I stride out of the house and across the lawn, toward my room. I’m angry, annoyed, and hard as a fucking rock because, damn if Chloe doesn’t look like pure sex on two toned legs. The light is on in the upstairs room of the smaller cottage house where my room is located. I see her silhouette behind the curtain, her hair is loose and flowing, and, sweet Jesus, she’s slipping out of that dress. My already hard dick throbs in my pants.
“So, I see why she dumped you,” Sean says from behind me. “You’re a fucking peeping Tom.”
“Fuck you, asshole. I don’t think she knows how sheer those curtains are.”
“You going to be the one to tell her?"
“In the morning. I need some time to process all this. I haven’t seen that girl in five years.”
His brows rise. “Five?”
“Yeah. I know it’s a long time and I should be over it, but I thought I was going to marry her.”
He doesn’t respond for a moment, then lets out a short laugh. “This is going to be a hell of a weekend.”
“Look, she might not be important to you, but she was the love of my life. She still is. I’m throwing my hat back in the ring if she’ll let me. So stay out of my way.”
“Sorry, not happening. I’m not stepping back now.” Sean’s eyes blaze as he takes a step toward me. “My hat’s already been thrown. I lost her once before. It’s not happening again.”
“We’ll see.”
He walks away, hands in his pockets, confidence in his stride. How can he feel so sure of himself if he wants her so badly? I’m a fucking wreck.
Noise from above makes me look toward the deck outside Chloe’s door. She comes out, not seeing us as she brings a glass of wine and a paperback with her. Dressed in a pair of sleep shorts and a too big t-shirt, she’s temptation wrapped in a feisty package. One shoulder is exposed and her hair tumbles down her back. The waves shine in the porch light, making me want to tangle my fingers in the strands and see if it’s still as soft as I remember.
I need to talk to her. But I don’t know if now is the right time. I’m not sure there ever will be a right time to hash this all out.
She lets out a heavy sigh and turns her face up to the moon. “Why are you punishing me?” she says, and my chest tightens in response. Seeing me is a punishment?
I can’t stop myself. My feet move me toward the stairs that will lead up to her. The sound of my footsteps on the stairs has her sucking in a sharp breath and standing.
“Who’s there?”
“It’s just me,” I say, easing into the situation. “I saw you up here. Thought maybe we could talk.”
She crosses her arms protectively over her chest. “Why, so you can throw it back in my face that we’re not together anymore?”
“Look, I’m sorry. I guess, five years might be a long time, but it’s still fresh for me. I loved you. You didn’t choose me.”
Hurt flashes across her features and I wonder why. She broke it off with me, not the other way around. “I tried to do the right thing.”
“How was not being together right?” Then I stop myself. Holding up a hand, I say, “I’m sorry. It doesn’t feel right to me, but obviously we were in different places. You can’t force yourself to love someone.”
She steps closer to me. “Colt, that’s not how it was. I did love you. But…”
“You loved the other guy more than me.” I hate the way those words feel. When we started dating, I knew she was seeing other guys. Fuck, I was seeing other girls. But it became all too clear that she was the one for me after just a few weeks. I broke it off with the other girls, expected she’d do the same, but I was wrong. “What kills me is that I said I loved you and you left me for him. But where is he now?”
Her jaw clenches and she takes a harsh breath. “It didn’t work out. None of it. But I’m glad. I was twenty-two, barely ready to start my life as an adult. I wasn’t ready to settle down.”
I let those words sink in. She’s right. At twenty-two, I’d been a careless kid who thought a full tank of gas and frozen pizza in the freezer meant I had what I needed to take care of a family. “God, you’re right. We were so young. It’s hard to forget though. You were my one great heartbreak.”
She reaches for my hand and I let her. The contact makes need spark in my veins. “You were mine.”
“Do you ever think about us?”
“All the time.”
“I’m not crazy, right? It was…”