Page 19 (2/2)

The fact that I had been able to open up to her in a way I never had with anyone else irl, I wasn’t Deacon Carver I wasn’t the guy everyone in Thatch knew et you?"

My head snapped up at that voice, and aze locked with eyes so blue, it was hard to look away

To this strange girl, I wasn’t what Charlie had so perfectly described ant

A chorus of "Heys!" went up around the table, and as soon as they died down, Jagger cleared his throat

"Well, apparently Deacon needs coffee to get through the ht"

My eyes shot to Jagger, but he was looking at his sister pointedly

"Ew," Grey and Harlow said at the saht pause, I heard Charlie "

Before I could say anything in my defense, Charlie looked at Harlow and said, "Shouldn’t you be on your honeymoon?"

I didn’t pay attention to Harlow’s response, or anyone else as they gave Charlie their drink orders I couldn’t stop watching Charlie and the way she was once again so obviously trying not to look at aze slowly dropped from her face down her body, and settled on her waist My hands curled and the tips of e to pull her against ain

I flexed my hand and mentally shook my head, and toldsomeone who didn’t throw herself at me But when I looked back up and noticed the way her eyes kept darting over to Graham, and how her cheeks filled with heat, hwhite-hot settled in ht before when I’d seen Graha with her I didn’t understand it, and I didn’t like it

And I needed to stop thinking about the way her body had felt against , I was out of the booth and following her as she walked away to get our drinks

"Charlie Girl," I murmured when she slowed at the POS to enter in the drink order

She faltered for a second, but she didn’t turn to look at me, and her voice was cal me?"

"Is that really how people see me?"

She looked over her shoulder, her brow pinched and eyes full of confusion

"Unapologetic and arrogant," I clarified

"And unaware," she added softly

"Of what?"

"Exactly" Her eyes bored intoseconds before she spoke "Deacon, why are you asking me this?"

"Because I need to know if that’s what people see when they see me"

"Isn’t that how you want people to see you?" She looked down again to punch our drinks into the screen, and when she finished, she just stood there She didn’t have to look to know that I hadn’t left With a sigh, she turned, already speaking as she did "You’ve created this iot out of it, but that was different because he’d had Harlow before any of you ever became--well, the way you are"