“But you smell much better.”
Brett choked on a laugh. Only Anna could joke about his childhood like that and get away with it. “Wow. Thanks.”
“And your clothes are nicer, too,” she teased with a smile.
Brett rolled his eyes. “Again, thanks.”
“I hated that they hurt you like that,” she said softly. “That they didn’t care.”
He swallowed. “It doesn’t matter anymore. It was years ago.”
“I know.” She sighed. “But I still hate it. And them. But anyway… Come. Sit with me. I promise I won’t bite unless you ask me to.”
He tried his damned best to ignore that comment…and fucking failed. “Always the tease.”
“It’s not teasing if you’d actually do it.”
“Yeah. Sure.” He snorted. “Whatever you say.”
“I say…” She patted the spot directly next to her. “Sit down and shut up, before you ruin the peaceful moment we have out here.”
“Yes, ma’am.” He saluted her. “Right away, ma’am.”
“At least I know if I order you to stay in my company, you won’t avoid me for a little while.”
He sat, but on the opposite side of the bench, as far away from her as he could without falling off. He couldn’t risk getting too close right now. Their usual light flirtation didn’t seem so lighthearted anymore. “I’m not avoiding you.”
“You might not be trying to,” she said. She eyed the gaping distance between them. “But at the same time, you are. And that’s fine.”
He stared down at his hands, which were curled into fists. “It’s not easy coming back here, to this town. The memories of them piss me off.”
“I know.” She reached out and grabbed one of his hands, squeezing gently.
When she pulled back from him, he had the insane urge to flip his hand over and catch hers so she wouldn’t let go. He looked up at her, meeting her soft gaze. She was giving him that look again. Instead of making him uneasy, this time his heart skipped a beat. He inched closer to her. “Remember that day I came to school and didn’t have any shoelaces?”
She stiffened. “Yes. That awful Matt boy was teasing you, but you threatened to kick his ass, and he took off running like the pansy he was.”
“Do you remember what you said about him after?”
“I think it was…” She pursed her lips and looked up at the stars. He longed to run his finger down her perfectly smooth cheek. To find out if she was as soft as a rose petal or not, once and for all, stupid poetry be damned. “I think I called him a loser, and said you’d be his boss someday, so ignore him.”
His lips twitched. He would never forget that day, or the way she looked when she got all defensive about him. Eyes blazing, hair flying, little fists clenched when she tried to go after him. He’d stopped her with a hand on her arm and a few soft words he couldn’t remember. But, ah, he remembered her, and the way she looked.
Would she still want to fight for him?
He forced his attention back to her. Anna watched him with a wrinkled brow, waiting for him to continue on. “Guess who is the custodian at Ross-Handler Inc.?”
“Matt?” She burst into laughter at his nod. “Oh God. I love that. You totally just made my day…heck, my life.”
He smiled at the musical sound of her amusement. Something about her laugh set him free. Or some other stupid romantic crap like that that he shouldn’t be thinking or trying to put into words. “He really needed the job, though, to feed his family, so as much as I’d like to have said no…”
She met his eyes. Hesitantly, she reached out and traced the line of his jaw, touching his skin. Much like he’d wanted to do to her—only she wasn’t afraid of the consequences. And she wasn’t bound by a blood oath made as a kid.
Flexing his jaw, he pulled away her fingers. “Anna.”
Her smile drifted away, and she dropped her hand back to her lap as she took a sip of wine. “Sorry. It’s just…”
When she trailed off, he frowned. “It’s just what?”
“That’s one of the few times I’ve seen you smile tonight,” she said.
He raised his brows. “Maybe you need to look closer, then. I’ve been smiling a lot.” So damn much his fucking cheeks were aching. Who the hell smiled as much as these people? They couldn’t be for real.
“No. Not really. You’ve been smiling.” She turned back to him, her eyes crystal clear to him even in the darkness. “But not the smile I know and…love.”