She’d loved the idea of him.
She’d loved having a partner.
She’d loved the promise of a future.
A future that was now pointed in a completely different direction.
4
Rylan marched down the sidewalk as though he had a group of hostiles on his six.
“What the fuck was that?” He dodged left and right so he didn’t plow anyone else over. “Whothe fuck was that?”
Stepping to the side, he shoved open the door to Lulu’s Diner, shot inside and stopped, then glanced over his shoulder.
The door slowly closed. No one stood behind him. No one had followed him.Shehadn’t followed him.
He couldn’t even see her anymore, just the pedestrians going about their day as they walked past, and yet he stillfelther as though she was strapped to his back.
A long breath left his chest when the space behind him remained empty.
No. She hadn’t followed him. But then why the hell would she?
He’d mowed her down on the sidewalk like a tank in a war zone. He hadn’t been paying attention to his surroundings, had been looking across the road at where he’d parked his truck trying to remember if he’d locked it or not, then boom! He’d taken a hit, and for a split second, every muscle in his body snapped taut, ready to spring into action to protect himself—protect his team.
When he’d seen the woman falling, he’d stepped forward, reached out, but hadn’t been quick enough to stop her motion. He’d felt the jar of her landing in his own ass and immediately bent down for her.
His focus had been on making sure she was okay, in assessment mode. Until he’d let his gaze travel over her from head to toe. He was fine, and then an inexplicable wave of awareness flooded every cell in his body.
He’d stumbled over apologizing and inviting her for a drink. When she’d told him yes, there was a burst of euphoria—relief—followed by crushing loss and anger as the wordsI’m meeting someonehad fallen from her lips.
He hadn’t waited around for further explanation.
He couldn’t.
Couldn’t stand there and let her tell him she was seeing someone, that she was taken.
“Hey, Ry!” A hand clapped down on his shoulder and squeezed. “You okay, man? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”
“Yeah, maybe,” he murmured as he turned and faced Grayson Malone. “What? No.”
Gray frowned at him.
“Sorry. I bumped into a woman.”
One of his friend’s eyebrows arched, a sparkle lighting his eyes. “Oh...?”
Rylan laughed. “Not like that. I literally bumped into her. On the street. Knocked her down.”
“Is she all right?” Gray asked, concern creasing his brow as he glanced over Rylan’s shoulder.
“Oh, yes, it’s just . . .” He looked behind himself again. “It felt like I knew her. Except I didn’t. There’s no way I’d met her before and forgotten.” She’d made him think of fairy princesses and fragile flowers and his body had gone tight with tension, his groin tingling with a need he hadn’t felt in a long, long time.
“Are you sure? You’ve met a lot of new people since you moved here.” Gray turned and headed toward a table. “Maybe it was someone from work. Or maybe she lives on your street,” he added as he pulled out a chair.
Rylan shook his head. Nope. No way that woman lived near him. Besides, it wasn’t that he recognized her precisely, it was more of a feeling, a knowing, as though he had known her, did know her—shouldknow her. Somehow. “Déjà vu.”
“What?” Gray looked at him in confusion.
