Page 68 of When You Were Mine

She’d gotten it all wrong, hadn’t she? He really had missed her, longed for her, the way she’d done for him. Blood roared in her ears, and she found it hard to catch her breath.

He was hurting, and she had to get to him. She felt his pain as if it were her own.

She saw his form in the narrow, dark hallway. It was unmistakable. Those broad shoulders, that muscular frame.

And that was when self-preservation kicked in.

Because what did she think would happen when she caught up with him? Did she think she’d comfort him? Soothe him?

Kisshim?

No. No.

This is all wrong.

And what the hell are you doing spending an evening with him anyway? You should check into your hotel.

You’re here for business. Chris is paying you to do a job.

Not to get closure with an ex.

In the dark hallway, she caught up with him. “Hey.” Her smile felt rubbery, but she forced it to stay in place. “I just wanted to let you know that I, uh…” She jerked a thumb over her shoulder like a moron. “I’m going to head out. I’m pretty beat, so I’ll just grab some room service. You know, take a hot bath. So, I’ll just, uh, I’ll see you tomorrow.” With an awkward wave, she spun around.

But just as she took off, a big hand grabbed hold of her arm and pulled her back against a strong chest. Intense, dark eyes captured her. “What just happened?” Trevor asked.

“I just told you I need to check into my hotel.”

“Okay, but in a weird voice.”

“Oh, my robo voice?” She gave a weird laugh. “Yeah, my sister accuses me of that a lot. I think jet lag’s really caught up with me. I’m going to go.”

“You’re running.”

Oh, enough of this crap.Enough letting this man take control of her emotions. “Well, yes, Trevor, I am. And I’m sorry, but I’ve made it clear I don’t want to do this with you. You don’t understand how hard it is for me to hear you say you missed me, you were lonely without me… I don’t know what to do with that. And it doesn’t matter if you’ve known Darby a month or that she’s the one who proposed. The fact remains, you’re gettingmarried.”

“There are things I need to explain later, okay? But for right now, can you please just forget her?”

“No.” She wrenched her arm out of his grip. “Of course not. And it’s not a good look that you can.”

“Trust me when I tell you, Darby’s okay with us talking. She understands.” He was sending her an urgent message, and she was too riled up to receive it. “The only thing that matters right now is us, Elz.” He jerked her closer to him. “You and me.”

“Nothing makes sense to me, and I’m tired. I’m tired, and I want to go to the hotel and…and…process things. Okay? Just let me go.”

“I can’t do that. I can’t let you go.”

“We live in the same town. At some point, I’m sure we’ll meet for coffee.”

“I don’t want coffee with you,” he roared. He closed his eyes and let out a calming breath, but he didn’t loosen his hold. “I’ve made a mess of things, and I’m trying very hard to fix them. I won’t stop until I do.”

Her hands closed around his wrists. His skin was hot, his muscles hard. “You can’t fix this. Too much time has passed.”

“Does it feel like that to you? Because it sure doesn’t to me. Not at all. Swear to God, it feels like us. Like it always was. We are meant to be together.”

“Really? Because in all this time, we never bothered to make our way back to each other. You left me to make money. And even after you reached your goal, you still made more movies. I mean, seriously, let’s stop talking about fantasy and get to the bottom line. You made movies forthirty years, Trevor.”

“Iwasthe franchise. We had a massive cast and crew. We supported an entire town that grew and thrived. If I walked away, it would’ve all shut down.”

“So, you carried the weight of that on your shoulders?” A memory flickered at the edges of her mind.

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