Read Online Running in Place (Mending Hearts) by L.B. Simmons - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: L.B. Simmons
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beautiful baby blues. “It was his cousin , Noah.” Her chin begins to quiver, and it takes everything in me to keep from jumping over the damn table to comfort her, but I don’t. I just squeeze my knee even tighter and let her finish. “What the hell is wrong with me?” she shakes her head and then covers her face with her hands, her shoulders trembling as she begins to sob.
Reaching across the red and white checkered tablecloth, I gently pry her fingers away from her eyes. After placing her hands back on the table, I lift mine slowly away from hers to wipe the tears as they roll slowly down the sides of her face. “Tatum, there’s nothing wrong with you,” I say, running my fingers over her moist cheeks one last time before backing away. “You reacted the way most women would have — well, bashing his truck not included. But the deduction was a natural one.” After getting a very, very slight lift of the corners of her mouth, I continue.
“Plus…Cash is a fucking loser. I was actually planning on beating the shit out of his truck with that bat anyway, so you saved me the effort. I should be thanking you.” When that gets me an actual smile, the pressure in my chest lessens and I take in a deep breath of relief. Seeing her upset seems to have a direct effect on my cardiac system.
“Seriously, why are you even with him, Tatum? You never seem happy when you are.”
Well, that sure turned her smile upside down. It also caused her to glare back at me.
“Like you have room to talk, Noah. Why are you with Ryder? You sure as hell never look happy when you’re with her, either. You usually look irritated, actually.”
Touché.
“You’re right,” I shrug as I lean back in my chair. “We kind of have an agreement, so it is what it is, but it’s nice to know you’ve been watching.” I give her a quick wink and quickly direct my stare down to her gorgeous mouth, something I’ve been guilty of doing several times today, before looking back up at her eyes.
She tightens her gaze as she sits back in her own seat, crossing her arms over her chest as she reclines. “Well, you might want to explain that to her because I’m pretty sure she thinks otherwise. Like, she probably has the church booked and wedding magazines all over her apartment.”
Rubbing my chest, I reason to myself that the mention of marriage also seems to have an adverse effect on my cardiovascular. Or maybe that’s just the reference to Ryder?
We’re getting way off track here, so I scoot my seat underneath the table, closer to Tatum, and shift toward her while crooking my finger for her to lean in as well. Surprisingly, after a slight hesitation, she does. Shielding the side of my mouth with the back of my hand, I lower my voice to a whisper. “Let’s drop the Ryder topic for a second. It’s giving me heartburn. Let’s just concentrate on you for the time being. Her hardened mask breaks and she laughs even though I couldn’t be more serious.
“I’m going to give you a loser lesson. Let’s call it, Loser 101: Introduction to All Things Loser .” Another small smile crosses her lips, and damn if I don’t find myself once again momentarily distracted by her mouth.
Glancing back up, I look into her eyes and grin. “Okay, so number one. His name isn’t really Cash, you know this right? His name is Herman . Not that there’s anything wrong with that, but if he’s not man enough to even stand behind the name his mother gave him, well?”
Tatum’s stare widens and she covers her mouth. “How did you know that?” she whispers back from behind her fingers. She looks like an adorable little girl with her huge blue eyes gaping back at me. It’s captivating. I burn the image into my memory bank before letting her in on my secret.
“I’m a bartender. I’ve seen his I.D. In fact, I make him show it to me every time he comes into the bar because it makes me laugh.”
She drops her hand, huge smile displayed. “You’re
Reaching across the red and white checkered tablecloth, I gently pry her fingers away from her eyes. After placing her hands back on the table, I lift mine slowly away from hers to wipe the tears as they roll slowly down the sides of her face. “Tatum, there’s nothing wrong with you,” I say, running my fingers over her moist cheeks one last time before backing away. “You reacted the way most women would have — well, bashing his truck not included. But the deduction was a natural one.” After getting a very, very slight lift of the corners of her mouth, I continue.
“Plus…Cash is a fucking loser. I was actually planning on beating the shit out of his truck with that bat anyway, so you saved me the effort. I should be thanking you.” When that gets me an actual smile, the pressure in my chest lessens and I take in a deep breath of relief. Seeing her upset seems to have a direct effect on my cardiac system.
“Seriously, why are you even with him, Tatum? You never seem happy when you are.”
Well, that sure turned her smile upside down. It also caused her to glare back at me.
“Like you have room to talk, Noah. Why are you with Ryder? You sure as hell never look happy when you’re with her, either. You usually look irritated, actually.”
Touché.
“You’re right,” I shrug as I lean back in my chair. “We kind of have an agreement, so it is what it is, but it’s nice to know you’ve been watching.” I give her a quick wink and quickly direct my stare down to her gorgeous mouth, something I’ve been guilty of doing several times today, before looking back up at her eyes.
She tightens her gaze as she sits back in her own seat, crossing her arms over her chest as she reclines. “Well, you might want to explain that to her because I’m pretty sure she thinks otherwise. Like, she probably has the church booked and wedding magazines all over her apartment.”
Rubbing my chest, I reason to myself that the mention of marriage also seems to have an adverse effect on my cardiovascular. Or maybe that’s just the reference to Ryder?
We’re getting way off track here, so I scoot my seat underneath the table, closer to Tatum, and shift toward her while crooking my finger for her to lean in as well. Surprisingly, after a slight hesitation, she does. Shielding the side of my mouth with the back of my hand, I lower my voice to a whisper. “Let’s drop the Ryder topic for a second. It’s giving me heartburn. Let’s just concentrate on you for the time being. Her hardened mask breaks and she laughs even though I couldn’t be more serious.
“I’m going to give you a loser lesson. Let’s call it, Loser 101: Introduction to All Things Loser .” Another small smile crosses her lips, and damn if I don’t find myself once again momentarily distracted by her mouth.
Glancing back up, I look into her eyes and grin. “Okay, so number one. His name isn’t really Cash, you know this right? His name is Herman . Not that there’s anything wrong with that, but if he’s not man enough to even stand behind the name his mother gave him, well?”
Tatum’s stare widens and she covers her mouth. “How did you know that?” she whispers back from behind her fingers. She looks like an adorable little girl with her huge blue eyes gaping back at me. It’s captivating. I burn the image into my memory bank before letting her in on my secret.
“I’m a bartender. I’ve seen his I.D. In fact, I make him show it to me every time he comes into the bar because it makes me laugh.”
She drops her hand, huge smile displayed. “You’re
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