Page 16 of Playing for Keeps
Justin rubbed a hand over his short hair then reached for her. “Caroline.” Her name was a plea.
The burning in Caroline’s chest grew hotter until it seared her insides. Slowly shaking her head, she took a step back. There would be no giving in. She’d been there, done that, got the scars to prove it. She knew better now.
Justin took a step toward her. “Can we talk? Please?” he added, leaving his hand outstretched and open between them.
“No.” The word was so small, there was a chance he didn’t hear it. “You fooled me. You tricked me intothinking we had something special, then you left. All the promises and all the dreams—gone.”
He turned away from her, lifting his hands to thread his fingers into his hair. He made it to the door before turning and marching back toward her. His mouth opened and closed as if he wanted to say something, but the words wouldn’t come out. He made one more pace to the door and back with his hands clasped over his head before he gathered his words.
“I’m so sorry. Not for loving you, I’ve never regretted that, but for everything else. I moved back to town, and I’ve been trying to work up the guts to talk to you. We have a lot to talk about.”
Her chin lifted in an instant. She needed her defenses to stay strong. “We don’t need to talk. It’s just a lot of history, but that’s all it is. History.”
She pushed past him, blazing a hot trail toward the door. “We’re closed.”
“Caroline, please.” His voice was right behind her, following her around as it always had.
This was all she’d wanted for the last decade, and now that it was here, living and breathing in front of her, the only thing she wanted to do was punt him into the next millennium where she wouldn’t have to face the hurt.
When she reached the door, she propped it open with one arm. She rested her back against it, letting the cold air wash over her and leavingplenty of room for him to slip out of her life once again.
He’d followed her but stopped in the entryway. The cool night air filled her nose, jolting her back to life. Justin had walked out on his own once, and he could do it again.
How long did she stand in the doorway while Justin waited? He wasn’t moving, and that meant she wasn’t either. She wanted him gone, and she was making a clear way for him to exit.
“I know you’re upset, but I want to apologize. I have so much to say. I?—”
“There’s nothing to say.” She shook her head. He thought she wasupset? Upset didn’t begin to cover it. She got upset when she had a bad hair day. What she’d been after Justin left was nothing short of heartbroken.
She wouldn’t cry. She wouldn’t cry. She would not cry! Not because she was tired and hungry after working a long shift, not because her life hadn’t turned out the way she’d wanted, and not because the love of her life was standing here the way she’d always dreamed he would.
After trusting him so completely, how could she? She couldn’t. Years of hurt didn’t erase in a moment.
Her chest heaved as she faced him. He was too perfect—handling life all too well while she was losing her grip. “I forget about you sometimes. Then I forget why I need to keep my guard up and amemory sneaks past my defenses.” Despite her efforts, traitorous tears fell down her cheeks. “It’s just as awful now as it was then.”
Tilting her head toward the dim sidewalk outside the bakery, she kept her head down as she waited for Justin to move out of her bakery, out of her sight, out of her thoughts.
It would be easier this time. There weren’t any expectations, and no one’s heart would get broken.
A few seconds later, he stepped past, leaving the bakery and her heart behind.
5
JUSTIN
Silence followed Justin and Garrett into the workout room. The clanging of metal couldn’t even drown out the tension that stretched taut between them.
It wasn’t Garrett’s fault that Caroline had shut Justin down faster than a light switch plunging a room into darkness. ItwasGarrett’s fault that she’d seen the viral social media post. Everyone in the country had seen it, if the climbing number of views could be trusted.
That post wasn’t the first impression Justin wanted to make with Caroline after more than ten years apart. He might only have one shot to set things right with her. Had he already blown it?
The buzz of the energy in the gym pulled Justin out of his own head as he stormed through theroom, ignoring anyone and everyone on his way to the back.
“Come on, man. I apologized already. Why are you still giving me the silent treatment?” Garrett tossed his towel and water bottle on a bench.
Hehadapologized. That was about all he could do. He’d removed the post, but that hadn’t squashed it.
Too many things were spiraling out of control. He’d wanted to meet Caroline on his own terms, but the social media had taken that chance away. Instead of a preplanned meeting with the right words to smooth things over, his hand was forced after women chased him into her bakery.
