“Whoa, back that up a bit. I never said I was going to do anything with you, you’re lucky I agreed to this.”
He grins and leans back in his chair, fiddling with a napkin. “You don’t get a choice.”
We lock gazes intensely, almost like a challenge, until the waiter brings us our wine, and we put in our orders. I sip the sparkling white liquid, and feel myself relaxing. Chatting with Travis is easy, as much as I hate to admit it. It has always been so natural with him, and it makes my heart ache. He’s the missing piece in my heart, he always has been.
That kills me.
“So have you been dating?” I ask, picking at the green beans, even though they are delicious.
He tenses, just slightly. “Couple. Nothing major. What about you, has anyone captured that stubborn heart of yours?”
I stiffen and he notices. “Oh, someone has?”
“It’s a long, boring story,” I shrug.
“Ah ah, I’m intrigued, do tell or I might have to make a scene until you do.”
I shake my head, exhaling and then sipping more wine. “His name was Dan, we got together a year after you left. I cared about him, and he helped me...cope with things. It was good for so long, and then he just stopped looking at me. You don’t realize how much you take someone looking at you for granted until they aren’t anymore. I found out he was cheating on me, and when I confronted him, he told me he was with her and had been for six months. It crushed me, mostly because of his betrayal butpartly because...well...I didn’t even know and he was with her for so long. I felt stupid.”
Travis stares at me for a long moment, his gaze unreadable, finally he says, “He’s a fucking idiot.”
I snort a laugh. “Yes, I could have told you that.”
“To cheat on a girl as beautiful as you, he’s stupid.”
I swallow. “Maybe I just wasn’t interesting enough. I mean, I was going through so much...”
“Look at me.”
His voice is firm, and when I look up, his eyes lock with mine. “There is never, not ever, an excuse to do something like that. If he didn’t want to be with you, he didn’t have to be. He made a choice, and that choice isn’t on you, kid.”
“Yeah,” I whisper. “I guess.”
He gently slams a fist on the table. “Fuck him anyway, his loss is my gain.”
I raise my brows. “I’m sure you have a lineup of girls, Travis, that are far hotter than me.”
“Is that what you think men really want?”
I raise a brow. “Are you going to tell me it isn’t?”
“Yes, in fact, I am. I have had enough women, and do I regret some of it? Yes, but they weren’t all hot models. Women are beautiful for what’s inside, not what’s outside. You are beautiful, it radiates off you. It’s not all about looks, Violet.”
My heart skips a beat.
“So you are saying I’m ugly, but that’s okay because I’m beautiful on the inside?”
He laughs and leans over the table, catching my chin in his hand and making my breath hitch. “I’m saying you are beautiful on the outside and the inside, and that is a rare combination.”
“Well, if this was your game plan to make me stay, I suppose you’re doing okay,” I tease lightly.
He releases me, clapping his hands together. “Oh, we’re only just getting started. Now, it’s time for some fun.”
I blink and then shake my head. “No way, I don’t trust you at all. You are a dangerous man, Travis Phoenix.”
“It’s that, or I kiss you again. Do you want your face all over the internet tomorrow?”
I scowl at him. “Seriously?”