Page 21 of Salty, Spiced, and a Little Bit Nice

“It’s going fine, although I’m not happy about it. We’re tolerating each other. Barely.”

She only chuckled. “Well, make sure you stay away from him then, because I don’t want my best friend killing my boyfriend’s best friend. And if youaregoing to murder him, I’ll need twelve hours’ notice to fly over and help you get rid of the body.” Her voice softened. “How does it feel to see him again, though? Are you doing okay?”

Because of course Naomi knew about my crush on him. She knew how devastated I was when he had left without even saying goodbye.

“I’m fine. It was an old childhood crush. Don’t worry, I’ve grown out of it.”

We spoke for a few more minutes, and she told me about the short getaway Eric had planned for them the next weekend. When I hung up, my mood was considerably lifted, giving me a fresh dose of confidence.

Come on, get your act together, Ellie.

I’d gone this far from my old life, and I wasn’t going back. Theonly way out of this mess was to push forward and get this place up and running.

Because the alternative wasn’t even worth thinking about.

My top was drenched in sweat as I turned onto Alec’s leafy street, just as his car swung into the driveway. Slamming the door closed, he rushed toward the front door, stopping short when he saw me walking up.

“Holy shit.” His eyebrows went up as he eyed me from head to toe. “Did you stop for a swim at the pool or something?”

“Sure, after my daily one-hour jog by the beach.” I gave him an exaggerated eye roll. “I walked back from the shop. Why are you in such a hurry?”

“Who says I’m in a hurry?” He frowned, his eyes darting to the curb to my CR-V. “What’s wrong with your car?”

“It decided to take a well-deserved holiday.”

“Good thing you got into town before it conked out. Probably just the battery. I can jump-start it tomorrow morning before work.” He considered me for a second, then said, “Call me next time, and I can give you a ride. Saves you from having to walk back.”

I was about to thank him for the offer, but then I remembered his rudeness this morning, and that the temporary truce had been indefinitely suspended. “I appreciate the offer.”

“I can smell a ‘but’ coming.”

“But I prefer walking barefoot across flaming hot coals, surrounded by flesh-eating piranhas, to riding in a car alone with you.”

He ignored my dig. “The offer still stands. I thought exercise and temperature can affect your blood sugar levels. They can make you low, right? I remember that night. All that walking,and that’s when you… you know.” His face turned the slightest shade of pink, and he actually had the grace to look uncomfortable. “And the alcohol you had didn’t help. You had, what, two Bud Lights? And a margarita?”

My jaw dropped and practically crashed on the gravel driveway.

Because he didn’t say “beers” and “cocktails.”

He said, very specifically, “two Bud Lights and a margarita.”

How did he still remember the exact drinks I had?

Somewhere deep in the bowels of my brain, a group of mini-sized counselors and psychologists hastily convened to hold an emergency meeting, dissecting and analyzing the shocking revelation thatAlec remembered what happened ten years ago in great detail!

It might seem like a trivial detail to obsess over, but it was hugely significant to me. I’d always been under the impression that he never cared about what happened that night. But now… the fact that he still remembered the simplest, tiniest little details…

I filed away that interesting piece of information so I could overanalyze it later. Shrugging, I tried to appear nonchalant. “Chalk it up to teenage rebellion. After years of being told to watch what I ate, being able to taste a drop of alcohol was pretty damn liberating.”

Our eyes met, knowing that it was more than just teenage rebellion. It had also been heartbreak, anger, spite, and foolishness.

All of it mine.

“It wasn’t just ‘a drop.’ Otherwise you wouldn’t have ended up in the ER.”

For several beats, his eyes held mine, and my brain failed to instruct my eyes to look away. Right now, the fact that I couldn’t stand him had faded into the background, replaced by a shared memory that he’d once witnessed one of the most terrifying moments of my life.

A series of angry car horns blared in the distance, and he blinked twice. The next second, whatever moment we’d just shared vanished along with the fading car horns.

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