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I’m glued to the chair.
“Jake?” I repeat, and I’m starting to think I don’t know any other words.
“Oh, for the love of God. Yes, that’s my name. If it gets you to talk, you can call me Jake.”
I look away briefly to give myself a second to gather my thoughts. When my eyes land on his again, I think he’s sure now I’m having a stroke.
“Do you remember me?”
Maybe I’ve lost all remaining sanity. It’s the only explanation for why he’s looking at me this way. He clasps his hands together and takes a deep breath.
Am I having a stroke?
“Remember you?”
“Yes. Remember me. We’ve met.”
Haven’t we?
I know we have.
What is wrong with him?
His lips set into a hard line before he speaks again. “Where?”
I search his face, but I’m seeing nothing in those deep, chocolate-colored eyes.
It’s him.
I’d remember those eyes anywhere.
Now, if he could just smile. I’m pretty sure I’ve thought about his smile more times than I’d like to admit.
Maybe I’ve blown this completely out of proportion. I know I’m just a stranger, but we spoke for an hour.
Two strangers, sitting on a bench, eating donuts, and spilling our guts to each other. He was part of the reason I asked for a second chance with Nora. He’s the reason I’m sitting in his office, staring at him too intensely while his jaw stiffens more and more by the second.
“In Penrith. On the benches by the beach. I hit my head, and I was crying. You asked if I was okay. We shared donuts and spoke for almost an hour.”
He arches a brow, and there’s a teeny tiny shadow of a smirk, but his stoic mask comes back down almost immediately.
“You were crying because you hit your head?”
I throw my hands out and roll my eyes.
“I was crying because my fiancé cheated on me. You told me about your wife,” I say softly, but there’s a moment of doubt when I look at his hand and don’t see the ring I saw when I first met him.
His knuckles turn white, and I suddenly regret mentioning that part of our conversation.
“We won’t be discussing my wife, Ms. Russell.”
“Sorry,” I murmur under my breath.
His eyes roam around his office before they land back on me, and for a second, I think he’s going to say he remembers, but no words escape his mouth.
Nora’s voice finally cracks through the air. “You bought the beach house close to Alex, didn’t you, Jake?”
Thank you.
