During their time together in high school, Heather had thought they might have a chance at a future together. A happy life. And Simon had said as much by promising to stay with her even after he graduated. Then he’d abruptly changed his mind, telling her he was going to college out of state and wasn’t interested in a long- distance relationship with her.
The summer after their breakup had been so agonizing. She had buried most of the hurt, but their breakup had devastated her more than she had ever let on. Devastated her so much that she had agreed to let her grandfather pay for her to be transferred to one of the most elite prep schools in the city.
That was why, when Simon had asked where she went to high school, she had answered truthfully. After Simon went off to college, she really had spent her senior year at Roosevelt Prep. Spending her final year of high school away from the public school they had both gone to made the breakup easier. At least she had been able to go to a school that didn’t constantly remind her of Simon.
“Well, I’m glad to hear that it hardly matters. I wouldn’t want us to be so hung up on the past,” she said, hoping he didn’t detect the hurt in her tone. There was no way she could reveal the truth to him. No way she could let her boss know how much their breakup had hurt her.
Or about why she had been laid off from her old job. She was keeping so many secrets inside, and telling Simon would only make things worse. For them both.
“What matters is the present,” he said, bringing her back from her frantic thoughts. “What matters is how we move forward.”
“What are you suggesting?” she asked. “Are you going to fire me for lying about knowing you?”
He heaved out a sigh and turned away from her. “Even if I wanted to fire you, I couldn’t.”
“Why?”
“We shared a kiss, Heather.” He turned back to face her, his jaw clenched as if going over the embarrassing details of their kiss was nothing more than a nuisance to him.
“I kissed you,” she murmured. “What happened is my fault. I got caught up in your speech and—”
“That’s why this is my fault,” he said, cutting her off. “I never should have allowed that speech to get so personal. I see that now.”
“It was a great speech,” she said.
“I added personal details to that speech, even though I suspected the truth,” he told her. “I wasn’t entirely sure that you were the girl I grew up with, but I still had my suspicions. I never should’ve let my judgment get so clouded by our past together.”
“Well...if the past doesn’t matter, why did you let it affect you that much?” she asked.
He hesitated. “I don’t know. I guess I’ve felt like I owed you my success, and I never got the chance to thank you. The speech was the chance to do that.”
“You could always have gotten in touch with me,” she pointed out. Damn, why did she sound like a wistful teenager? Why didn’t you call? He was going to think she was still a kid.
“I could have,” he admitted. “But I’ve never been good at holding on to people. And as each year went by, the idea of getting in touch with you seemed more and more absurd. It seemed better to let the past stay in the past.”
“That’s why I had to lie,” she said. “I wanted the job, and I worried that our relationship would just create awkwardness between us.”
There was more to her lies than wanting to avoid an uncomfortable conversation. But she couldn’t tell Simon that their breakup had hurt her so much that in a moment of loneliness and weakness, she had ended up in Gary’s arms. And then ended up pregnant. With a baby on the way, she’d had to do what was right. Had to marry Gary so her baby could have a family. She was never going to tell Simon that their breakup had inadvertently led to a bad marriage and a messy divorce.
“Unfortunately, there’s awkwardness now anyway,” he said. “The kiss backstage was...”
“A mistake,” she blurted out.
Surprise flickered in his eyes. “I was going to say that I felt things. Things that no boss should feel for a subordinate.”
So, he had felt the same passion that had been burning inside her. When she kissed him, she’d thought he’d pull away from her. Instead, he had deepened the kiss. Revealed a part of himself that he had kept so under control. The fierce way he had kissed her had taken her breath away. And now, he had just confessed to feeling something for her.