woman she’s with calls out as Rose’s floral skirt takes off in a blur.
The iron legs of my chair scrape against the floor as I get up to follow her. It’s her. It is absolutely her. Why she’s running? I have no idea but every instinct in me forces my muscles to cord and tense so I can follow her while I call out, “Rose?”
“Dude!” Griffin yells out, causing the onlookers who were focused on the object of my own attention to turn their prying eyes toward me. I couldn’t give two shits … if it wasn’t for the woman now standing up from her seat and refusing to let me pass. She’s blocking my path by the railing, preventing me from running down the steps and around the corner where Rose just took off.
“I don’t know who you are,” the tall woman says below her breath with her lips barely moving. She’s tall and thin but somehow still appears athletic. Her eyes narrow as she looks at me and continues, “But I swear to all things holy,” the threat very real in her wide wild hazel eyes, “I will scream bloody murder if you go after my friend.”
What the hell? This is all like a weird dream.
Adrenaline shoots through my veins. It’s ice cold and as shocked as the woman in front of me is. In worn jeans and an oversized hoodie, she’s hardly a threat, but she’s terrified.
Her hands are up, palms facing me and I mirror her body language, glancing behind her to try to find Rose, but she’s long gone.
“I’m not going after her,” I tell her, mimicking the way she said it as I catch my reeling breath. Griffin speaks behind me at the same time, startling the hell out of me. “He would never hurt a woman; he’s just confused.”
We share a glance, but the auburn-haired woman doesn’t react. She’s still playing defense and I’d bet good money that she’d attempt a tackle if I rounded her and made a break in between the table and the railing.
“I’m Brody. I just recognized your friend Rose. That’s it.”
“Well, it looks like she recognized you too,” she says, indignation draping a veil over her words until recognition hits her eyes, widening them even more and her breath hitches. She knows who I am. I fucking know she does. Every ounce of fight leaves her and something else takes its place when she speaks again. “Anyway, looks like she doesn’t want to see you … so maybe you should just sit back down.” She doesn’t look up at either of us as she reaches for her purse to leave.
“Hey, wait.” My voice comes our harder than I wanted it to. None of this makes any sense at all and I’m struggling to finish a single thought.
“What did you say your name was?” Griffin pipes up, acting as my wingman, which gives me time to calm the hell down. All I know right now is one thing and it’s unsettling: Rose saw me and she took off. Fuck. What the hell did I do to her? My throat’s tight as Rose’s defensive line informs us that she’s named Renee.
“Renee, I’m Griffin,” he says and reaches out his hand as if she’d shake it. Her gaze settles on his hand a moment and I take in the crowd. Every pair of eyes here is on us. Well shit, this is not how I thought this would go down. Not here. And not with the girl I spent hours with years ago, at a time when I needed someone and she seemed to need me too.
This isn’t a weird dream. It’s a nightmare.
“This behemoth is Brody. He’s from up north, that’s why he has no manners.” Griffin’s joke actually makes Renee laugh, although it’s short and filled with nervousness. Looking between the two of them, there’s something there, but it has nothing to do with me and Rose.
“Her name is Rose, right?” I ask Renee, not wanting to waste any more time. “She lives around here?”
Renee’s smile fades.
Griffin elbows me in my side, making me wince and then I give him a death stare. “You sound like a stalker,” he grits out between his teeth, low enough for no one but the three of us to hear. Again, he actually makes Renee smile, although he’s looking at me while I’m looking at her and she’s staring at him.
Clenching my hands and breathing out slowly, I don’t know what the hell