Page 25 of Playing With Temptation

Shay?

Kids?

I knew a Shay Bowman in high school. She was a year older than me, and her sister Iris was a year behind me.

Oh, no, please Lord in heaven above tell me the preppy, popular, beautiful, captain of the cheerleading squad Shay Bowman is not Jase’s ex-wife.

“Yeah, I’ll meet you there,” Jase said into his phone, but his eyes were zeroed in on mine. Intense. Unhappy. Worried. He dropped his phone from his ear but didn’t break our contact. “Sorry to cut this short, but I need to go. Shay’s taking Cole to the emergency room.”

“Of course. Is he okay?”

Jase stood, pocketed his phone, then reached around to his back pocket, unearthing his wallet.

“She thinks he broke his arm,” he clipped as he fished through his wallet. “I don’t have the time it will undoubtedly take for me to convince you to give me your number so we can meet for coffee and finish catching up.” He reached across the table with a business card between his fingers. Out of politeness, I took his offering. “My cell number is on that. I hope you call. And when I say that, Rainy, I mean I really fucking hope you call.”

I nodded, not wanting to verbalize my lie.

I wouldn’t call.

I couldn’t. There was too much water under the bridge, too much heartache and feelings wrapped up in regret.

Instead, I said, “I hope Colson’s okay.”

“Right,” he clipped. As he said, he knew me. He knew when I was prevaricating. “It was good seeing you, Rae. And welcome home.”

Welcome home.

Why did that hit harder than it should’ve?

I might’ve been back in Hollow Point but I wasn’t home.

I hadn’t had one of those since my freshman year of college and I’d let him go thinking I was doing the right thing setting him free. Then at twenty when I cut him out, I’d set myself adrift.

Now I was a castaway.

Lucas and I were drifting through life doing our best, and with Zoe gone, life had become exponentially harder.

“It was good seeing you, too,” I lied.

I watched as Jase walked through the bar. His strides sure and commanding. His broad shoulders looked like he could take on the weight of the world.

Why was the universe so cruel?

Why after so many years apart did I still love him like he was the air I needed to breathe?

That should’ve been impossible.

“Girl!” Sophie chirped from the seat Jase had vacated, making me jump in surprise. “How do you know Jase?”

Shit.

“Um…”

“Oh no, don’t even think about getting shy on me now.”

For such a sweet-looking woman she sure was a demanding demon.

“We, ah, went to high school together,” I hedged.