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Colt frowns, his head cocking to the side just a little. “You dated this guy?”
Sean crossed his arms over his chest and stands up a little straighter. “I could ask her the same thing about you, asshole.”
I’m starting to sweat. My stomach twists and the thrum of my pulse in my ears has me wondering if I’m going to pass out. After downing my drink, I shove the glass into Georgia’s hand and turn on my heel. I have to get out of here.
“Chloe!” Georgia calls. “Wait.”
But I don’t listen. I need some space, some room to breathe. Colton being here was bad enough, but now to be here with Sean too—I can’t take it. I walk outside, willing the sharp scent of the roses to overtake everything else. Of course, it doesn’t work. All I can focus on are the two pairs of eyes that I never thought I’d see again. One a pale green, the other deep blue. Colt and Sean are my biggest regrets over the last decade. Each one was special. Each one terrified me. They still do.
I stop when I reach the gazebo on the outskirts of the neatly manicured lawn. Stars wink into view as the sky deepens to a dusky violet. It’s perfect out here. But I can’t appreciate it right now. Not when old heartbreaks have reopened in the span of a few moments.
“Running again?” Sean’s smooth deep voice holds a hint of accusation, and I don’t blame him.
I turn to face him, my breath catching at the sight of this man I’d loved returning like a ghost from my past. “One-hundred percent.”
He holds out a champagne flute and waits for me to take it from his outstretched hand. “Thought you could use this.” Our fingers brush as I take hold of the glass, and I can’t deny the spark that ignites at the contact.
I raise my glass in a mock cheers, but with his other hand, he holds up a highball half-filled with amber liquid. “Switching to the hard stuff?”
“One-hundred percent,” he echoes with a sad smile.
We clink glasses and he tosses back his drink while I drain half of mine. “This is—” I start, but he interrupts me.
“Look, I didn’t—” We both stop, laughing at the awkwardness between us.
“It’s been five years, Sean. Maybe…maybe I overreacted.”
He shakes his head, those thick dark waves of his, now peppered with gray at the temples. The man is also sporting a dangerously sexy beard, trimmed to showcase his strong jaw. It’s a hot beard. And that’s saying something, because I loved him with a clean-shaven face before. “Not gonna lie, Chloe, this is not what I expected this weekend. But, I think we can make it through.”
“Don’t you hate me after how I ended things?”
He raises his glass to take another sip, but the drink is gone. Then he locks gazes with me, hurt still shadowing his blue irises. “I don’t hate you. I never hated you. I just…don’t understand.”
I think back to the night I broke things off with him. He’d proposed. I had to say no. Rehashing it wouldn’t do either of us any good. Especially this weekend.
“I’m sorry.”
A shrug lifts his shoulders, then he looks past me. “Fucking gorgeous out here, isn’t it?”
“It’s very Georgia.”
He laughs. “You know, I never thought Porter would settle down. But Georgia is exactly right for him.”
“How do you know him?”
“We worked together one summer. Then we became good friends.”
“Small damn world,” I say, staring up at the sky.
He takes a place beside me, his body heat making me wish we had less baggage between us. A night with a man like him would certainly make this weekend go by faster. “You look better than ever, bunny,” he says, that old nickname making my heart squeeze.
“Don’t call me that.”
I feel his tension rather than see it. But I know him. His shoulders have gone rigid, jaw tightening. “Sorry. Just slipped out.” He glances down at his drink again. “God, I wish I had another one of these.”
“Me too.”
He offers me his arm and cocks his head toward the hotel. “Come on. Ready to brave the group?”
