No. This thing between Rafe and I goes deeper than that. It’s more than just fixing him because I can. The seeds were planted ten years ago, and the passion between us burns too bright to ignore. There’s no point in analyzing why I am drawn to him because it doesn’t change the fact that I am.

The real question is: what am I going to do about it now?

Getting into my apartment, I immediately pull off the black lingerie I pulled out from the corner of my closet this morning and throw it right back where it belongs. Lingerie is a waste. Men clearly want a woman naked or not at all.

Okay, that was too harsh, but I can’t shake the bitterness that’s flowing through my veins. I need something, and I need it now. Rushing to put on my jeans and a snug sweatshirt from college, I quickly order a car on my phone. I may not have any friends on Wickett, but I do have a bartender...which is the saddest thing I’ve ever told myself.

As I walk into Smokey’s, I notice Laini right away. She’s throwing darts with an old man with gray hair and a hearty laugh. He calls her darlin’ when she beats him and runs back to the bar. Already, just being in this environment, I feel better. There are sports games playing on every screen along the walls, and there are more people in tonight than the last time I came.

“You came back!” Laini shouts as I walk up to the bar. For a moment, I feel a little paranoid that she’s somehow figured out that I was spying a little last time I was here, but as she starts preparing my vodka soda with lime, I realize that we’re still good. I didn’t actually do anything wrong anyway.

As I plop down on the stool, I smile at her.

“Nurses get the first one free,” she says proudly as she sets my drink in front of me.

“Nurse?” the gray haired man shouts from behind me. “The second one’s on me!”

Beaming, I wave at him, and my shoulders already feel so much lighter than they did an hour ago when Rafe’s lips were on me, just moments before he shut me down and humiliated me.

“How was the fight?” Laini asks, and I shake my head with confusion. “At Vic’s,” she adds.

“Oh,” I answer, remembering the last time I was in here and how I left in a rush. “Interesting,” I reply.

“I bet,” she laughs. “Do you like boxing?”

“Me? No,” I say with a shake of my head.

“I bet it feels good to punch someone,” she adds while drying a glass. “I’d be willing to give it a try.”

“As long as we can pick who we punch, right?” I add, and we laugh. My drink is going down fast. I feel the alcohol loosening my muscles as I melt into the chair.