She turned in my arms so we were front to front. “Anywhere, huh?”
“You name it.”
She tapped her lips. “Hmm, what about Paris?”
“Paris?”
“I’ve always wanted to go to the Orangerie. I know it’s cliché, but Monet has always been one of my favorite painters. I want to sit in one of those rooms where his water lilies surround you.”
“Paris, it is.” I was already mentally calculating when I could take time off to take her. I would’ve gone tomorrow if it were possible.
“What about you? Where would you want to go if you could go anywhere?”
“I’d stay right here.”
“Here?”
I bent my head, taking Addie’s mouth in a long, slow kiss. It was as if the crowd around us melted away. There was only her and me. When I pulled back, she was a little dazed. I couldn’t help my smile. “Here seems like the best place I could imagine.”
35
ADDIE
The intensity of Beckett’s gaze as he spoke had me fidgeting in place. It was too much. And his words hinted at more than just the present. They spoke of forever.
Forever was a dangerous thing for me to hope for. It had never panned out well for me. Not with my mom, Everly, or with any person I’d ever truly cared about.
I took a step back. “I’m going to find the restroom. I’ll be back in just a sec.” I moved through the crowd before Beckett had a chance to respond. The band had just come back from a break, so there wasn’t a line for the bathroom. I slipped inside just as another woman left and locked the door behind me.
I stared at myself in the mirror. Beneath the expertly applied makeup, I’d gone a little pale. I turned on the cold tap and let it run over my hands for a minute. They trembled under the flow.
I didn’t want those glimmers of forever from Beckett. Because if he didn’t promise me that, I wouldn’t be angry when he left. I could keep our friendship and not turn bitter. But if I really let myself hope for tomorrow with him and thousands of days after that, it would crush me if he walked away.
I ran a paper towel under the cool water and then wrung it out. I patted it on the back of my neck. Today. That was all that mattered. We weren’t even guaranteed tomorrow. I wouldn’t let myself go there.
I tossed the paper towel into the trash and headed out the door. A girl who didn’t look old enough to be in the bar snuck into the bathroom behind me, and I started down the hall. It was dark but lit by neon signs for different beers and liquors. The signage gave the space a warm glow.
A large figure moved in front of me. It took a few steps before his face came into view. Everything in me locked.
I opened my mouth to scream, but I was too late. Walter moved far faster than his size suggested. His fist came up in a strike to my temple.
Light flashed in my vision, and then he was dragging me towards the back exit, my body slumped against his. I fought against the haze trying to take me under. Beckett’s eyes flashed in my mind. The intensity. The whisper of forever.
My fingernails dug into Walter’s arm, and I started to scream. His hand clamped over my mouth as he pushed open the door. “You’re gonna pay for what you’ve put me through. And I’m gonna enjoy every second of it.”
Bile surged in my throat, but I didn’t stop fighting. Beckett’s reminder of using everything I had to defend myself echoed in my head. I bit down on Walter’s hand as hard as I could.
He let out a stream of curses, loosening his hold on me for a split second. I struggled free of his grasp, the world around me going fuzzy.
“You fucking bitch!” He lurched forward, one hand closing around my neck and the other tearing at my dress. His fingers closed around my breast, squeezing hard.
Panic tightened my throat. This wasn’t happening. Couldn’t. I scratched at Walter’s face, trying to reach his eyes, but my vision darkened around the edges.
“Hey!” someone yelled from behind us. “Let her go!”
Walter jerked at the shout, releasing me and charging for the door.
I crumpled to the floor, gasping for breath.