shot a strained smile to Abby. “I’ve got to run, sweetheart,” she said, then, unable to resist, she tousled the girl’s silky black hair. Without another look at Wade she lost herself in the crowd.
Nikki sat silently on the deck while her father cooked steaks on the grill. A lukewarm can of soda sat untouched next to her while she tried to figure out exactly what she was going to do about Wade.
He wasn’t taking the hint very well, but that was simply because he didn’t want to.
He had decided he was going to get back in her life and that was exactly what he intended to do.
I could go to New York , she thought, chewing her lip. Kirsten had been nagging her to come up for a visit. But she hated New York. Hell, she could hardly stand to go to Louisville anymore.
Besides, the thought of running away galled her.
So what did she do?
What she had to do was make him understand she wanted nothing to do with him. But how was she going to do that?
He knew, in that way of his, that she wasn’t dating. He figured that left the field wide open for him.
He was going to keep coming around until he wore her down.
So how do I keep him from coming around?
Make him mad. Narrow that field a little bit.
His temper didn’t appear to flare as easy as it used to, but Nikki figured if she got him mad enough, kept him at a distance, she could handle him. She couldn’t handle him coming around coaxing and wooing.
So she just had to figure out a way to piss him off.
An angry Wade was a lot easier for her to handle than one that teased and flirted.
Wade froze in action, his hand hanging limping at his side instead of reaching for his wallet. The teller at the window repeated, “That will be twelve dollars, sir.” Automatically, he paid her, accepted the tickets and moved away. Abby chattered away about the upcoming movie, but for the life of him he couldn’t process anything she said.
Nikki was here with a tall, lanky man he recognized dimly. It was the guy who owned one of the two repair shops in town. That bastard had one tanned, muscular arm wrapped securely around Nikki’s waist as he led her into the theater, head bent low, murmuring into her ear.
Son of a bitch , he fumed silently as he let Abby tug him through the double glass doors and into the line at the snack bar. What in the hell is she doing with that guy?
58
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No Longer Mine
Searching the lobby, Wade’s eyes narrowed as he spotted them in the line next to theirs. He saw red as the guy stroked his hand down Nikki’s cheek…and she smiled at the guy, a real smile, one Wade hadn’t seen in years. A smile that had that lone dimple flashing and her eyes crinkling up at the corners.
Was this why she wouldn’t give Wade the time of day?
How in the hell could she do this? Why in the hell would she do this?
Shit, she was dressed up in a killer little dress that left much arm and leg bare, and left very little to the imagination. It was a deep apricot color and it displayed a lithe, toned body and made her skin glow.
Her full mouth was painted the same shade and her eyes were made up to look huge and slumberous. She’d pulled some of her hair up into a loose knot and long sparkling earrings danced and gleamed as she cocked her head to look up at him.
Impotent fury swelled in him as he watched them leave the lobby, but it paled next to the rage he felt as they walked side by side into a theater that was showing a sexy new thriller. He had asked her to go see it with him just three days ago, and she had said she wasn’t interested.
“Movies don’t do much for me anymore, Wade,” she’d said, voice cool and disinterested.
Through ninety minutes of cartoon antics, Wade sat rigidly, his hands clenching and unclenching as he thought of the two in the theater next door. How long had she been seeing him? Why hadn’t she said anything? Why hadn’t he seen them together before now? Why was he sitting here when he could be one
Nikki sat silently on the deck while her father cooked steaks on the grill. A lukewarm can of soda sat untouched next to her while she tried to figure out exactly what she was going to do about Wade.
He wasn’t taking the hint very well, but that was simply because he didn’t want to.
He had decided he was going to get back in her life and that was exactly what he intended to do.
I could go to New York , she thought, chewing her lip. Kirsten had been nagging her to come up for a visit. But she hated New York. Hell, she could hardly stand to go to Louisville anymore.
Besides, the thought of running away galled her.
So what did she do?
What she had to do was make him understand she wanted nothing to do with him. But how was she going to do that?
He knew, in that way of his, that she wasn’t dating. He figured that left the field wide open for him.
He was going to keep coming around until he wore her down.
So how do I keep him from coming around?
Make him mad. Narrow that field a little bit.
His temper didn’t appear to flare as easy as it used to, but Nikki figured if she got him mad enough, kept him at a distance, she could handle him. She couldn’t handle him coming around coaxing and wooing.
So she just had to figure out a way to piss him off.
An angry Wade was a lot easier for her to handle than one that teased and flirted.
Wade froze in action, his hand hanging limping at his side instead of reaching for his wallet. The teller at the window repeated, “That will be twelve dollars, sir.” Automatically, he paid her, accepted the tickets and moved away. Abby chattered away about the upcoming movie, but for the life of him he couldn’t process anything she said.
Nikki was here with a tall, lanky man he recognized dimly. It was the guy who owned one of the two repair shops in town. That bastard had one tanned, muscular arm wrapped securely around Nikki’s waist as he led her into the theater, head bent low, murmuring into her ear.
Son of a bitch , he fumed silently as he let Abby tug him through the double glass doors and into the line at the snack bar. What in the hell is she doing with that guy?
58
www.samhainpublishing.com
No Longer Mine
Searching the lobby, Wade’s eyes narrowed as he spotted them in the line next to theirs. He saw red as the guy stroked his hand down Nikki’s cheek…and she smiled at the guy, a real smile, one Wade hadn’t seen in years. A smile that had that lone dimple flashing and her eyes crinkling up at the corners.
Was this why she wouldn’t give Wade the time of day?
How in the hell could she do this? Why in the hell would she do this?
Shit, she was dressed up in a killer little dress that left much arm and leg bare, and left very little to the imagination. It was a deep apricot color and it displayed a lithe, toned body and made her skin glow.
Her full mouth was painted the same shade and her eyes were made up to look huge and slumberous. She’d pulled some of her hair up into a loose knot and long sparkling earrings danced and gleamed as she cocked her head to look up at him.
Impotent fury swelled in him as he watched them leave the lobby, but it paled next to the rage he felt as they walked side by side into a theater that was showing a sexy new thriller. He had asked her to go see it with him just three days ago, and she had said she wasn’t interested.
“Movies don’t do much for me anymore, Wade,” she’d said, voice cool and disinterested.
Through ninety minutes of cartoon antics, Wade sat rigidly, his hands clenching and unclenching as he thought of the two in the theater next door. How long had she been seeing him? Why hadn’t she said anything? Why hadn’t he seen them together before now? Why was he sitting here when he could be one
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