Page 40 of Say it Ain’t So

One that had me wishing for a different life.

One I’d left far, far behind.

“Say it ain’t so.”

I lifted my gaze from the file to the man standing on the other side of my desk. I shivered. I shook. The very sight of him had my knees going weak and my stomach erupting into a buzzing inferno.

On vacation, due back at the beginning of the year.

Rested and tanned to perfection and more handsome than I remembered.

My husband.

Rylan Dennis.

13

RYLAN

I swore, a mirage sat in front of me. Maybe the California sunshine had rotted my brain. Maybe the lady who’d sidled up next to me at the bar in the airport had slipped something in my drink last night and it was just now starting to affect me. Maybe it was still last night, and this was all nothing more than a dream.

Just another dream—another nightmare—that would tear me to shreds.

Joss turned her beautiful blue eyes on me, and it took everything in me not to fall in love with her all over again. She was just as gorgeous as I remembered. Tanned and perfect from her head down to her toes, and I couldn’t even see that far.

Her lips curled into a hint of a smile before she let out a whisper I could barely hear. “Rylan?”

“Hello, wife.”

Joss flinched, though I wasn’t sure if it was from years’ worth of pent-up anger spitting out of me or something else. I curled my fingers around the counter, leaning closer.

Drawn to her.

“I can’t believe you’re actually here.” She lifted her hand like she wanted to touch me, but she stopped when I jerked back out of her reach.

“I can’t believe you actually exist.”

“I can explain.” She tangled her fingers in her long, dark hair, pulling it off one side of her neck.

I bit back a groan, because her scent wafted toward me, overpowering my senses. I could still remember the feel of her skin against my lips, and if I wasn’t careful, that’s exactly where I’d end up.

Back in her clutches.

Back in her lying, thieving hands.

“Rylan Dennis!” A man’s voice hit like a shockwave, startling Joss so she jumped from her chair. I was startled too, except my first instinct was to go to her, and that wouldn’t do.

Turning my gaze to the man at the end of the hallway, I forced a smile I didn’t feel. “Van Thaylor. I knew it was just a matter of time before Lee got his hooks in you.”

Van took my hand in a brutal grip, same as he always did. “Says the man who gave me glowing reviews time and time again.” He let go, then leaned against the counter.

“Good to finally have you,” I told him, though I was having trouble summoning up the words while it felt like he was putting himself between me and Joss.

“Good to finally be here. I see you met our new admin.”

I turned my gaze back on my wife. “Not quite.”

“This is Joss Monroe. Joss, this is Rylan Dennis, the biggest asshole this side of the Mississippi.”