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The name jogged my memory and I remembered that Pam Culver was on student council and drill team. We shared a few classes together and she’d always been nice enough, but we didn’t really run in the same circles.
“Yeah, that’s me! Well, Pam Davis now, but yeah! It’s so good to see you guys.” She surprised me by pulling us both into tight hugs.
“It’s good to see you too,” I returned, letting out a breath of relief when the bartender finished with the pink concoctions and passed them around. Colbie and I moved up to the bar and I quickly ordered a vodka soda.
I smiled at the bartender, tucking extra bills into the tip jar as she passed me my vodka soda and Colbie’s white wine. Just as I lifted the glass to take my first fortifying drink a commotion started near the entrance. People flocked, blocking my view, but it was clear something big was happening.
I pointed in that direction with my glass. “What’s going on? Why does it seem like everyone is freaking out?”
“You didn’t hear?” Pam asked, her eyes dancing with excitement.
Colbie shrugged and shook her head in confusion when I looked her way for an answer. “Hear what?” I asked.
She made aneekface before dropping her bomb. “Beau Wade is coming to the reunion.”
I choked on the sip I’d just taken, my eyes going wide with panic as I struggled to cough the vodka out of my lung. “What?” I squeaked as I felt the color drain from my face.
“Yeah, apparently it was a really last-minute deal. Isn’t that awesome?” She did a little hop in place and clamped her hands together. “And it looks like he just showed up.”
Oh shit.
This couldn’t be happening.
Chapter Four
PRESLEY
My stomach pitchedbefore falling to the ground at my feet. Despite what Pam and everyone else thought, this wasnotgood. I looked in Colbie’s direction and found she was already staring at me, her eyes as wide as mine were.
“So good to see you again, Pam. Will you excuse us? Thanks,” she sputtered quickly, barely finishing her sentence before hooking her arm through mine and pulling me away. “I had no idea,” she hissed quietly before I could get a word out. “Swear to God. I never would have guilted you into coming with me if I thought there was even a chance he’d be here tonight.”
I pulled in a calming breath as we stopped in a quiet corner near the DJ booth, far away from the hubbub taking place near the entrance. It was easy enough to avoid curious stares given how nearly the entire graduating class was flocking around Beau like he was something special. The asshole threw a ball for a living, for Christ’s sake. It wasn’t like he invented the cure for cancer.
“I know,” I said, giving her a small smile as I took her hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze. “I know you’d never do something like that.”
Her gaze moved to the entrance where the crowd still gathered before shooting back to me. “We can leave. We don’t have to stay if it makes you uncomfortable.”
My nostrils flared on a deep inhale. “No.” My voice was firm, determined. And maybe slightly petulant. “No, I’m not leaving. This ismyhigh school reunion too, damn it, and I have every right to be here.”
Colbie nodded enthusiastically, ever the supportive cheerleader. “Yeah.Yeah. You’re totally right. Screw that guy.”
The pep talk was actually working, and I could feel myself getting pumped up. The only thing missing was “Good Vibrations” blaring in the background to really set the mood. “Exactly. Screw him! So what if I didn’t want to come here in the first place. I was still here first. I’m not going to let that self-righteous ass run me out.”
Colbie looked like she was getting as jazzed as I was. “No way. Nu-uh. If anyone should leave it’s him.”
“Yeah. This ismytown,” I declared with a tiny stomp of my high-heeled foot, “and if he has a problem with sharing the same space, he can be the one to leave.”
The crowd parted then, and I felt my righteous indignation falter when I got my first in-person glimpse at Beau Wade in years. It was impossible to avoid the man completely, especially when working at a bar, and even more especially when that bar’s clientele came in most Sundays to watch his team specifically. I knew far more about his career and stats than I wished I did. But somehow, seeing him on those screens every week didn’t do him justice.
Damn it. The asshole was like a fine scotch, only getting better with age. It wasn’t fair.
He’d always been good-looking, a fact that annoyed me to no end. It wasn’t right that a guy that awful was able to turn the head of every single female he walked past. It was a major flawin society that a person’s shitty behavior was overlooked simply because they were hot. And as much as I would have liked to deny it, I couldn’t. Beau Wadewas hot, and I would have been lying if I claimed not to see the appeal as I stared at him from across the gymnasium.
He looked even taller than the last time I’d seen him in person, standing a good few inches above most of the people gathered around him, all broad-shouldered, strong-chested, and narrow-waisted. He wore dove gray slacks and a matching blazer, tailor-made to fit his long, cut physique. He’d skipped a tie, leaving the pale blue button-down open at the collar, showcasing his thick neck.
A prominent brow rested over his blue eyes that I knew from experience were like pure ice, cold enough to freeze you in place when he looked at you. The rest of his features were just as strong, from his sharp cheekbones, regal nose, and square jaw to his sandy-colored hair. It bordered right on the edge of blond, nearly tipping over into light brown, the sides buzzed short with the longer strands on top styled to perfection.
God, he looked good.Toogood.
