Page 81 of Lawton

Goodness, not a spectacle.

Didn't she know? I was a walking, talking spectacle every fucking day.

But I wasn't going to letthatstop me. Time to point out the obvious. "Iamone of the neighbors."

She rolled her eyes. "Are you gonna wait or not?"

"Oh trust me," I said, "I'm not going anywhere."

A few minutes later, we were walking along the usual route. I held Chucky's leash the same as before. But that was the only thing that was the same. Chloe wasn't talking, and this time, the silence wasn't easy. It was hard as hell.

By now, I had no idea what to do.

Should I tell her that I called that restaurant and talked to her boss?

Oh yeah, she'd just love that.

Should I demand some answers?

Right. Because, I'd done that already, and had loads of luck.

Should I say screw it and go back home?

At the thought, something inside me twisted. If I went back home, there was no guarantee I'd be back. And if I did come back, she'd probably slam the door in my face.

Damn it.

Enough was enough. If she wasn't going to say anything, I would. "So, why'd you leave last night?" My jaw clenched. "You got someone else? Is that it?"

"No." She sounded almost surprised. "That's definitely not it. And I don't know why you even think that."

She was kidding, right?

I gave her a sideways glance. From the look on her face, she wasn't.

Okay, time to spell it out. "Maybe it's because you get so squirrely every time we end up at your place." I waited a beat. "Assuming thatisyour place."

Beside me, she glanced away and picked up the pace. "Squirrely?"

Talk about squirrelly.

"Yeah," I said. "Like you're hiding something, and I want to know what."

"I'mhiding something? Well, that's rich." Her voice rose. "Wanna know what I don't get? Why you didn't invite me to your birthday party."

What?

I stopped in my tracks. She stopped, too. And for once, so did Chucky.

Standing, dumbstruck on the sidewalk, I studied Chloe's face, that beautiful face that had been haunting my dreams. Her eyes were filled with something I hadn't expected – hurt.

Holy shit. So thepartywas the problem? Relief and guilt surged through me. "You think I didn't want you there?"

"Of course you didn't want me there," she said. "If you had wanted me there, you'd have actually, oh I don't know,invitedme."

Ihadwanted her there. More to the point, she was theonlyone I wanted there. I didn't want Brittney, or Amber, or a shitload of other people. I wanted Chloe, and I'd wanted her all to myself. And that was the real problem.

"Let me ask you something," I said. "If I'd asked, would you have come?"