Total pages in book: 41
Estimated words: 39424 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 197(@200wpm)___ 158(@250wpm)___ 131(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 39424 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 197(@200wpm)___ 158(@250wpm)___ 131(@300wpm)
CHAPTER 1
CHLOE
PRESENT DAY
Ronnie leans forward and reaches for my hand. “I’m glad we’re finally doing this.”
I pick up my glass of water and lift it to my lips, avoiding his touch. “Yeah, with work and more responsibilities at the gym, I don’t have a lot of spare time. But yeah, thanks for inviting me to dinner.”
I set down my glass and take another bite of food without even tasting it. I don’t know what I was thinking when I told him yes. He’d been asking for months, and I’ve told him no every time, but it seems he caught me at a weak moment this last time.
And the only person I blame is Elias Majors.
Five years ago, I met him. I gave him my virginity, and I thought we had a connection. We made promises to each other, but he didn’t hold up his end of the bargain. I wish I could say that I forgot all about him after that, but it would be a lie. He’s all I’ve thought about these last five years, and every time I tried to move on, I couldn’t.
I was a fool.
But a few months ago, he showed back up in town.
I had no idea he was back until gossip that a scarred hero was in town and living out at the new rehab center. I didn’t put two and two together until at a book club meeting, Abby told me that her husband’s friend Elias was back in town. As soon as I heard the name, I knew it was him.
I tried to mentally prepare myself for seeing him again, but absolutely nothing could have prepared me for the first time I saw him standing at the edge of the park in town. I was teaching a yoga class, and since it was nice out, we moved it over to the big grassy area of the park. I saw him toward the end of class, and I couldn’t look away. He was standing next to a big oak tree. His hands were in the front of his jeans pockets, and even though it was hot outside, he wore a long-sleeve sweatshirt with the hood over his head.
Everything from that first night together came racing back to me, and I had to fight the urge to run to him. Part of me wanted to hug him and hold him close, and the other part of me wanted to give him a piece of my mind for leaving and never contacting me again.
I did neither. I finished the class, and when I started to go to him, he walked away.
And it’s been like that ever since.
He’s always watching me. Always.
He doesn’t make any move to talk to me, but he doesn’t talk to anyone really. On the few occasions his buddies from the rehab center have been around, he talks to them, but that’s about it.
Today, he’s sitting in a corner booth of the restaurant with his head down and the hood of his sweatshirt over it, covering part of his face.
He thinks he’s hiding his scars, but I’ve seen them. People have talked about them, and it’s never anything malicious, but I’m not sure he knows that. Everyone in town is supportive of our military heroes, and if anything, they want to support him. But even though I only knew him for a short time, I know he wouldn’t want their help. He’d call it pity.
“You okay?”
My eyes jerk from my plate to my date sitting across from me. “I’m sorry, Ronnie. There’s been a lot on my mind lately. You know how it is. I’m sure the bank is keeping you busy. I heard you were up for a promotion.”
He nods, and I let out a sigh of relief. I know the surefire way to get Ronnie talking is to ask about his job and his promotion. He’s been talking about it for months, and I hope for his sake, the bank offers it to him soon because his hopes are up.
I listen to him drone on about his position, and I chance a glance over in the corner of the restaurant. Elias is sitting with his hands on top of the table, a single cup filled with black coffee steaming in front of him.
His eyes are solely focused on me, and when he doesn’t look away, my eyebrows lift. I can’t read anything in his guarded eyes, and it pisses me off. I’m the one that should be guarded. I’m the one that should be hiding my feelings from him. I don’t need him to see that he still has an effect on me. Not after a long five years.
But there’s no hiding the way I feel. Even now, after everything, I can’t stop my body from reacting to just having him near. It’s like I can still remember the feel of his touch and the way his hands touched me or the way he kissed me like I’ve never been kissed before. I suck in a shuddering breath, and it’s then I realize Ronnie has stopped talking and is clearing his throat. He turns to look over his shoulder, and I stop him before he sees who I’m looking at. “I’m sorry. What did you say?”