Page 18 of Embracing the Beat
“Sorry.”
“Why are you sorry?” He blinks several times, and the awkwardness fades. “You weren’t the one who lied to me.”
“What?”
The server drops off our new drinks, and West takes a sip before nodding. “Ashley was a liar. And when I found that out, I could no longer trust anything I knew about her. Anything I knew about us.”
His face shows a mix of anger, pain, and exhaustion. He and Ashley broke up because she lied to him. And here I am doing the same thing.
It doesn’t matter. You’re not dating him.
That thought doesn’t stop guilt from swimming uneasily in my stomach.
“Sounds like we’ve both made some bad decisions in the past.”
“Why? What bad decisions have you made lately?”
I take another sip instead of answering. I’m not interested in disappointing him by telling him about my bad choices.
“Nope. No more of the conversation downers. We came out to enjoy ourselves and our drinks—”
“Don’t forget the history.”
“And the history.” I roll my eyes with an indulgent smile. “Let’s talk about something else. Anything else. There’s only one rule.”
“What’s that?” He leans in closer, the scent of his cologne encompassing me in a bubble of bergamot, citrus, and beach.
My breath catches. What do his lips feel like through the layer of scruff?
“Mikey?”
I snap back into focus.
“Oh. One rule. We need to have fun.”
A smirk tilts his lips, and my skin singes where he locks his pinky around mine.
“Deal.”
