Her Hidden Falls Bodyguard Billionaire Cowboy - Taylor Hart Page 0,31
shrugged, glancing down at her red, strappy dress and black heels. “The dress was in the bag, but I like it. It reminds me of something Charlotte or Star would wear.” She ignored the nervous thrum inside of her gut and turned her own attention to the menu.
Sean didn’t reply, only shut his menu and put it down. She could feel him staring at her, and it made her focus even harder. The trouble was that she wasn’t a foodie type, and this place used long descriptions with words like poignant and sensuous when describing the chicken. What did that even mean?
She opted for a shrimp salad and let the menu drop to the table, peering out the large glass windows next to them. The sun was setting, and there were a few couples still out on the beach. A few kids darted about here and there, but it wasn’t busy like it had been earlier in the day.
Still trying not to think about how great Sean had been at surfing, or that he was still staring at her, she thought about the power of the ocean. Rhythmic. Unbending.
The server came and took their orders. Sean ordered steak.
“What?” he asked her when the server was gone.
Unable to stop herself, she smiled at him. “Nothing. You just always order steak.”
The side of his lip tugged up. “I don’t think you went on enough dates with me to know what I order on all my dates.”
Since their whole “trust” talk or … messy thing on the beach, it felt like things were different between them. Back to how it used to be. “I went on enough.”
He raised his brows. “Those weren’t dates, remember?”
“I am sorry.” She played with the knife and situated it better against her plate. “I hated lying to you.”
“You don’t have to be.”
She met his gaze, wondering at how different he was right now compared to when she’d first seen him again. “You’re right. Maybe I could have trusted you, even then. I probably could have. I was afraid. I guess the point was that I didn’t trust myself.”
He gave her a slow nod, then shifted his gaze to the ocean. For a long time, neither one of them said anything.
“Do you remember when we first met?” he said suddenly. “When you and Charlotte and Star would just hang out, and Ryan and Charlotte were a thing, but the rest of us were just friends?” He tapped the table and laughed. “Do you remember that day we chicken-fought in the back of Char’s store and her mother acted like she was the referee?”
Zoey flashed to the memory, and she laughed. “I do.” Everything had been so new to her then. She really hadn’t even known “Angela.” Did she even know Zoey? Who was she, when all the lies and running were stripped away? Her hand shook, and she reached for her necklace.
“Why do you always do that?” Sean asked quietly.
“What?” she asked, dropping the necklace and clasping her hands together.
“You told me a long time ago that someone important gave you that necklace.” He swallowed. “Was that someone a … guy? Maybe a guy you were sweet on?”
The genuine tone of his question was sweet, in a way. She figured he was confused about his feelings. “No.” She put her hand back on the necklace. “My brother, Brian, gave this to me before he … passed.” It was strange to share this information with Sean. “Trust no one. That’s what he always told me. He never believed we should have trusted WITSEC or the FBI.” The guilt tasted bitter on her tongue as she added, “It’s my fault he’s dead.”
Sean gave her a measured look. “Don’t you think that might be taking it a tad far?”
“No, I don’t.”
“Why?”
The question made her squirm; she never talked about this. She picked at her fingernails and tried to dispel the discomfort inside of her. “Man, I need a manicure.”
“Zoey,” he said, his voice low. “You can tell me whatever you are thinking about.”
“Can I?”
“Of course,” he said immediately.
It wasn’t that she didn’t trust Sean, but instinctively, she held back.
He splayed his hands and leaned back, a smile playing at his lips. “Face it. I’m probably the only one you can talk to.”
It was true. She thought about how many times she’d held back from him, how many times she’d lied to him. “I’m sorry, Sean.”
The smile on his lips disappeared. “For what?”
“Like you said, for moving to your town. For being friends