“Oh, right. Carla told me, but I didn’t believe you willingly took over.”
“Hey, I love this place!” I say in defense.
“Agree to disagree. You always used to say there were too many memories here. Memories you’d rather put behind you. It was your past.”
She’s right. I did say that. This building holds a lot of my memories—it’s rife with my history,
“And now it’s my present,” I tell her.
“That’s amazing, Chrissy. You’re probably the bravest, most amazing person I know. You know that, right?”
I smile as tears well up in my eyes. “I know.”
“Which is why you need to tell him the truth.”
I let out a deep breath. And we’re back to this again.
“This isn’t some stupid story of how I stole his car a few years ago, or how I played a dumb prank on him. You want me to tell him he has a son. I was pregnant and he never even knew. It’s earth-shattering news. And he’ll hate me forever,” I say quietly.
Tia places a warm hand on my shoulder and rubs it comfortingly. “Since when have you ever cared what other people think of you?”
“I never have, but he’s different and you know that. This will ruin him forever. It will ruin us. It will ruin his family. I can’t.”
After Tia leaves, I decide to have a snack in my newly inherited coffee shop. I warm up a cheese danish and make myself a cappuccino before sitting at a table near the back of the restaurant. My mind drifts as I eat, and I remember the days I use to come in here with my friends and help out after school.
Me, Matt, and Tia once broke the coffee machine and blamed it on Michael. He didn’t actually break it, but it was his fault that it was broken. We were trying to make a drink and he walked in with his jersey off, and his hair was swaying back and forth like he was onBaywatchor something. He distracted me and Tia, so we pushed the buttons simultaneously and the machine went haywire.
We planned it out perfectly but no one believed he did it—he was always so damn perfect. We were all grounded and Mike got a special drink. Not our intention, but fair... I suppose.
I look out the window, allowing my mind to wander. For just a moment, I have no stress, no worries. I’ll deal with everything else tomorrow.
But then I hear a deep voice speak, and when I look up, it’s the golden boy himself.
“Got room for one more?” Michael asks. I find myself instantly captivated by his green eyes and a plethora of emotions run through me.
“Michael?” I say, surprised. “What are you doing here?”
“I heard the town lawyer was back so I figured I’d stop by to see if I found you here.”
“The town lawyer. That’s a first,” I chuckle.
“Well, that was the plan, wasn’t it? You were going to become a lawyer to represent people in our town, but instead, you moved away,” he says, his face full of curiosity.
“I’m not the only one who moved away. You guys left, too. Both you and Matt,” I remind him.
“I left for work; I came back. You were gone.”
“Well, I’m here now. What did you want to say?” I’m afraid to hear the answer.
He takes a few steps closer to me and I can feel the warm air from his breath on my neck.
He’s standing in front of me, and even after so many years, there’s still a spark between us. I thought it died the night he broke my heart. I thought we finally fulfilled the desire we had for one another back then, but heat fills the room, and we’re standing here desperate and wanting.
He takes another step closer and I think he’s going to kiss me, but instead, he places his lips near my ears and his lips accidentally brush against my ear. We both pause at the electricity surging between us.
“If I were you, I would skip the wedding,” he says before turning around and walking out, leaving me just as confused as when I left those years ago.
Michael Crane. Confident, powerful, asshole.