But instead, she couldn’t let me love her. Not the way she deserved to be. When I told her the truth of how I felt, she heard something else. Something marred by pain and rejection—things she associated with me. I wish I could go back in time and erase what happened to her, or at least, my part in it, however unwitting it was. But I couldn’t.
Then it hit me. I knew exactly what I needed to do.
“I’ll be back later.”
“You’re going to miss hot cocoa!” Wren protested as I brushed past her toward the door.
“I’ve had better!” I shouted over my shoulder, memories of the other night on the rug with June filling my mind.
Rushing out to my car, I hopped in and drove straight to town. Lucky for me, the Sheriff was preoccupied, so I took the speed limit as a suggestion and less of a rule. I wasn’t sure he would be here, but there was a good chance. It was Christmas, after all. Who wouldn’t be with their family for the holidays?
Long, quick strides brought me to the front door as I walked to it and knocked sharply twice. Gavin Lewis, a local firefighter, appeared at the door.
“Evan?”
“Hey, uh,” the wind in my sails was gone at the sight of a first responder. “Is Brendan here?”
“Sure, yeah, hang on.” His brother disappeared, and a few seconds later, Brendan appeared out of the dining room, hands tucked in his pocket as he sauntered down the hall without a care in the world.
“Evan, hey, man. Merry Christmas!”
“Cut the shit, Brendan. June told me what you did.” His face faltered, and he looked confused for about a half-second before his features schooled.
“Evan, it’s been twelve years. I think a little high school prank can be forgotten now. We’re grown-ups.”
“It wasn’t just a little prank to her or me. I had no idea what you did, and you ruined my chance to be with her all this time. Instead, you hurt someone I love.”
“Love?” Brendan laughed. “Alright, sure, she had great tits. I’ll give Jumbo June that, but—”
He never finished his sentence as my fist connected with his teeth. His head snapped backward, and when he straightened, his smile was red.
“Some people peak in high school, Brendan. The rest of us grow up. You peaked.”
june
The minuteI got home to my surprised parents, I regretted leaving Evan like that. The whole ride back to the resort, I tried to justify my choice to myself, but behind every single thought, there was a voice telling me how much of a fool I was.
A lifetime of believing Evan to be something he wasn’t, and he’d proved me wrong not just in an evening but in an hour. He was still the gorgeous, kind, and thoughtful man I’d once believed him to be. Hell, he was the man I’d fallen in love with in high school over a silly history report.
And so had he.
Instead of embracing my newfound reality, I ran from it. The same way I’d run from Sage River the first chance I got after high school. And how I ran from culinary school after my ex dumped me for my so-called best friend. And why I was running home from my ‘amazing’ cruise ship job where my sous-chef had told me it was fun to hang out, but he didn’t want more than that.
Running was my specialty. And even now, while Evan was telling—and showing—me that it was different, I was still running.
Maybe it was time to take my running shoes off.
“June,” Hayes rapped his knuckles on the wood of the door frame as he poked his head inside. “Can you do me a favor? I gotta run to town and speak to Elsie about a change to our order for the Cookie Kringle.”
I put my book down because I’d read the same line a thousand times while thinking about Evan and how good his hands and mouth had felt on me. No steamy romance could compare to the real thing.
“Sure, what’s up?”
“Can you run to Butler’s Botanicals and grab our poinsettia order? Someone knows you’re on the way, so it should be ready.”
My body flushed with cold the minute he said ‘Butler,’ and my head began shaking profusely. “Can’t I go and talk to Elsie about cookies instead? We could talk shop, swap recipes, you know, cook stuff.”
“No. That’s exactly why I’m going to deal with Elsie, and you can run and get the flowers.”