are we really doing this over text?

I grit my teeth.

What exactly are we doing, Graham?

Silence.

No typing bubble. No immediate reply.

Vee watches me, her smirk gone. “Okay. What did he say?”

“Nothing.” I swallow past the knot in my throat, my heart pounding harder than it should. “Absolutely nothing.”

Vee makes a face. “Oof. That’s worse than a bad response.”

I exhale sharply, blinking against the frustration burning behind my eyes. This is stupid. It’s stupid how much this affects me. How much I wanted him to say something that would make me feel like I wasn’t the only one caught up in this mess.

But he didn’t.

And that?

That tells me everything I need to know.

I turn my phone face-down on the bar, grab my drink, and force a smile. “Screw it. We’re having a good night. No more distractions.”

Vee studies me for a second, then nods. “Damn right.”

And just like that, I push Graham Callahan to the back of my mind.

Or at least, I try to.

I’m definitely tipsy.

Not wasted—I’m not sloppy or about to make bad decisions—but there’s enough alcohol in my system that my limbs feel loose, my body moving easily to the heavy bass thumping through the club.

Vee and I are on the dance floor, and for the first time all night, I let myself lean into the music, let it pull me out of my own head. My body sways, hips rolling in time with the beat, my arms lifting above my head as I let out a breath that feels lighter than it has in hours.

I needed this.

Needed the noise, the distraction. Needed the reminder that my life isn’t just tangled up in Graham Callahan.

But just as I start to believe that, the air around me shifts.

A presence behind me.

A familiar presence.

Strong hands settle low on my hips, warm and steady, fingers pressing firmly through the thin material of my top. A solid chest brushes against my back, and a low voice rumbles in my ear, sending a shiver down my spine.

“Having fun?”