Capturing Peace
Page 8

I was still grumbling to myself as I crossed the parking lot, when a deep voice from a few feet away had my body coming to a stop.
“So how about that name, huh?”
Turning slowly, my breath caught when I saw him standing there. Same cocky smirk, his tattoos on display beneath his black shirt, his dark eyes hidden from view behind aviators.
Biting down on the inside of my cheek so I wouldn’t smile, I glanced around us before teasing him. “Are you following me now? It was just coffee and an old shirt.”
He laughed and stepped closer. “I was about to ask you the same thing, but unfortunately for you, even though I’ve been thinking about you all weekend, I’m not stalking you. I’m meeting someone.”
I didn’t have to fight a smile anymore. Is he serious? “Ha. Wow. You’re going to try and charm a girl out of her name when you’re about to go on a date? Nice.”
Not waiting for his response, I quickly walked into the restaurant, and my eyes narrowed on Keegan when I saw his girlfriend, Erica, with him. I loved her for my brother, but why hadn’t Keegan said anything?
They both stood when they saw me, and after a hug from Erica, Keegan pulled me in for a bear hug.
“Good to see you, Ray.”
“Why couldn’t I bring Parker if Erica is here? Mom said it was just supposed to be us.”
“Well . . .” His eyes glanced at something over my head, and a smile crossed his face as he released me.
Before I could turn around to see what he was smiling at, goose bumps covered my arms when his voice came from right behind me. “Still waiting on that name.” I finally turned, and saw his black eyes were shooting daggers directly above my head. “And now I see why the two of you couldn’t stop laughing on Friday.”
“What?” I whispered. I was beyond confused, and still annoyed at this guy.
Erica gave the guy a tight hug before Keegan shrugged and slapped his shoulder. “You can’t really be mad at me for this, can you?”
“Wait . . . what?” I asked again.
Keegan put a hand on my back, and held his other arm out toward the tattooed guy. “Reagan, this is my roommate I was telling you about, Coen Steele. Steele, this is my little sister, Reagan.”
“You’re Reagan?” Coen asked with a hint of amusement in his tone.
“You knew about this?” Anger and embarrassment quickly took over my confusion. I was going to punch them both in their throats.
“Uh, no. I thought Hudson owed me lunch for losing at pool the other night. Speaking of,” he said suddenly as he looked back at my brother, “how did you know this was the girl?”
The girl? He’d told my brother about me?
“I was on the phone with Reagan when you ran into each other. I heard your voice, coulda sworn it was you . . . and then when you came into the bar that night, you confirmed it for us.”
I still couldn’t get past the fact that Coen had told my brother about me, and that this was the guy Keegan had tried to set me up with that same night.
“Come on.” Keegan pushed me toward the table. “Let’s sit down, everyone’s starting to stare at us.”
A tan, tattooed arm grabbed the back of my chair to pull it out, but stopped halfway. “I find it funny that you’d accuse me of flirting with you before a date . . . and apparently you and your brother had already been talking about me. You sure you didn’t know about this?”
“If I would have known, I wouldn’t have shown up,” I gritted out, and then it hit me.
The way my parents had both been so eager to get me out of their house, and to watch Parker. The way Keegan had made sure I wouldn’t bring my son. I felt betrayed by them suddenly. I’d told Keegan I didn’t want to be set up with anyone, my mom and dad knew how I felt about this. And they’d all gone behind my back anyway.
Now all I wanted was to get my son and go home. To get away from all their opinions on my life. And to not. Fucking. Cry.
I schooled my expression and took two, deep breaths in and out, focusing on not tearing up when my eyes started burning. With a hard look directed at my brother, I turned and walked quickly away from them.
“Reagan!” Keegan’s voice easily carried over the loud restaurant, but I didn’t stop moving.
I was at my car, and had just thrown my purse into the passenger seat, when Keegan turned me and stopped me from getting in.
“What the hell, Ray?”
“How could you all do that to me?” I hissed at him, and locked my jaw to stop the quivering.
“We just—­”
“Why can’t you guys just be okay with the fact that I don’t want to be with anyone? I don’t want to date. I don’t want to meet someone. I don’t need a man in my—­” I broke off with a sob, and slapped a hand over my mouth as tears filled my eyes.
At the sight of my tears, Keegan’s face turned white. “Sis,” he crooned as he reached for my cheek.
Slapping his hand away, I wiped quickly at my cheeks and pointed at him. “Don’t f**king touch me! I expect for Mom to bring it up, but I would never think you all would go behind my back like this.”
“Reagan, we just want you to—­”
“I don’t care what you all want!” I yelled, and started to get in my SUV. He tried to stop me, so I turned and shoved him away. “Fuck you, Keegan! You were supposed to be on my side.”
I couldn’t have moved him no matter how hard I tried, but he still took a step back and didn’t try to stop me when I climbed in. He looked sick when I glanced at him one last time before pulling out of the parking space; and to my horror, Coen was standing outside the restaurant, his dark eyes focused on me. I don’t know how long he’d been out there, or how much he’d heard. A part of me was mortified that he’d seen me break when I’d spent years making sure I never would again, but I knew I’d never see him again. So I swallowed my humiliation, and drove back to my parents’ house.