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And she hadnoidea what the heartbreak had led to.
I shuddered at the thought of the past and the shitty mistakes I had made because I was hurting. It left me in prison for nearly five years.Five. Fucking. Years.
And my guess was that Hallie hadnoidea of that part of my past.
“Fuck,” I mumbled to myself under my breath, thinking of how sweet and innocent she had been when we were together. I had no idea how she was now—and I mean, shedidhave a daughter…
And for some reason, that had hit me right in the gut.
It should’ve beenus.
“Dude, why are you moping around out here?” Viper, one of my closest friends, called out to me as soon as I plopped down onto the couch. “You look like you just lost your ass at the casino or something.”
“Worse than that.” I let out a sharp breath. “Hallie is back in town.”
He was dead quiet, so I glanced over at him, seeing his eyes widen. “TheHallie.”
“Yep, and I’m meeting her for dinner tonight.”
“Oh fuck,” Viper grunted. “There’s a fuckin’ nightmare. Your head is going to be toast.”
It already is.
My hands were fucking shaking by the time I parked my truck outside of the café, my heart pounding a million miles an hour in my chest. It was like I’d just worked out for three hours at the gym—not that I ever actually did that.
I kept it to two and a half, always.
Kicking open the truck door, I slid out effortlessly. I had dressed nice—well, my version of nice—in a clean white t-shirt and black jeans, opting for my vans instead of worn-out engineer boots. Shrugging my shoulders a few times to loosen the tension, I glanced around for Hallie, but the silver SUV she had been in earlier was nowhere to be found. I pulled my phone out of my pocket, checked the time, and saw that I was only about five minutes early.
Do I wait for her to show up before I go in?
Fuck, I couldn’t remember anything about dating. I hadn’t been on a date since Hallie and I were together…
And I had no idea what I was doing then, either.
My fingers flew to my hair, but I stopped myself from running my fingers through it. I had taken the time to style my hair, smoothing it back, whereas I usually left it messy. Hats were made for a reason.
I stood on the sidewalk for a few moments longer before deciding to go in and grab a booth. Pushing through the doors, I scanned the place, and just as I had expected, she wasn’t inside either. There were a few familiar faces, but no one that I felt the need to stop and talk to. I slid into the back booth, facing the door, and then… I waited.
And waited.
And waited.
Drumming my fingers on the old, laminated booth tabletop, I stared at my water, wondering if Hallie was capable of standing me up. I really didn’tknowher anymore. I didn’t know anything about her past the day she left—other than her kid and losing her job or whatever.
But that didn’t tell me anything about whether or not she’d stand me up.
“You okay?” A voice caught my attention.
I ripped my eyes away from my red plastic glass of water to see the waitress, Natalie, standing there above me. “Yeah, fine, why?”
She shook her head at me, her graying auburn hair bouncing on her shoulders. “You never come to eat here by yourself—and you’ve been here for nearly twenty minutes and haven’t ordered.”
My lip twitched at how obvious it was. “I was supposed to be meeting someone here, and I have no way to contact them to see if they’re still coming.”
“Like on a date?”
I hesitated, seeing the amusement in her eyes. “Yeah, maybe. I don’t know.” Just as I was about to tell Natalie that I was more than likely stood up so it didn’t matter, the café bell chimed at the front door. And sure enough, in walked a petite, bombshell of a woman, her ashy blonde hair pulled half up and her faded blue jeans the same staple of the girl I once loved.
