them poked Gabe in the side and told him he was being an asshole.
“Not until you dance with me,” he said, a sloppy grin touching the corners of his mouth.
“There’s no music,” she retorted, pulling a bit harder, feeling heat work its way up her throat. Panic sat beneath it, and her heart began to thud.
“The band’s going on soon.” His grip tightened. “Come on, Poppy. Give a guy a chance, won’t ya? Everyone knows you’re hands-off, Fairbanks.” He winked and pulled her closer. “But I know better. No woman who looks as hot as you do tonight is hands-off.”
“I think you’re reading the situation wrong, Sanders.” The voice came from just behind Poppy. Finally, she was able to yank her arm from Gabe’s grasp.
“Boone.” Gabe gave a weird kind of nervous laugh as Poppy took a step away, shaking her head in disgust. Boone was now at her side, and she glanced up, surprised to see the angry look on his face.
“Hey, man, I’m sorry. I didn’t know you two were together.”
“We’re not,” Poppy said, more than a little outraged that this goon would go from trying to manhandle her because he thought she was single and therefore easy pickings, to assuming she was with another man.
“Oh. Sorry, I…” Confused, Gabe looked from Boone to Poppy, and then one of his buddies yanked him away before things got out of hand.
“Are you okay?” Boone asked, his gruff voice washing over Poppy like warm whiskey.
“I’m fine,” she snapped, taking a step back. She blinked and slowly exhaled. Why in hell did he have to look so good? The black T-shirt and faded jeans were casual and no different from what most of the men down here were wearing. But on Boone, the outfit looked as if some stylist had spent hours picking it out and getting his hair to look just so and those eyes of his to glitter as if the fireworks were already going off.
“I can see that,” he replied, a slow grin sweeping across his face.
“Can you move out of my way, then?” She glared up at him, suddenly insanely angry and afraid he’d know exactly what he did to her. Why did Boone still affect her like this?
The grin didn’t leave, not even when he got bumped from behind and nearly dropped the cans of beer in his hands. In fact, it deepened, and along with that smile came a wave of heat that started in the pit of her stomach and made her legs feel like noodles.
“Why are you so prickly?” he asked.
“Why am I…” Mouth open, she took a moment and looked away. There was so much she could say. So many things she wanted to say. Did he really not know?
Poppy took a moment to get her shit together and then squared her shoulders and looked up at him. She would heed her earlier mandate and leave the past where it belonged. Opening that can of worms could only hurt her. But there were still a few things she needed to get off her chest.
“I don’t like you very much, and I sure as hell don’t need you to protect me.”
“Hey, I didn’t mean—”
“I’m still talking,” she ground out over his words. She saw shock in his eyes and something else, but didn’t take the time to think about either of them. “I’m not that twelve-year-old kid anymore. I can look after myself.”
His half smile turned all the way down into a frown, but there was something in his eyes…something she couldn’t quite understand.
“Poppy,” he said roughly. “I… Can we maybe talk about what happened when we were eighteen?”
“Sixteen.”
“What?”
“I was sixteen.” Chin thrust forward, she all but snapped, “If you were the last man on the planet, I’d rather cut out my tongue than talk to you.”
Okay. That was a little dramatic and overblown, but it was all she had. Heart pounding, Poppy moved past Boone and pasted a smile onto her face. She was starting to think this night was a bad idea and maybe she should have stayed home and watched The Notebook for the tenth time.
Because one thing was certain: Boone Avery wasn’t just a piece of her past that was still unsettled. It was clear to her now that it wasn’t just hurt feelings and bad blood. He was much more than the boy who’d stolen her heart; the problem was that she’d never gotten it back.
It was why she couldn’t let him in. Boone Avery might not be