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“Really?” I asked. “Wow. I didn’t even know you were still in the area.”
“I could say the same about you,” Hailey said. Her voice was becoming more guarded with every passing second and her eyes watched me carefully.
I knew she was sizing me up. I could tell she was nervous. My heart was beating faster by the second, but I couldn’t let her know that.
“I just got back a few months ago,” I said. “My tour ended so I moved back home.”
“With your mom?” Hailey asked. “How’s she doing?”
When she asked about my mom, her voice softened.
“She’s okay,” I said. “Doing a lot better. It’s been five years now, so…”
I trailed off, not wanting to talk about my father. This wasn’t the way my conversation with Hailey was supposed to go. We were not supposed to talk about my dead dad or my depressed mom.
She was supposed to see me and be overwhelmed with how good I looked, or want to get together like we used to. My confidence was supposed to attract her like it did all those years ago.
All those nights in Iraq let me believe she would welcome me with that soft smile she reserved just for me back then. The one that told me I was the only man she saw in the world.
Damn, you’re still so whipped over this girl, a voice taunted from deep inside my head.
I couldn’t deny it.
“Yeah,” she said. “I remember.”
“So,” I said, quickly changing the subject. “Who’s this? New boyfriend?”
I directed my attention to the man beside her. I extended my hand for him to shake, rising up to seem taller than I was.
I hoped my tone didn’t convey the rising anger that made my blood boil at the thought she was taken by another man.
It would hardly make a good impression to her if I pummeled the guy into the ground not matter how much I wanted to.
Instead of giving into that impulse, I pasted a smile on my face. It was all teeth, I was sure, but it was the best I could manage.
“No,” Hailey laughed. “This is Joe. My brother.”
“Joe?” I blinked and stared at the man again.
He looked nothing like the scrawny kid I once knew. He had grown at least a foot and his face was covered in a thick, dark beard.
“Wyatt,” Joe said, shaking my hand.
Well, shaking hands may had been an exaggeration with the pressure he tried to apply to my fingers. I returned the pressure and the terse connection ended quickly when Hailey raised an eyebrow at the obvious show of testosterone between us.
Joe nodded once before he looked away.
“Man,” I said, my tone still friendly despite the awkward handshake. “You look completely different.”
“Five years will do that,” Joe said sharply.
He didn’t bother to meet my eyes.
He didn’t make it a secret he wasn’t happy to see me. I watched him for a second before I turned my attention back to Hailey.
I stood up even taller and smiled my best smile. Pushing my hair out of my eyes, I looked into her hers deeply and took a step forward.
“It’s really great to see you again,” I said softly.
