“Fox, wait!”
After staring at Mom for several tense heartbeats, he turned and walked away toward the shadows past the pool of light outside the restaurant. I’m not finished with him yet, not by a long shot. I need to talk to him before he shuts me out again. I want to know what he meant about me being his problem and why he stepped in between me and Sam when he was actively tormenting me not that long ago.
“Maisy, get back here!” Dad calls as I go after Fox. I move faster to outrun him, expecting him to restrain me if he has to, but it doesn’t come. “Please! Jackie—”
“We won’t make a scene here, Richard,” Mom says cryptically.
I’m not turning back, not even for the desperation in Dad’s voice. They can’t keep me from him. I’m fighting for him and they won’t stop me. For once, Mom’s insane need to control every aspect of her image is working out for me to escape so I can chase Fox.
I’ll deal with the fallout when I get home later. I’m sure I’m in for hell from her for ruining her meticulously orchestrated night by running off. Let people start another rumor, see if I care. There are more important things happening right now than maintaining the image she’s obsessed with.
When I reach the shadows, I don’t see him. Crap. Did I miss him? How does he move so quickly and quietly so it’s hard to follow his path?
A pair of strong arms circle me from behind and I’m whirled around. I release a tiny gasp before my back hits the brick wall of the restaurant.
“What are you doing, Maisy Daisy?” Fox rasps in a smoky tone, lips brushing my temple while his hand closes around my neck.
Unlike before, this time his hold is almost…gentle. His thumb swipes the underside of my jaw, guiding my face up.
For a moment, I can’t speak. My throat closes over with the emotions choking me up. He’s called me daisy, and by my name a few times, but never the full nickname from our childhood. My hands automatically rest on his chest, clinging to the material of his signature black muscle shirt beneath the leather jacket to anchor myself so I don’t float away in the sea of memories attacking me. I didn’t expect how it would make me feel when I used to hate it so much, but hearing it now infused with so many things—wry amusement, sultry teasing, affection—I have to swallow a few times and force out a ragged breath.
“You’re more interesting to be around than my parents.” I want to pull him closer. A snort shakes his shoulders and a hot puff of air travels over my neck. “I need to talk to you.”
“No.”
The arrogant way he decides it makes me bristle.
“Yes,” I insist, twisting my fingers and tugging on his shirt.
“I didn’t plan on you.”
I don’t know what he means by that, but it sounds like the admission cost him.
He sighs in resignation, tracing his nose down the side of my face, as if he can’t keep away from me anymore than I can stay away from him. It’s impossible. The world knows we’re meant to be like this, so it gave us an invisible cord that ties our hearts together.
My whole body protests when he pulls back, allowing the cool night air to get between us. It feels like he’s putting the cavernous divide back in place. His eyes are hard to read in the dark, but they still pierce through me.
“I have to go.” His mouth twists. “There’s something I’m late for.”
“So take me with you. We really need to talk. You said I was your problem and I want to know what you meant.”
He pushes out a breath, cutting his gaze to the side as he drags his long, calloused fingers through his tousled dark hair. His jaw works while he shakes his head.
“No.”
That damn refusal again. I tighten my grip on his shirt, ready to jump across the deep invisible crevice he separates us with.
“Don’t.”
“What changed?” My words come faster and my voice cracks. “Why did you hate me so much and do everything you could to make my life hell, but now you decide you’ll protect me?”
The more I push, the more I feel him closing off. My one chance to get past his walls is slipping away. He steps back, prying my hands from his shirt. He won’t even look at me.
“Why?” I yell. “Just tell me!”
Fox moves aggressively, pinning me to the wall. “Why?”
A harsh sound passes his lips as he grips me by my upper arms and cages me against the bricks with every inch of his hard muscles. His controlled composure breaks and everything he keeps locked away pours out of him.