Chapter 8

CHAPTER8

This was starting to get creepy, Cayley thought as she sat there, sipping her Shirley Temple as the man that had been watching her all day sat down on the other end of the bar and-

Continued watching her.

She should probably be concerned about that, but since she was used to Bryce glaring at her, Cayley shifted her focus back to the list that she was working on, determined to prove the big jerk that stole her lunch out of her desk wrong. She was fine on her own. More than fine, in fact. And, to prove that she was fine, she came to this lovely bar to work on her list alone.

She was going to come up with a plan that proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that she was more than capable of being alone and what better way to do that than around the holidays? She’d start with Thanksgiving, which was in two days and enjoy a lovely Thanksgiving dinner home alone. She would follow that up by putting up the Christmas tree she bought at a yard sale a few years ago the following day, starting a new tradition, decorate it, bake cookies, and do all the Christmas-related activities leading up to Strawberry Manor’s annual Christmas party and when she was done…

She was going to rub it in the big jerk’s face, Cayley thought with a satisfied sigh as she took another sip of her delicious beverage, only to once again find herself wondering why Bryce was still watching her. After more than twenty years, Cayley was used to him glaring at her, but this wasn’t glaring. The way that he watched her was…determined and, admittedly, starting to concern her.

She definitely preferred glaring to this, but at least he hadn’t brought up that nonsense about being in love with him again. That was something, Cayley thought as she watched a beautiful blonde woman wearing a black cocktail dress approach him. She still wasn’t sure why he thought that she was in love with him, especially since she never went out of her way to spend time with him, mostly because of that whole glaring issue that he seemed to have going on.

There was no question that he was handsome. All the James boys were, but she’d always secretly thought that he was the best-looking James brother. She’d made the mistake of admitting that to Sean once when they were little, which had resulted in her being trapped in his attic until she took it back. All the James boys had similar features, dark hair, large builds, and intense green eyes, but there was just something about Bryce that made her…wonder why she was even thinking about him.

Definitely losing her mind, Cayley thought, biting back a sigh as she continued sipping her delicious drink while she glanced around the bar that she normally never went to alone and felt her stomach drop when she spotted her ex-fiancé across the room. She hadn’t seen him since she gave him back his ring six months ago, but she had to admit that he looked good. Better than he had when she’d forced herself to walk away after he’d made it clear that asking her to marry him had been a mistake.

She’d wasted two years of her life on him, and she-

Really wished that she’d left when she had a chance, Cayley thought, unable to help but groan as she watched Kevin make his way towards her. He took the stool next to her as he gestured for the bartender. For a moment, he didn’t say anything to her while she sat there, waiting for a sense of regret, longing, something, but there was nothing and she wasn’t sure how she was supposed to feel about that.

“What are you doing here?” Kevin asked, not bothering to look at her as he stared straight ahead.

“Enjoying a lovely night out,” Cayley said as she turned her notebook over.

Nodding, Kevin said, “You haven’t returned my calls.”

“Because you made it pretty clear that you weren’t interested in being friends,” Cayley reminded him, really wishing that she’d left when she had the chance because this was the last thing that she needed right now.

“That probably had something to do with the fact that I thought that I was going to spend the rest of my life with you, Cayley,” Kevin said evenly as he accepted a beer from the bartender and took a sip.

“Which, of course, explains why you showed up at my doorstep one night to tell me that you thought we were making a mistake and that you weren’t sure that you could see a future with me,” Cayley said, wondering why they were playing this game when six months ago he couldn’t get away from her fast enough.

“I told you that I needed time to figure out what I wanted,” he bit out, turning his head to glare at her.

“No, what you told me was that you’d made a mistake and you didn’t think that you could force yourself to go through with it,” Cayley reminded him, deciding that she’d had more than enough for one night as she moved to climb off the stool when his next words stopped her.

“Are you here with someone?” Kevin demanded, looking pissed as she opened her mouth to tell him that it was none of his business when a large, tan hand was wrapping around hers and giving it a gentle tug as she found herself looking up at Bryce.

“Dance with me,” Bryce murmured softly, giving her hand another reassuring squeeze that had her climbing off the stool and going with him as she slowly exhaled, willing her body to stop trembling.

“Are you okay?” Bryce asked, pulling her onto the dance floor.

“I’m fine,” Cayley said, slowly exhaling as her gaze flickered back to the bar to find Kevin watching them.

“He always was an asshole,” Bryce said, sighing heavily.

“He wasn’t that bad,” Cayley mumbled sadly as a thought occurred to her, one that had her biting back a wince as she looked around the dance floor at the other couples that clearly knew what they were doing. “I have a slight problem.”

“What’s that?” Bryce asked as he led her to the middle of the dance floor.

Worrying her bottom lip between her teeth, Cayley admitted, “I can’t dance.”

“I see,” Bryce murmured absently as he glanced back to find Kevin still watching her. “It doesn’t look like we have a choice.”

“That’s what I thought,” Cayley mumbled sadly, earning a chuckle as Bryce pulled her into his arms and began moving them to the music.

“Thank you,” Cayley said as she placed her hand on his shoulder as she glanced back at the bar and-

Wow, did he look pissed, Cayley thought as she forced her attention back on Bryce to find him watching her. He didn’t say anything as he pulled her closer, and for once, she really appreciated his determination to ignore her. When he pulled her even closer a few seconds later, she found herself willingly going, closing her eyes as she laid her head against his chest and-

Realized just how much she liked being in his arms.

That should have been enough to send her running, but instead, Cayley stayed right where she was, deciding that she was going to enjoy this brief moment of insanity while it lasted. For several minutes, they moved, neither one saying a word as Bryce held her close, his fingertips gently caressing her lower back while she found herself wondering why it never felt this good when Kevin held her.

She’d always liked his touch, but it was never something that she couldn’t live without. It never felt like this. She never felt safe in his arms, wanted, and cherished, and she definitely never felt like she was exactly where she was supposed to be and-

She was definitely losing her mind, Cayley thought, wondering why the man that couldn’t stand her made her feel this way. It was probably something that she should worry about, but later, right now, she just wanted to savor this feeling while it lasted. When he pulled her impossibly closer, she willingly went, a shiver tearing through her as his warm breath teased the side of her neck and-

“Looks like he’s gone,” Bryce said as he suddenly let her go.

“Thank you,” Cayley murmured in a daze, swallowing hard as she looked up and found him watching her, a muscle in his jaw clenching as he moved to step closer to her, only to grind his jaw with a firm nod before turning around and walked away.

Cayley watched as Bryce’s hands clenched into fists as he headed for the exit, ignoring the woman that approached him earlier at the bar as she tried to get his attention and kept going, leaving her standing there wondering what the hell just happened.