Chapter Eight

“One and only.”

Gen felt like she was going to drop the shot as he clinked the next one to hers and shot it with ease. Her heart was slamming against her chest, and her throat was closing up as she drank him in. His dark locks were disheveled and curled defiantly against his ear. His jaw was thick and full of even more unruly curly hair. But his eyes were still the exact same, blazing blue with dark lashes that were long and straight. He wasn’t skinny like he used to be, instead thick with muscle, and boy was he toned. Gone was the boy she had known, leaving behind a man who was meant to be admired.

Or worshiped.

“Well, hot damn, Genny, I’m done. You gonna catch up?”

But still, she couldn’t move. It was like she was slammed back in time, to the moment she had seen him at the country club. He was the talk of the clubhouse, Bruce Hudson’s bastard kid from another woman. He was rowdy and every bit the savage that some whore from a diner would raise. Everyone hated him the moment they heard of him. Everyone except Gen. She was intrigued by the “monster” who had popped up and threatened the Hudsons’ marriage. But when she saw him walking into the club in his thin, crisp white tee, frayed, worn jeans, and cowboy boots, she realized he wasn’t a monster. He was a gorgeous bad boy she knew her dad would hate. And since teenage Gen was looking for anything to piss her parents off, she was attracted to him within seconds, and she got exactly what she wanted.

Great sex, a good time, and pissed-off parents.

Looking up into his face, she still saw traces of that bad boy, and her insides warmed as she gazed at him. He laughed, shaking his head. “You’re looking at me like you’re seeing a ghost.”

She swallowed hard. “I feel like I am.”

He smiled. “Nope, I’m real. Wanna pinch me?”

Bracing her hand on the bar, she shook her head before throwing back one of the shots, then another, before finishing the last one. Letting out a quick hiss, she took a long pull of her beer before giving him a sideways glance to make sure he was still there.

He was.

Looking even more scrumptious than she remembered him.

Oh, this was bad.

“Wow.”

He smiled, showing the little chip on his tooth he had gotten on their road trip because of her. She had gone to open the door right as he reached for it, intending to open it for her, but she smacked him in the mouth with the door before he could. She had felt awful, but he just laughed it off. Holy crap, she was standing with Theo Hudson, in a bar.

Just like Montgomery accused her of.

Her heart ached as she turned, leaning into the bar. “I shouldn’t be here.”

“I’d say you’re in the perfect spot,” he muttered, and when she chanced a glance, he was looking her up and down. “Mercy, Genny, have you gotten hotter?”

He said it.

Mercy.

Fuck, she was done for.

Swallowing hard, hoping to push her damn heart out of her throat, she glanced over at him. “I’m engaged.”

He didn’t seem surprised as he said, “I can’t tell you you’re hot because of that?”

“No.”

“Well, I don’t know where you heard those rules, but I’m gonna say it if I want. Because when someone is as gorgeous as you are, it’s my duty to make sure they know that.”

Her eyes fell shut as she gripped the bar, all those feelings, those crazy, unruly ones from back then, slamming back into her gut. Damn it. “I gotta go.”

But when she turned, trying to get the hell out of there, her foot got stuck in the rung of the stool, and the next thing she knew, she was flying through the air headed straight for the dirty-ass floor. Lights went off in her head, and she cried out right as she felt something hot rushing from her nose.

“Whoa, Genny, you okay?” She felt his hands on her, and then she was upright, her hand going over her nose as the blood rushed out of it. “Shit, Clive, a towel.”

She closed her eyes, trying to keep her sanity because even though her nose was bleeding and everyone gushed over her, helping her, all she could think or feel was him. All of him.

Theo.

Squeezing her eyes shut as the world spun, she felt his hand run along her neck, holding her in place as he placed the rag on her rose. “Damn, you fell hard.”

“Shit, is she gonna have a black eye?” she heard Delaney ask, but Gen couldn’t answer. She could feel the whiskey tickling the back of her throat, and it was taking everything in her to keep it down.

“Sure looks like it. She hit that floor hard,” someone added, and Gen winced. That was all she needed.

“I can’t have a black eye when I get married.”

“Well, angel, I don’t think you have a choice,” Theo told her, moving his thumb along her nose. She cringed from the pain, opening her eyes, her gaze meeting his dark one. Her breath caught as his lips quirked at the side. “No matter, though. I’m sure you’ll still be as gorgeous as ever. It’s kinda crazy, but I swear you haven’t changed a bit.”

She swallowed hard, pushing the whiskey back. “I’m fatter.”

“Nah, not even a bit.”

Her eyes filled with tears as he moved his thumb across the bridge of her nose, a grin sitting on his lips. “It isn’t broken, which is good.” Heat filled her gut, her heart stopping in her chest as his eyes bored into hers. “Man, Genny, it’s really good to see you.”

“You too,” she muttered as he pulled the rag away, checking to see if her nose was still bleeding. It must have been because he put the rag back, giving her a smile.

“Why you running off, then?”

She looked down at his hand. It was large, holding the whole rag with ease, and thick. She also noticed he didn’t have a ring on. He wasn’t married. Which didn’t mean a thing, and she hated the little swirl of hope that started up in her stomach. “I shouldn’t be with you.”

“Why’s that?” he laughed. “Your parents still hate me?”

She sputtered with laughter, and his own laughter grew. “I think they’ll always hate you.”

“Probably,” he decided, pulling the rag away again. When he saw there was no more blood flow, he threw it on the bar. “But I don’t care.”

