My eyes clicked with Brooke’s. “Not Africa?” I asked Brock. “Maybe a safari, to experience the animals?”
Brock let out a hearty laugh. “That doesn’t sound like Brooke to me, no.”
Brooke glanced away.
Brock grabbed another card from the table and began to read: “This one is for the ladies: What are her favorite flowers?” He placed his arm around Brooke’s shoulders. “Too easy! I bring her red roses every week.”
Bryan darted his eyes to me, hearing my immediate mumble of “sunflowers,” but no one else at the table seemed to have heard.
“How romantic!” Nic replied to Brock, while playfully swatting at Bryan’s shoulders. “Bryan better get this right.”
“Nic loves tulips,” Bryan said, eyes still burning into me. Nic squealed again in agreement.
“What kind of flowers do you like, Amanda?” Brooke spoke up. I still couldn’t get over how quiet she was being. This wasn’t the vibrant girl I remembered. I saw her fidget with the strap of her dress. Was it bothering her? If only I could be the one to help her get out of it...Don’t go there,I reminded myself.She’s with someone else.
Amanda was answering. “Hmm—I’d have to say orchids, or maybe irises. I love their vivid coloring. Okay, my turn.” She lifted a card. “What's something the person across from you doesn't know about you?”
My eyes locked with Brooke.
I heard her voice in my head.Tell me a secret.
4
BROOKE
Fun Fact #8: It’s best to confess secrets in the dark.
The reunion was a sea of navy tablecloths and white-and-gold centerpieces. My subconscious had recognized Cade’s familiar gait before my brain even processed his arrival. I saw him approach, but I forced my eyes to stay locked on Brock, whom I was introducing to Nic. Seeing Cade after all these years unexpectedly had my heart in my throat.
I schooled my expression and tried to keep a light and positive tone, especially with Nic, who had been a good friend to me throughout middle and high school.
Nic’s yellow flowy dress made her look like sunshine personified, and Bryan cleaned up nice in his soft gray suit vest and slacks, his dress shirt sleeves rolled to his elbows. He had floppy brown hair, a bit longer than in high school, and his glasses made him look a bit like a young professor. As a kid he was so gawky and skinny, but now he’d grown into himself, and I could see that he had Spencer-Reid-from-Criminal-Minds vibes. He and Nic made an adorably perfect couple.
Also at our table was Amanda, a raven-haired curvy girl in a purple cocktail dress. Amanda had always been on the shy side, so I was glad to see her speaking up and joining in on our conversations. Her wide smile was full of life. She too had seemed to grow into herself after high school.
I picked at my manicure, feeling like I was the only one in this entire graduating class who had gottenlessconfident and self-assured in the last five years.
Despite giving my attention to all the former classmates at my table, I couldn’t stop feeling Cade’s eyes on me. They burned into my skin and made it prickle uncomfortably. I forced my gaze to land on each of my other classmates before it finally landed on him.
I tried not to stare, but internally I admitted—Cade lookedgood.His suit fit him like a glove, down to his surprisingly stylish wingtip shoes. His confident posture made him appear taller than his 5’11” stature.
A million questions flooded my head.
Where did he live now? What did he do for work? For fun? How did he stay so fit? Was he dating anyone? I brushed that last line of thought firmly aside.
He’d always been cute. In school, he was kind of medium everything—medium height, medium build, medium light brown hair. He wasn’t the kind of guy that would turn most girls’ heads back then, but he’d had boyish good looks, with his messy hair, unique eyes, and his wide smile with its one-sided dimple. He had one slightly crooked tooth, to the left of his perfectly straight front teeth. He’d never had braces like I had, but there was something I’d always loved about his perfectly imperfect smile.
He’d also been fun-loving, always willing to cannonball into the gorge or stuff his face with popcorn during a movie night.And when he stared into your eyes, it felt like you were the only person in the world.
Now, though, his fitted suit highlighted a physique honed by years of athleticism. The fabric stretched against his muscles, and I assumed he got in some kind of workout daily. He wasn’t bulky, but he was definitely in good shape.
His voice was different, too. It had a richer, deeper quality than it had had in childhood. But it was still distinctively Cade.
His skin was several shades more tan than it had been when we graduated.How was he getting so much sun?I wondered. His wavy hair was tamed with some kind of product, and my hands itched to run my fingers through it, to muss it back to its typical wildness.
No, Brooke. You won’t be touching Cade. Not tonight, and probably not ever. You brought an end to those privileges a long time ago.
The night of graduation, specifically.
