Tangle (Dogwood Lane 2)

She eyes me with the care of a woman who knows better. “A favor like a slice of leftover pizza? Or a favor like give my opinion of the poodle spa? How’s that coming, by the way?”

“Lovely.” I sigh at her attempt at redirection. “It’s a favor like . . . come to Nashville with me this weekend.”

Her eyes almost fall out of her head. I shift in my seat, worried I’ve overstepped.

“What did you just say?” she asks.

I clear my throat. “Come to Nashville with me. Please.”

She tears her eyes from mine and gazes into the distance. Her guard is up, and I want to yank it down and have the vulnerable, sweet Haley back. But the protective mode is on because of me, and I hate that.

Before I can say anything else, she gets to her feet.

“I’m not sure I understand,” she says. “You’re talking about the party that you told your ex-whatever to go to with a plus-one because you . . . you . . .”

“Look,” I say, getting to my feet, too, “I know this sounds stupid, but it’s not just about Liz.”

She crosses her arms in front of her. “Then what’s it about?”

“The retirement party is a big deal.” I say it like she should give a shit, like saying this should convince her right here and now to agree to go.

“What’s that have to do with me?” she asks.

She raises a brow, showing me a crack in her tough-girl veneer that gives me hope. And as much as I’m grateful for that, I’m also grateful to see her holding on to her guns for a minute. That will serve her well with guys like me. Just not with me. I hate it with me.

“You know how pathetic I am at eating on my own,” I say. “Don’t make me go to a party all by myself.”

She laughs. “It’s a party with your family.”

I reach for her out of instinct. She stills at the contact. My hand falls from her shoulder as I shrug, but I don’t miss the goose bumps on her skin as my fingers slowly drag down her silky-smooth arm.

She blushes. “Trevor, look . . .”

“I know. I know, I know, I know,” I say. “But I need a plus-one because I don’t want to go alone.”

“Take Liz.”

“You’re so funny,” I say, narrowing my eyes.

She laughs. “You’re afraid of Meredith, aren’t you? That’s the truth.”

“I’m terrified.” I stick out my bottom lip. “Just please go with me. I know this a huge thing to ask of you, but this is a big deal.”

“It’s a big deal to whom?”

“To me.” I look her straight in the eye. “Please go. It’ll be fun. I promise.”

She paces the room, fidgeting with her hair. I want to scoop her up and kiss the shit out of her, and that makes me want to run out of here like my head is on fire.

I don’t understand this wanting to be with her like this. I really don’t understand wanting to do it, because if something bad happens, it’ll ruin this friendship we’ve struck up out of nowhere—a friendship that keeps surprising me daily. Each day I want to see her. Spend time with her. Fight with her.

It’s a weird dynamic. It works in a way I haven’t experienced before. This is uncharted territory and I don’t know what to do.

“Trevor,” she says. She stops moving in a circle and faces me. “Let me be polite at first and tell you that I’m honored you’d take me around your family. That means a lot.”

“But . . .” My heart sinks.

“But this is ridiculous.”

“Why?”

She laughs an almost angry kind of chuckle. “We’ve done an amazing job at not messing up this . . . camaraderie? . . . that we have with one another. We’ve been adults. We’ve acknowledged how messy this could get, and we’ve avoided it, partly in thanks to my guidelines that you hate.”

“I do hate them.”

I want to touch you.

“But you want me to go away for the weekend with you?”

I want to kiss you.

“Around your family? Your friends?”

I want to claim you as mine.

“Where would we stay? How will you explain . . . us? Being together but not together? Wouldn’t that be super weird?”

I don’t give a fuck.

I shake my head to free myself from the irritation. Her questions are relevant. They’re smart. And I’ll have to answer, but I’m not sure how.

“Okay, in order . . .” I pause, trying to get my mind way out of the gutter. “Yes, I want you to go, and yes, my family will be there. We’d stay at a hotel, and I’d make sure you have your own room. And I’ll tell people to fuck off if they demand to put some kind of label on us.”