Page 68 of Coerced

I smiled at him and gave him a nod. “I promise I won’t.”

With that, Paxton gave my wrist one more squeeze before he released his hold on me. I wanted to cry at the loss of his hand, but I managed to get myself back to work instead.

For a little while, I was busy with a few tables that had come in. But I eventually had a bit of free time to stop at the bar and get introduced to Jesse. I’d also joined in to a conversation or two with Jesse, Paxton, and Sawyer throughout the evening.

But it was busy.

So, most of my night was spent working.

And I was grateful for it, because I knew if I had too much time on my hands, it was likely I would start thinking more into Paxton’s reasons for coming tonight. I didn’t think that was wise to do with him right there.

The night passed in a flash, and before I knew it, the bar was closing.

Jesse and Paxton hadn’t left early. Whether that was something they typically did or if this was a one-time case, I didn’t know. Either way, I felt comforted and reassured by the fact that Paxton was going to be there as I walked out to my car.

“Busy night tonight,” Paxton said as he walked out of the pub with me.

I nodded. “Yeah, but I guess that’s to be expected for a Friday evening. Plus, it’s great for the business.”

“And the employees,” he added.

“This is true.”

When we made it to my car, Paxton said, “I have a confession to make.”

My body tensed. “Pardon?”

“I wasn’t entirely truthful with you earlier tonight,” he confessed.

He lied? I wasn’t quite sure how I felt about the fact that Paxton had just admitted to lying to me. Given what I’d learned the last time I’d been lied to, it was safe to say I wasn’t exactly thrilled to hear what he wanted to share.

Even still, I asked, “What did you lie about?”

Paxton sighed. “When you asked why I came here tonight, I told you that I was meeting Jesse here.”

“Right. Well, you did meet him here,” I reasoned, wanting to hang on to any shred of honesty.

Nodding, he confirmed, “Yes, I know that. But Jesse and I planned to come here tonight after I told him about what happened last night.”

That offered little explanation. I still didn’t understandwhy Paxton had claimed he lied to me about something. “Okay. I’m not sure I understand where this is going.”

Paxton didn’t immediately respond. His eyes roamed over my face, searching for something, but I had not a clue what it was. “I came here not to spend time with Jesse, Aria. I came here because I wanted to make sure you were okay after what happened last night. I’ve been thinking about you ever since, and I was worried that you might have felt a bit unsettled about returning to work. I thought it might help you to have me here, in case that guy returned.”

Okay.

So, there were bad lies, and there were good lies.

This had been a good one.

It also felt impossible that he could be speaking the truth.

“Are you joking?”

Confusion, and perhaps a bit of concern, washed over Paxton’s expression. “Do you really think I would joke about something like this?”

I didn’t.

Truly, I didn’t.