“It’s the same one you had back when we…we were friends.”
“Friends?” I barked out a disbelieving laugh. We’d been way more than friends that summer, and my depraved mind immediately conjured up images of Caro’s gorgeous body naked in the moonlight. I swallowed hard and couldn’t stop my dick from responding to those memories.
Our passion had been hot and blinding. Judging by the difficulty I’d had wiping her from my thoughts recently, also epically memorable.
“Yes, we were friends.” Her accusing words cut deep. She was right. We’d been more than fuck buddies. We’d been each other’s confidants and sounding boards. We’d spent hours talking about our hopes and dreams. She’d planned on attending nursing school in the fall. I had two more years of school and would be going the college route to further my hockey career.
I’d ended it badly with her. Instead of making promises I couldn’t keep, I’d been bluntly honest and told her we were too young, had no future, and had a great time while it lasted. I’d cut her loose and myself, never telling her I loved her, because at sixteen, I didn’t know what love was.
I’d been an ass, and I still saw the stricken look on her face. She’d recovered quickly and shot back with her own biting words about what a jerk I was, and she’d be glad to be rid of me.
I’d blown it. I felt a twinge of jealousy that what her husband had should’ve—could’ve—been mine.
“Easton, I need to talk to you. In person.”
“You do?”
“Tell me when, and I’ll come to you.”
She was willing to come to Seattle? I recovered quickly. “All right. I don’t have a game on Sunday. Where would you like to meet?” I controlled my tone, coming off as all businesslike and suppressing the hundred questions scrolling through my head.
“I don’t know Seattle.”
“I’ll text you a location. Does seven p.m. on Sunday work for you?”
“Yeah. Thank you, Easton. I know this must seem weird.”
She was right about that. We said our goodbyes, and I was left with those hundred questions and not one answer.
Caroline point of view
Facing him after all these years would be the hardest thing I’d ever had to do. I didn’t know what to expect. No doubt my news would come as a shock. Would he be angry, be in denial, or walk away and never look back? All worst-case scenarios. In fact, I’d made a list last night of the best and worst things that could happen when I told him. Then I’d written notes on what I wanted to say and gone over them several times in an attempt to memorize them.
Right now, I couldn’t remember one word of my speech.
I’d considered the cowardly way out by having an attorney contact him, but he deserved more than that. Besides, the money for a retainer wasn’t in my budget.
I was early and took a seat in a semiprivate booth near the back. I ordered a glass of wine to help calm my nerves. Fidgeting with the stem of the wineglass, I turned it in slow circles, mesmerized by the golden liquid sloshing in the glass. The movement was calming.
A hand touched my back, startling me. The wineglass tipped and spilled wine across the table and down the thighs of my skinny jeans. I stared at the growing patch of wetness in horror. When I heard a familiar chuckle, my eyes were drawn to the sparkling brown eyes of the boy—make that man—I’d spent one hot, memorable summer with.
Without a word, Easton hustled to the bar and grabbed a couple towels. He handed one to me and mopped up the wine on the table with the other. The cocktail waitress hurried over and finished the job, bringing me another glass of wine.
“Do you have a sippy cup?” Easton joked to the waitress, ignoring my scathing glare. She stared at him as if she were in a trance, sucked in by the same brilliant smile and dazzling good looks that’d pulled me under their spell years ago.
“I’m sure I can find something,” she gushed.
“I’m fine, thank you,” I shot back primly.
Easton shrugged. “I’ll have an IPA. Whatever you have on tap.”
“Absolutely.” This woman was practically eating him alive with her eyes. A rush of jealousy caught me off guard as I recalled all the girls hanging on him and chasing after him back when we were an item.
I didn’t like it then, and I didn’t like it much now either. I had no claim on this man, and I didn’t want one. My sole purpose was to do the right thing, even if I feared the consequences.
He took the seat across from me just as his beer was delivered. The waitress didn’t leave but lingered, staring longingly at Easton. He nodded at her, and she finally took the hint, slinking away.
“You look good,” he said as his gaze ran over me. Every cell in my body lit up from the inside out. Our eyes met, and all those years melted away. We were two people who enjoyed each other’s company and each other’s bodies.
He was older. His face had none of a boy’s softness but was all angular lines and hard planes. His dark hair was unruly as always, and that same lock fell over his forehead. I resisted the urge to brush it back as I often had. His dark eyes still shone with humor and good nature.
Realizing I was staring, I forced my gaze away from his hypnotic brown eyes. I picked up the wineglass and it started to slip from my moist fingers. Easton grabbed it before I spilled another glass all over the table and him.
His eyes twinkled with mischief as he handed the wine back to me. “About that sippy cup?”
“I don’t need one,” I responded with a ghost of a smile on my lips.
“Coulda fooled me.”
I took a sip and placed the glass on the table. Digging deep for the courage I’d need to bring up this subject, I dived in. “I suppose you’re wondering why you’re here.”
He nodded.
I started fingering the stem of the wineglass again, ignoring a dramatic gasp from him.
“Easton, there’s no easy way to say this.”
“Then just say it.” Life was simple like that to him. Black and white. No shades of gray. I, on the other hand, worried too much and fretted about upsetting others. There wasn’t any getting around this. He was going to be upset. “Or you could make a list?” he quipped with a teasing grin.
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.
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