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Dread settled low in my belly as Goldyn beamed up at Noah’s sister. “Lottie! Hi. Sit with us.”

Kind eyes landed on me before she accepted the invitation. “Are you sure I’m not interrupting?”

“Of course not.” I smiled, hoping it wasn’t as tight as it felt. “Come have a drink with us.”

Since our coats were beside me, taking up the other half of my side of the booth, Lottie slid in beside Goldyn.

She put in her drink order and turned her gaze on me. “I’m sorry we didn’t get to see more of each other at the reception last night. I was looking forward to getting to know the woman my brother is crazy about. I went looking for you, but my parents told me y’all left in a hurry. Is everything okay?”

Sipping my watered down drink, I held her gaze and lied through my teeth. “Yea. I wasn’t feeling well so we left.”

Goldyn looked concerned, but Lottie’s expression was knowing.

“Got it. Well, we’ll have to get together another time. Somewhere where it’s just us and not forty of my extended family members.”

Before it could get more awkward, Lottie steered the conversation away from our Irish goodbye and pulled something out of her purse. “I was gonna drive to the resort to give this to Noah, but since you’re neighbors, maybe you can give it to him?” She pushed a box of tea across the table.

A quick glance at the label told me it helped with insomnia and I nodded, putting it in my purse.

The three of us fell into an easy conversation after that, and just when I felt like I could finally exhale, my eyes locked with a man walking through the door.

Glasses.

Grey suit.

And his coat opened just enough for me to see his suspenders.

He shouldered his way past a few people and stopped on the other side of the bar, staring at me.

Greyson.

Lottie and Goldyn had their backs to him so he let his gaze linger on me, unmoving and uninterrupted.

The smirk playing at his lips wasn’t exactly playful. It was menacing. Like he was a predator who’d just spotted his prey.

And I wasn’t helping anything with this bright ass red sweater on. I was the perfect target, just waiting here like a sitting duck, unable to tear my eyes away from him.

He started walking toward the booth, but before he got within a few feet, I stood up and excused myself. “Sorry, ladies. I need to use the bathroom. I’ll be right back.”

I didn’t wait for a response and I don’t know if they gave me one because I was moving faster than my feet could carry me to the back of the bar. Greyson fell in stride beside me when I passed him, but didn’t say a word until we were alone in the hallway.

Then he had me against the wall, his arms caging me in while his eyes ran over my face.

“I’ve been calling you for the past two hours, Red.”

Shit. The messages. I forgot. “Did something happen? Why are you?—”

“You left this morning with a suitcase. And you haven’t returned my calls or messages all day. That sounds like more thansomething, Red.”

His hand cupped the side of my face and tipped my chin up, redirecting my gaze to his face when it fell to the thick column of his neck.

“My eyes are up here, Red.”

Biting the inside of my cheek, I resisted a smile and rolled my eyes instead. “The suitcase was full of Christmas decorations for my grandma.”

“Then why does Noah think you’re leaving us?”

“Because he wouldn’t let me talk.” I swallowed, my eyes dipping to his lips at the exact moment he decided to lick them. “Just…a…misunderstanding,” I trailed, consumed by his closeness. His scent, the heat of his presence, the intensity of his unyielding attention. I didn’t know what it was about this man and his love for cornering me in tight spaces, but I’d be lying if I said I hated it.