Page 42

42

JAMIE

L eaning against the car, I watch Sawyer emerge from the Briar Club house with a pensive expression. I look past her, scowling at the front door. If Duffy is giving her a hard time again, she’s going to regret it.

Sauce zips her hooded black puffer coat up to her throat and puts on black gloves before leaving the wraparound porch. The wind whips her hair and pinks her cheeks, which reminds me of the way she looks while we’re playing games. I miss everything about having her in my bed.

Halfway to the sidewalk, she sees me and slows. She didn’t expect me to be waiting. I came because I didn’t want to chance her changing her mind and going straight back to the dorm. Retrieving her from there would be a lot harder.

I push off the car and stride over to meet her on the sidewalk.

“I didn’t mean for you to come and wait.” Throwing a furtive look back at the house, she murmurs, “I would’ve texted when I was ready.” A lock of hair drops in front of her eyes.

My fingers brush the strand back, and she tilts her head away. Not ready for me to touch her yet.

I raise my brow but lower my hand. “So, bad news or good from the club?”

“I don’t know.” Stepping around me, she goes toward the passenger side of the car. “Can you drop me off on campus?”

“I can. After we talk.” I open her door, and she slides inside. “I’m starving. How about pizza at Hearth I’ve no intention of letting her slip off.

“Listen, I know it’s fast,” I say. “But life got ahead of us. Things are happening, whether we want them to or not. So, as I see it, we either go our separate ways or we make the choice to ride out the storm together.”

“I’m not saying I wouldn’t want to try. I think about you constantly, too. But I barely know you. And there are really big unanswered questions.” Her brows rise, challenging me to deny it, which of course I can’t.

“Fair enough.” My eyes hold hers, trying to convey my sincerity. “There’s a story I’ll tell you, and afterward, you’ll know me. Then, you can decide.”

The waitress approaches and slides a piping hot pizza onto a wooden cutting board in the center of the table. “Need anything else?”

“Thanks, no. We’re good.” I flash a polite smile in the waitress’s direction. As she moves away, I slide a hand to the back of Sawyer’s head. “Give me a kiss, Cranberry Sauce. It’ll help me hold on.”

Sawyer’s got no idea what I’m working up to tell her, but she still gives me the sweetest kiss imaginable.

There’ll be no end to the way I pursue her now. She’s the one. God help her.

In a life with more than its share of darkness, I still can’t resist holding on to an innocent girl. One who’s got no business being caught up in the middle of a blood vendetta.

Feels as if it’s meant to be, though. As if Sawyer and I were destined to meet. Star-crossed lovers , I think grimly.

And, as I’ve seen many times, there’s no point trying to argue with fate.