of his world…once upon a time not too
far in the past. “I’m sorry for treating
you badly. You took me by surprise.”
She walked toward him, a hesitant grin
on her trembling lips. She looked
foreign to him in her crisp white blouse,
red skirt and high heels.
“I wish we had more time, we could
talk, get a drink, catch up. That
wouldn’t be so terrible, would it? I have
so much I want to say to you, to
explain—”
“I need to go before Kevin has a
nervous breakdown.” Irritation
snapped through his nervous system.
He wanted to take her to dinner and
force her to eat pasta, mess her hair
up, make her laugh and see…well, see
what had happened to the woman he
had loved, find out the real reason she
had given up on their future together.
But getting involved in her life again—
even in a small way—would be
detrimental to his heart health. So why
did he want it so badly? “Kevin’s like
you, always worried about being late.”
“How do you stand him?” Her tentative
grin became a smile.
“I fire him daily but he refuses to go
away.” He would not meet her eyes
again as they walked together onto the
street. Awkwardness stretched
between them in the warm June
evening.
“You don’t have a few minutes? Just to
talk? Catch up? We could have coffee
or a drink? After your dinner?” She
kept his pace, stood too close, looked
at him with those big blue eyes. Damn
her.
from her hand boiled beneath his skin.
She had no right to wear it.
He wanted more than a dr ink. He
wanted hours. He wanted an
explanation.
“No? I think you expected me to be
happy to see you.”
When she rubbed the back of her neck,
he noticed the ring on her finger. Hurt
and anger took their rightful place in
his heart. Resolve restored, he looked
down the block for any sign of Kevin
and the get away car.
“We have said all there is to say,” he
said.
“We could—”
“Could what? Talk about old times
over a cold drink in a crowded bar?”
He closed the space between them.
“Do you know how many women want
to have a drink with me, Jess?”
“I’m not a stranger.” She stood her
ground, straightened her spine and
tilted her chin as if willing to go toe-totoe with him. Maybe she hadn’t
changed so much after all.
“What do you want from me?” His
gaze pierced hers looking for a glimpse
of truth beneath the facade.
“I don’t want anything from you.”
“What did you expect when you came
here? You expected something. Deny
it.” The temptation to yank the ring
“I don’t know what I expected.”
“You’re wrong. I knew this would be
hard. I—”
“And you couldn’t come during
scheduled hours, you waited to catch
me off-guard, to…” he struggled for the
right word. A native French speaker,
sometimes English escaped him when
he needed it most.
“I worked late. I thought I’d missed you,
hoped I had.” She stepped within
inches of him. “I was scared, is that
what you want to hear?”
He silently cursed Kevin for taking so
long with the car. “That was your
problem in Italy, too. Scared little
Jessica. Haven’t you grown up yet?”
Her head jerked back as if he’d slapped
her.
“I shouldn’t have come.” She stepped
backward.
“No, you shouldn’t have. I’m better for
not knowing you.” He shook his head.
He had had enough. Of all the scenarios
he had played out in his mind, this
conversation was all wrong. He hated
himself for the words he said.