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“Are you—?” Finn began.
“I’mnotCarlie Malone, but she’s coming. She had to take a phone call. I’m just Rylie.” She let her shiny blonde hair fall forward, covering the roses that bloomed on her cheeks.
Rylie? He’d been so sure it was Carlie. She looked different, somehow. He couldn’t put his finger on it. He felt drawn to her. It must be because he was anticipating seeing Carlie again.
“Glad to meet you,” Steph said. “Jarrett was just telling us about his new neighbors.”
“I’m sure he was talking about my sister. I’m nobody important.”
Was that really how Rylie viewed herself? Jarrett hardened his jaw, muttering, “That’s not true.”
Steph launched into an explanation about the hand sanitizer, and seconds later Ellie was dragging Rylie off to the family room.
“What’s not true?” Bran’s voice made Jarrett jump.
“What Rylie said,” Jarrett muttered in a low voice. “I wish she wouldn’t put herself down.”
“Did I hear her say her sister is Carlie Malone? The singer?” Bran raised his brows. “Does she also happen to be the Carlie you dated in grad school?”
“You guessed it,” Jarrett said, his eyes glued to the front door.
“So you dated Carlie Malone before she was Carlie Malone, the singer. And she dated you before you were Jarrett Alvarez, owner of Phantom Enterprises.”
“I hadn’t thought of it quite that way,” Jarrett admitted. “I was planning to warn you and Finn, but I ran out of time.”
“We’ve got your back, Jarrett,” said Bran, leaning closer. “Always. Whatever you need to help you deal with this, we’re here for you.”
“Thanks, Bran. And thanks for not asking why I never told you.”
The doorbell rang again, and Jarrett’s chest tightened. Carlie strode inside, her thousand-watt show-smile shining like a beacon. Flawless, from the top of her shiny blonde locks to the tips of her painted toenails, her sparkling blue eyes crinkled in the corners as she greeted Stephanie and Finn.
Then her gaze locked with Jarrett’s, and his breath caught in his throat. She moved his way until she was standing right in front of him.
“Hi, Jarrett,” she said in a feathery voice.
Her hand reached out to hold his, but the expected jolt of electricity never came. He stared at her, in confusion. Where was the magnetic attraction? The anger? The longing? The pain? Time had numbed him more than he realized.
“Hi, Carlie.” He slid his hand out of her grasp and flipped it toward Bran. “This is my good friend, Branson Knight.”
“Nice to meet you.” Bran shook her hand, his eyes appearing to focus on hers. “That’s a nice perfume you’re wearing.”
“Thanks,” she said. “It’s calledReminisce.”
“I like it, too,” Jarrett said, though he hadn’t even noticed it.
“Jarrett, is there someplace we can go to talk?” Carlie asked.
“Why don’t you come out back with me?” Jarrett said, pleased with the steadiness of his voice. “I need to get the grill going.”
Outside in the brisk April air, Jarrett busied himself with the grill, allowing Carlie the chance to have her say.
“I’m sorry I left the way I did, Jarrett,” she said in a timid voice. “I really am.”
“I’m not angry anymore.” He lit the burner and fiddled with the controls longer than necessary— any excuse to avoid eye contact. “But I would like to know why you did it.”
From the corner of his eye he saw her rubbing the chill bumps on her bare arms. Nine years earlier, he would’ve held her to keep her warm. Today, awkwardness stood between them like a murky curtain.
“Rylie told me I should be honest with you,” she said.
