Page 11 of The Space Between Heartbeats
“That sounds good,” Owen says, nodding, his eyes on his phone again. I swear if he doesn’t stop opening the useless park app his phone will die before lunchtime. “There’s the Big Top Grill. We used to always go there, remember?”
He’s not actually waiting on a response, but I nod anyway.
“They have the good onion rings,” Knox mutters.
“Yeah, and the order is massive,” Owen says. “I’ll put our names in now to save our place.”
“You think they have something light, like salad?” Ella asks Knox, leaning her head against his arm. “Actually maybe a smoothie. My stomach…”
I don’t want to listen in on their conversation or see her hanging all over him, so I turn away, but right before I do, I notice his gaze on me again. I lift my chin, grip Owen’s free hand, and pretend I don’t see a thing.
Chapter 4
Sawyer
Where the hell did Owen go? We went our separate ways to use the bathroom and suddenly he evaporates into thin air. Maybe Giggles abducted him and he’s hanging by some cotton candy cocoon in a circus tent lair.
And why is every guy I see suddenly wearing a backwards cap? I reach for my phone in my cross body bag when Knox’s low timbre sounds from behind me. “Lose something?”
I spin around, trying to keep my heart from physically exiting my chest, and am met by a towering asshole standing way closer than I expected. I have to tilt my head back slightly to meet his eyes. He’s taken off the aviators, and without them as a barrier, his gaze is unsettlingly direct.
“Your brother,” I say, aiming for a certain nonchalantness but landing somewhere near defensive. “We were supposed to meet back here.”
“He’s with Ella. They called our table.” Knox jerks his chin toward the Big Top Grill across the walkway. Through thefingerprint-covered window, I find Owen’s profile at the hostess stand. Ella’s beside him, gesturing with her hands while talking.
“Oh.” I should walk over there and join them. Knox’s scrutiny is making me feel…things. I don’t know if I want to pummel him or hug him or chew his ass out. “Thanks.”
I start to move past him, but he doesn’t step aside. He’s not exactly blocking me but he’s not making it easy for me to get by either.
A woman wrangling two toddlers shoves past us on her way out of the bathrooms and still, he doesn’t move.
“You’ve been quiet today.”
I let out a short laugh. “That’s rich, coming from you. You’ve barely said five words to me.”
“I’m saying them now.”
“Wow, congratulations.” I clap my hands in the most slow and condescending way I can. “Want a medal?”
He exhales a deep breath that sounds suspiciously like suppressed laughter. “Still a brat, I see.”
“Still a raging asshole, I see.”
The corner of his mouth twitches. “Some things don’t change.”
“Apparently not.”
I cross my arms over my chest and step back until I hit a pillar. Knox follows. He’s so close…too close for two people whose partners are mere feet away.
“You’re scared, aren’t you?”
He doesn’t specify what I’m scared of…He doesn’t need to. He’s not wrong. I am scared. Of so many things. Things that I’d never admit to anyone at any time, ever.
I narrow my eyes, and suck in a breath, getting a full inhale of his scent. It’s subtle but it’s there, like an ocean breeze.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
He huffs a laugh. “For one, the Sawyer I know wouldn’t be scared of riding a fucking roller coaster.” His gaze trails down as I clutch my arms tighter around my chest. “Or being close to me.”
