Page 2 (1/2)

Seth bails on us the moment we reach the bottoot a late afternoon class, but I&039;oing to drink away his worries I don&039;t confir hi there for her

A razor sharp sensation scrapes the wall of ain try to co on with Gra bythe second they kiss my skin, I feel left out - literally like the redheaded step child As quick as the thought entered my head, I squash it down What aoodbye togarage where he left the Dodge

Srace and fortitude I&039;ve always been envious of, les the keys to her ancient black Land Rover in my palm and closesand opens it "Richard wantsI&039;with an attorney"

I may not return horandmother better than just about anyone else This is her way of telling me she doesn&039;t want me around for whatever she and Nielson have to say to each other

She doesn&039;t want hten I purse ood-natured expression "Sure I&039;ll just" - I squint at s until my eyes land on a two-story cafe directly across the street frorab so to eat over at Alice&039;s I&039;ll keep an eye out for you"

"I&039;ll see you in a few minutes," Gram says "And Sienna?"

"Yeah?"

"I&039;m so happy you&039;ve come home"

Tears burn the corners of , "Me too, Gram" There&039;s so much else I want to say and do but there are people all around us heading into the courthouse and to various attorneys&039; offices I give her a cheerful wave instead It&039;s only after she disappears into Nielson&039;s building, I letass across the street to the cafe

I haven&039;t been to this restaurant since o, so I&039;m stoked to find it&039;s now decorated in an Alice in Wonderland theme My roommate and I are coround is fantastical movies and books andyou know, Johnny Depp

The wo an elaborate velvet Hatter hat smiles up at me and yells, "Go ahead and seat yourself, hon Soht over" I nod my head appreciatively and then find a booth in the far left of the cafe that gives me the best view of Nielson&039;s office and easy access to the wall vent After I order a double slice of the special - Cheshire pie - and a cup of coffee, I send a series of texts to Tori that sound more than a little neurotic

Lucas Wolfe is the person who&039;s bought the house That shitface bought ainsthere?

Tori???

There&039;s slushinside ofLucas that I forgot to get s out of the back of Seth&039;s truck Yet now the only thing I can think about is Lucas Not only about how he&039;s trying to throw Gram out of her house, but how he threwfor Tori to textbeside e of the table, over toward the salt and pepper shakers to give the waitress rooe and very unfeuitar gliding across my knuckles It&039;s a familiar touch that sends an unwanted - and very delicious - jolt through ry at my body&039;s obvious betrayal, and knock over a porcelain bowl full of sugar packets The sugar scatters across the linoleue to vo to the empty seat across fromh clenched teeth as I shake my head "So, sorry, there&039;s not"

He slides into the booth anyway, stretching out his ridiculously long legs so that his calves straddle mine I open my mouth to protest, but he holds up his hand "Before you try to bullshit et a face" Then, he lifts his eyebroickedly and says, "Or a body"

Who does he think he is? Feeling a sudden need to couess you&039;re not used to hearing no, huh?" My voice packs a hell of a punch, surprising me If he were anybody else I would have already separatedway of tearing away the layers of my nervousness,to lash out at hirins, cocks his head to one side as if he&039;s carefully studying me "You really have to ask me that?"

My lips part as my senses and every inch oflance away from Lucas out the ard Nielson&039;s office

"You&039;re sexy when you&039;re nervous"

"I&039;m not," I say

"Sexy?"

My head jerks back, away froive him a wide-eyed stare "Nonervous" But I&039;s are shaking beneath the table right now

The corners of his lips pull into a sardonic sain, I feel electricity flow throughany response toward this man other than dislike "Tell me why you&039;re here, Sienna," he de his forearms on the table, he leans forward His sleeves ride up just enough for me to see the tattoos on his wrists I squeezethe rest of the tattoo sleeve on his right arm Anyone who follows his eous feer of Wicked Laazine a few months back - he was shirtless and so was she, with hi her breasts

But in another tiotten to tracehis ertips into my hair and whispered for me to kiss, to taste I shiver I wish I could say it was frolingdisappointed "Because being around you is - " He stops speaking so that the waitress can put rants her his traderin She fu she can get him I frown If he orders, that means he&039;ll stick around and really, I just want to hurry this along so Lucas and I can go back to being well, nothing to one another

Luckily foraround ain

Twirling a spoon around in ue over his top teeth I can&039;t tell whether he&039;s sive two shits either way

My cell phone plays the ringtone I&039;ve assigned it for calls andthat she swear she loathes but sings in the shower everyI reach for it, but Lucas captures ertips betweeners to his lips "And that&039;s what I&039;m here to do - make music"

My stomach ravels into hundreds of knots as he kisses each ofmy own We&039;re in public, and there are people all around us But for a good minute, Lucas Wolfe and I are the only people in the world

"Lucas - " I start, ar packet disaster on the table, I take a deep breath and then rake my teeth over my top lip I don&039;t knohat to say to hilance up in time to see his beautiful face breaks into a smile that makes my chest clench, I realize it doesn&039;t matter what I say He&039;s already realized he&039;s my Kryptonite