between them. They raised glasses and clinked them together in an impromptu toast. “Here’s to life,” he said. “Fucked up and unpredictable as it is.”
They drank in silence, each lost in separate musings. When she cast a glance in his direction, she found him staring at her with curious eyes.
“You asked me last night if anyone had ever ripped out my heart.” He paused long enough to pour a third shot and choked it down before continuing. “That guy last night—the one in the parking lot? He hurt you pretty badly, didn’t he?” The question rang with sincerity and a forthrightness that caught her by surprise. If anyone else had asked, she would never have answered or made up some self-deprecating lie to deflect his attention from the true pain inside her.
“Yes.” Unable to meet his gaze, she stared into her shot glass, wishing it were bottomless like the ache in her heart. “He fucked me over in a major way. I keep thinking I’m over it then something happens like last night and bam …” She snapped her fingers. “I’m right back where I started.”
Tears stung the backs of her eyelids. She blinked rapidly to hold them at bay. A rough hand covered hers. Startled by the touch, her eyes flew to his. An enigmatic expression guarded his gaze. One corner of his mouth twitched in a smile tinged with so much sadness it made her heart squeeze. The warm grasp tightened before releasing her, fingers trailing over the back of her hand in a whisper of sympathy.
After three years, Randy could close the bar without thinking, and it was a good thing. His brain was too busy flipping through every conversation he’d had with Pilar and every shared encounter with Mitch. The signs had been there. He had attributed their surreptitious glances, covert smiles, and an occasional brush of hands as coincidence. A vision of Pilar sitting at the bistro table with skin glowing and the loose material of her top fluttering over the slight bulge of her stomach should have given it away. Now that he knew for sure, the signs of infidelity slapped him in the face.
Once the initial shock and anger faded, he settled into a boneless, gnawing void. He’d grown up alone and, except for Jack and Jack’s uncle David, had spent most of his adult life in solitude. Pilar had been a welcome distraction, keeping his head busy and his bed warm. But it was Caleb who filled the hole in his heart. He needed Caleb like he needed air to breathe. Without Caleb, he lived in perpetual darkness, shivering and stranded on an island of his own making.
The band packed up and split in record time while he tried to count the cash drawer. After starting over a dozen times, he finally gave up. He shoved the drawer into the safe, planning to finish tomorrow morning or afternoon, whenever he recovered from the massive buzz he was about to acquire. When he returned from the office, a flash of color behind the bar drew his attention. Karly wore his black apron, several sizes too large, over her dress and busied herself by wiping down the bar, washing the glasses, and straightening the liquor shelves. Sensing his gaze, she flashed a smile, brilliant as the midday sun, and a little of the coldness inside him melted away.
CHAPTER 9
The moon beamed from a black velvet sky sprinkled with stars and bathed the street to Karly’s apartment in surreal blue light. Droplets of humidity hung in the air, giving cars and buildings a sweaty sheen. A few damp strands of hair clung to her neck and temples. She brushed them away and tried not to stare as Randy rounded the front of the car to open the passenger door, extending a hand to help her out. The chivalrous gesture took her by surprise, and it took her a few seconds to recover. With hands shoved deep into his pockets, he waited on the front steps while she rummaged for the door key. She bit her lower lip, carefully avoiding eye contact.
"I should go," he said and took a tentative
They drank in silence, each lost in separate musings. When she cast a glance in his direction, she found him staring at her with curious eyes.
“You asked me last night if anyone had ever ripped out my heart.” He paused long enough to pour a third shot and choked it down before continuing. “That guy last night—the one in the parking lot? He hurt you pretty badly, didn’t he?” The question rang with sincerity and a forthrightness that caught her by surprise. If anyone else had asked, she would never have answered or made up some self-deprecating lie to deflect his attention from the true pain inside her.
“Yes.” Unable to meet his gaze, she stared into her shot glass, wishing it were bottomless like the ache in her heart. “He fucked me over in a major way. I keep thinking I’m over it then something happens like last night and bam …” She snapped her fingers. “I’m right back where I started.”
Tears stung the backs of her eyelids. She blinked rapidly to hold them at bay. A rough hand covered hers. Startled by the touch, her eyes flew to his. An enigmatic expression guarded his gaze. One corner of his mouth twitched in a smile tinged with so much sadness it made her heart squeeze. The warm grasp tightened before releasing her, fingers trailing over the back of her hand in a whisper of sympathy.
After three years, Randy could close the bar without thinking, and it was a good thing. His brain was too busy flipping through every conversation he’d had with Pilar and every shared encounter with Mitch. The signs had been there. He had attributed their surreptitious glances, covert smiles, and an occasional brush of hands as coincidence. A vision of Pilar sitting at the bistro table with skin glowing and the loose material of her top fluttering over the slight bulge of her stomach should have given it away. Now that he knew for sure, the signs of infidelity slapped him in the face.
Once the initial shock and anger faded, he settled into a boneless, gnawing void. He’d grown up alone and, except for Jack and Jack’s uncle David, had spent most of his adult life in solitude. Pilar had been a welcome distraction, keeping his head busy and his bed warm. But it was Caleb who filled the hole in his heart. He needed Caleb like he needed air to breathe. Without Caleb, he lived in perpetual darkness, shivering and stranded on an island of his own making.
The band packed up and split in record time while he tried to count the cash drawer. After starting over a dozen times, he finally gave up. He shoved the drawer into the safe, planning to finish tomorrow morning or afternoon, whenever he recovered from the massive buzz he was about to acquire. When he returned from the office, a flash of color behind the bar drew his attention. Karly wore his black apron, several sizes too large, over her dress and busied herself by wiping down the bar, washing the glasses, and straightening the liquor shelves. Sensing his gaze, she flashed a smile, brilliant as the midday sun, and a little of the coldness inside him melted away.
CHAPTER 9
The moon beamed from a black velvet sky sprinkled with stars and bathed the street to Karly’s apartment in surreal blue light. Droplets of humidity hung in the air, giving cars and buildings a sweaty sheen. A few damp strands of hair clung to her neck and temples. She brushed them away and tried not to stare as Randy rounded the front of the car to open the passenger door, extending a hand to help her out. The chivalrous gesture took her by surprise, and it took her a few seconds to recover. With hands shoved deep into his pockets, he waited on the front steps while she rummaged for the door key. She bit her lower lip, carefully avoiding eye contact.
"I should go," he said and took a tentative
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