The Damaged One by Harper Mimi

Author:Harper, Mimi [Harper, Mimi]
Language: eng
Format: azw3, epub
Published: 2014-05-17T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Thirteen

Augustus poured the last of the wine into Toby’s glass.

“Are you trying to get me drunk?”

“Not my style,” he said. “I prefer my dates to be able to consent to whatever might come next.”

Toby blushed. “I suppose you’re referring to the goodnight kiss.”

“Is that what you call it?” Augustus cocked an eyebrow. “That kiss the other night seemed a little more like a greeting than a goodnight.”

Toby’s blush deepened, but she smiled. “You think you’re charming, don’t you?”

“I think I have enough experience to be able to tell the difference between chastity and desire.”

She lifted her glass and studied the fluid as it sparkled in the dim light of the restaurant. “You didn’t even know my name, then.”

“Now I do.”

“But you hardly know anything about me.”

“What do I need to know?”

Her eyes flashed to his and, for a brief moment, he thought there was something she wanted to say. She seemed to struggle with herself as she watched him, seemed to be evaluating him and how he might react to whatever she needed to say. But then she stopped, her eyes falling to the top of the table as a weight seemed to descend on her shoulders, causing them to sag slightly.

He wanted to reach over and grab her jaw, force her to look up so that he could force her to say whatever it was that had been on the tip of her tongue. But then she surprised him by looking up unbidden, her eyes swimming with unshed tears.

“I’m not the person you think I am.”

For a second, he thought she was talking about Jackie, about her role in Jackie’s death. It was like a rock had slammed into his chest. He sat back, his eyes never leaving hers. So many things began chasing themselves through his mind, half-formed thoughts, questions, things he couldn’t even grab on to long enough to figure out what purpose they hoped to serve. Only one thought became solid, moved to his lips and fell onto the table between them.

“Then who are you?”

“I’m the kind of girl who fails at everything she was ever passionate about.” She reached up and rubbed at her cheek, her eyes falling to the table again. “I’m the girl who is scared to death to want anything, especially the way it felt when you…”

She stopped, the blush back on her cheeks as she quickly stood. “I think I should go,” she said.

Augustus could only watch as she turned and ran out of the restaurant. He picked up his glass, studied it for a minute, and then put it down. Let her go, he thought, let her go and do whatever it is she wants. He didn’t need this, didn’t need her to find out who the dealer was. He could figure it out on his own. He could go back to Denton, he could talk to—

And then he realized he really didn’t want to do it that way.

“Oh, hell,” he whispered to himself as he quickly stood, dropping a few bills on the table as he followed her path through the crowded restaurant.

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