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“Alicia Benson,” he says coldly. “I believe there’s something we need to talk about.”
“What are you doing here?” I say, biting my lip. I haven’t seen Cage Konstantin in five years. Not since that night...
I’d be lying to myself if I tried to say I had never imagined him walking back into my life – our lives – but I never thought it would be like this.
“I just told you,” he says, and his voice holds no kindness. There is no memory of what we did there, and there’s nothing gentle about the way he’s looking at me. Once upon a time, Cage liked me. I would have dared to say that he loved me, but that time is over.
“This is my job,” I say, lowering my voice. “You can’t just leave, stay away for five years, and then walk back into my life and bother me at work.”
“That’s exactly what I can do,” he says, and he walks over and places his hands on the counter in front of me.
I’m not sure whether it’s the hushed tones or the hissing that draws Heather’s attention, but I know the physicians and medical team members are going to start arriving at any moment, and the last thing she needs is someone causing trouble in the front office before the doctors arrive.
“Is everything okay out here?” She says, popping her head out. She looks from Cage to me and back again.
“It’s fine,” Cage says.
“No, it’s not,” I say. I keep my eyes focused on Cage. Five years ago, I was a scared little girl. I might have been 19 years old, and brave for my age, but things have changed. I’m not as weak as I was back then. I’m not as timid and I’m definitely not the kind of girl who is just going to brush off what Cage is doing because it wouldn’t be polite. “You need to leave. Now.”
Cage looks surprised for just the tiniest fraction of a second. In fact, if I wasn’t staring into his eyes, I wouldn’t have noticed the way shock registered before being replaced with anxiousness and cruelty.
“Sir, are you a patient?” Heather asks gently.
“No,” he says, but he doesn’t move.
“Then I’m going to have to ask you to leave the office.”
Cage hesitates for just a moment. Then he pushes away from the counter and goes to the front door. He leaves, letting the door close behind him, and he never looks back.
Not once.
I haven’t seen that guy in five years, and he doesn’t look back.
“Who the hell was that?” Heather asks.
“An ex,” I whisper.
“In the five years you’ve worked here, I’ve never once heard you talk about a boyfriend.”
“That’s because we broke up before I started working here.”
“He’s not...”
“Yeah,” I whisper, swallowing hard. “He’s Orlando’s father, and he has no idea he’s got a kid.”
Chapter Two
Cage
Going into her office was a stupid idea. I’m not really sure what got into me. My plan was simple: waltz into town, square up my mother’s affairs, and then leave before anyone ever noticed I was here.
The problem is that things just weren’t that simple.
I was shocked – shocked – to discover that my mother hadn’t left me a damn dime when she passed away. Every single asset she had was left to Alicia, and I have no idea why. The attorney couldn’t – or wouldn’t – tell me, and he seemed quite happy to see me leave his office.
It didn’t take a lot of asking around Storm Haven to find out where Alicia works. It’s a small mountain town, which means sweet-talking goes a long way, and I’ve got a silver tongue. A couple of questions at the post office and just a few at the bakery, and I quickly found out that she works at the medical office in town.
As I storm out to my car, I try to push the way she looked out of my mind. Damn, if time hasn’t been good to her. Those curves? Those beautiful curls? Her soft face? I don’t know if it’s possible, but I think Alicia has somehow managed to get even more beautiful than she was before, and something about that terrifies me.