When he glanced back at her, her stomach twisted as she got lost in his eyes. “I shouldn’t be here.”

“Here? Or with me?”

“Both,” she answered, completely lost in his eyes. “He’s already pissed at me.”

“The dude from outside? On the phone? Is that the fiancé?”

Her stomach dropped. “Yeah.”

“Well, he’s a douche. You’re more than welcome to hang out with old friends, have fun. You’re on vacation, for God’s sake.”

Her lips pressed together as her heart beat so hard, it was hurting her ears. “According to him, I should only be working.”

“Working, huh? Is that what brought you back? You haven’t been here in a while.”

“Yeah,” she said slowly, pulling her gaze away. She knew she should go. Run, hightail it, but she couldn’t move. She…she…she didn’t want to. “It’s been a while, and I’ve missed it. But yeah, I’m here finishing a book.”

“I’ve seen how successful you’ve gotten,” he said, a little smile pulling at his lips. “I’m really proud of you, Genny. You said you were gonna do something big one day.”

Her face broke into a grin. “I did, huh?”

“Yeah, I remember it like it was yesterday.”

She nodded. “Me too.” She looked up, and he was watching her. Her body lit on fire as she started to ramble. “What are you doing now? Still running drugs?”

He laughed, shaking his head, smacking the bar in the process. “Nah. That was a one and done kind of deal. Spending two years in jail as a kid will scare you right out of that.”

Her jaw dropped. “You actually spent time in jail?”

He laughed. “Yeah. I thought you knew that.”

“I mean, I guess I did, but I didn’t realize it was that long.”

He nodded. “Yeah, apparently it’s illegal to run drugs. But good thing for me is I had a daddy who didn’t want anyone knowing about it. So they gave me a slap on the wrist.”

“Two years is a slap on the wrist?” she gasped.

“It should have been ten.”

“Good Lord!”

He turned slightly, his knee brushing hers. She knew she should move, she even told herself to move. But instead, she sat right there. The contact sent heat all throughout her body. When she met his gaze, she could see he felt it too. With a sinister smile and a deep voice that rattled her soul, he said, “Yeah, I was a bad, bad boy.”

She was breathless, but somehow got out, “Was?” Shit. Shit. Shit! “Ignore that, that was the alcohol.”

He grinned, all his teeth showing like she was the little tweety bird and he was the cat. “Mmm-hmm.”

“It was!”

“Sure,” he said, but even she knew that wasn’t all the alcohol. How could it be? He looked…bad. Like someone she wrote about. The kind of hero who would pick her up by her waist, slam her down on a table, and fuck her from behind while pressing his thumb so hard against her asshole, she’d be screaming his names for hours.

Great. Now she was turned on.

Or maybe it really was the whiskey because she was feeling it for sure. Her fingers were numb, her mind a little fuzzy—yeah, she needed to get out of there. “I really need to go.”

“No, don’t,” he said, stopping her when she tried to get up. “What’s the rush? I don’t even know your little so-called fiancé’s name.”

Her stomach clenched as she looked away, shaking her head. “Yeah, you do.”

He laughed, shaking his head. “What? My older half brother?” When she didn’t answer, just met his gaze, his laughter faltered, and soon he was staring at her. “No way.”

She shrugged. “I’ve been with him for five years.”

“What the fuck? How could you be with him a day?”

“He’s a good man.”

“He’s a fucking asshole, just like his dad.”

“Your dad.”

“Fuck that. My mom is my dad and my mom. Jesus, I thought—” He paused, shaking his head. “Wow, really, Genny? Why? Why him?”

She looked away. “Because I love him.”

“Liar,” he yelled, and when she looked up, he was crossing his arms over his wide, thick chest. “You may have loved him at one point, but not anymore.”

“What? That’s preposterous.”

He laughed some more. “I always did like those big ole words you used, but it’s true. When you love someone, Genevieve Stone, you love with your whole self. I’ve seen it, and that’s not what I see right now.”

Her heart stopped dead in her chest. “You don’t know what you’re talking about,” she stammered, pushing back the whiskey-vomit combo that was burning the back of her throat. “I do love him.”

Why was she lying?

But Theo just laughed, shaking his head. “You don’t. ’Cause if you did, you wouldn’t have let him hang up on you. You would have called back until he listened to you. You’re a fighter.”

She was flabbergasted. She hadn’t seen this man in years, and he was sitting here talking like he still knew her. “You don’t even know me.”

“Oh, I may not know this version of you, which I’m sure I’ve made known. You may be even more gorgeous, but, Genny, I know your soul.”

Her lips pressed together as she just blinked up at him. But his eyes, man, they were fierce. His words weren’t just words; that wasn’t Theo. His words were true, from his heart, and that was bad, so very bad. This couldn’t be happening. She couldn’t be with him. His claim of them just catching up was complete bullshit. There was no catching up with them. There was too much unfinished history between them, and she had to get out of there. But she didn’t move because she wanted to know what the hell he was implying. She knew what she was feeling—which was wrong on so many levels—but was he feeling that too? Shit, why did that matter? And why did his eyes still make her skin break out in gooseflesh!

Damn it! This was bad. So damn bad.

Leave. Leave now, Genevieve.

But when she opened her mouth, with every intention of forming a sentence, she found that, instead, it was to promptly puke all over both of their laps.

She tried to stop, Theo tried to move, but their legs were locked together. And before she knew it, she was puking up the entire contents of her stomach.

The damage was done.

Awesome.

Looking up, embarrassment burning her face and her neck, she met his shocked gaze before she asked, “Can you hand me that rag, please?”