Tangle (Dogwood Lane 2)

“I am.” She throws her shoulders back. Black lines streak down her pretty face as she sets her jaw in place. “Goodbye.”

“Haley, wait.” I take one measured step her way, but the look she gives me stops me in my tracks. “Let’s talk.”

“We’ve talked.” She tucks a strand of hair behind her ear. “I’m not mad at you. I don’t blame you for this. But I want you to think about how to not do this to someone else.”

“I—”

“You warned me. I know,” she says, cutting me off. “You told me what to expect and didn’t make any promises. But that doesn’t make this okay. I asked you not to touch me, to woo me, to say things that made me think I was beautiful to you. You overstepped that boundary, even when I asked it for my heart’s sake. So no. There are no more words, Trevor. You’ve made your choice. So leave.” She grabs the door handle. “And a word to the wise. Get out of here before Dane comes out.”

“Haley . . .”

She disappears inside the house, and it’s like she took the light with her. It’s like standing in darkness, but it has to be this way. There’s no other choice. If I give in to my hedonistic tendencies again and go after her, it’ll only make it worse in the end. And there will be an end. There always is.

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

HALEY

Don’t go out there.” I march inside, vision blurry, and head straight to the refrigerator. “Dane. Penn. Stop.”

“What did he do?” Dane’s voice is colder than I’ve ever heard it. “I won’t ask again, Hay.”

“Good. Don’t.” I take a half-drunk bottle of wine from the fridge and pour a glassful. I cringe as the alcohol burns my throat and settles into my already acidic stomach. “That’s over.”

Penn turns to face the wall with his phone in his hand.

“Hey. Mia wants ice cream . . .” Neely stops as she rounds the corner and takes in the scene before her. “What happened out here?”

“It seems as though Trevor and I are no longer a thing. Well, we probably never were and now he’ll expect me to beg for attention like Liz, but if he thinks that, he doesn’t know me well.” I take another long drink.

Neely comes up to my side and pulls me into a hug. The adrenaline starts to wear off. I’m suddenly tired, so tired, and I sag against Neely.

“I lost the bet, Dane.” The tears start again. “Guess you get to pick my next three dates.”

Penn turns to face me. I expect him to make a comment about getting one of the three slots, but he doesn’t. He just looks at me with a frown on his face.

“Oh, come on,” I poke. “You don’t even want to date me now?”

“I’d be the luckiest son of a bitch on earth,” Penn says quietly. “But no. Because you deserve better than a guy like me or that rich fucker that’s fixin’ to get his teeth knocked in.”

“Don’t you dare.” I stand straight, my stomach sloshing with wine. “He has the right to do whatever he wants.”

“Sure, he does. So do I,” Penn says. “He made you cry. I’ll kill him.”

“I’ve cried before. Odds are, I’ll cry again.” I pace around the kitchen, well aware I look like a crazy person. “Why do I do this to myself?”

Dane pats my shoulder. “We’ve had this discussion. The bet, remember? But this one isn’t on you.”

“Yes, it is. He didn’t lie to me. Maybe he reeled me in, but I took the bait. I took it happily. Three times in Nashville,” I say over my shoulder to Neely. “I took it and ran with it happily.”

A flash of anger burns through Dane’s eyes before he looks at Neely. “Did you say Mia wanted ice cream?”

“Yeah.”

“I can go,” Penn volunteers.

“Nope,” Dane says, grabbing his keys off the counter. “I need some fresh air. Thanks, though.”

“Fresh air better not include getting in Trevor’s face, Dane. Please. It’s not worth it,” I plead.

He ignores me and leaves without saying goodbye.

My thighs ache from the adrenaline burn. I climb onto a stool. Everything inside me drops into the seat. I feel like I weigh an extra hundred pounds.

Penn comes over and wraps his arms around me. “Haley, I’m sorry,” he says.

“Not your fault.”

“No, but that doesn’t mean I can’t feel bad for you.” He flinches. “Am I developing feelings? What if I get a conscience? This could be bad, guys.” He gasps, letting me go. “I could turn into Matt.”

I laugh, the act releasing a little of the sadness in my heart. “That wouldn’t be the end of the world.”

“For you. It would be terrible for me.”

Neely refills my wineglass and hands it to me. “I’m sorry this hurts so much.”

“Well, if nothing else, I learned a few things.” I sniffle.