Page 63

Present Day

The warm overhead lights cast a hazy glow over the crowded bar. The pounding music and moving bodies cause a shift at the bottom of my stomach.

Why would Sean want to meet here? Neither of us drink much, this doesn’t seem like our scene. I would have rather we met up at my place. Or his.

I squeeze into an empty space at the bar top. A group of men at the opposite end, keep catching my eye as their stares burn into the side of my face.

“Can I get an iced tea, please?” I call out to the bartender.

He only nods, busy mixing a cocktail over his head.

Two minutes later, a drink slides in front of me.

The men at the end won’t look away. My body swivels in the chair, placing my back to them.

I should have waited in the car until Sean got here.

The last thing I need is to draw unwanted attention to myself. With a town this small, they probably assume I’m fresh meat.

“Oh jeez,” I spit, beginning to cough and shoving the drink as far from me as possible. This is definitely not iced tea.

“Excuse me?” I yell over the music, trying to get the bartender’s attention. “Excuse me?”

“Sup,” he replies flatly.

He’s covered in tattoos. A spider crawls up one side of his neck while a vampire bite bleeds down the other. It’s not very Lakewood of him.

“This isn’t what I ordered.”

He rolls his eyes as he relaxes against the bar. “Yes, it is. Long Island.”

“No, I asked for an iced tea. Not a Long Island iced tea,” I hiss.

“Oh—sorry. I just assumed,” he says as he pours a regular iced tea.

I don’t know why this makes me so livid.

“If I wanted a Long Island iced tea, I would’ve said Long Island,” I reply.

The bartender walks away, ignoring me, and I feel a hand find its way around my waist.

I breathe out in frustration. When I look up, Sean is standing just an inch away from me.

“Woah—angry face. You okay?” he asks, watching the bartender.

His voice instantly soothes me.

“It’s nothing.” I shrug it off.

“I have to run to the bathroom, too much coffee today. Don’t go anywhere.”

He walks away through the crowd, a group of younger women staring after him.

Does no one have any shame in this town?

I sip my freshly poured tea, reminding me of Maggie’s number one bar rule—never go alone. I can’t believe I forgot it.

Once she’s married, she’ll never have to wear a fake ring to a bar ever again.