Page 50 of Hensley Manor
We walked side by side down the sidewalk toward the coffeehouse. I kept glancing over at him, making sure he was real. That I wasn’t hallucinating in the snow and walking by myself.
“I apologize for not remembering you,” Ian said. “I meet a lot of people for my work and faces blur together.”
“What do you do for work?”
“I own a toy company. It’s been in my family for generations, and I inherited it when my father passed.”
I lost my footing and stumbled into him.
“Sorry!” I righted myself and swept a hand through my hair. He had grabbed me to keep me from falling, and he released his hold. “Must’ve been an icy spot on the sidewalk or something.”
But I knew damn well that was a lie.
“It’s okay.” He chuckled and started walking again with me beside him.
Without a doubt, he was my Ian. I just didn’t know how it was possible.
“I love the smell of snow,” he said, angling his head upward and briefly closing his eyes.
“I’m more into the smell of pine,” I said, as my heart ached.
Ian’s gaze flashed to mine. He stepped closer to me, studying my face with such intensity that I forgot how to breathe.
“You know,” he said, still staring. “Thereissomething familiar about you, Cole, as if wehavemet somewhere before. I just can’t quite put my finger on it. Where did you say we met?”
“It was a day much like this one,” I said, answering as best as I could. My heart fluttered, as if trying to fly out of my chest and touch him. “We didn’t know each other for long.”
No time with him would ever be long enough.
Two men exited the coffeehouse, and the open door sent an aroma of coffee beans and sweets to us on the sidewalk. Ian held the door open for me, and we went inside. The warmth caressed my chilled cheeks and the tip of my nose, thawing me out. But it didn’t touch the cold area in my chest caused from Ian not remembering me like I remembered him.
Ian ordered a house blend with extra cream and I ordered mine black, before we found a table and sat down. I asked about his day, since it seemed as good of an icebreaker as any.
“Ran some errands this morning for the business,” he answered, before taking a drink of coffee. “What about you?”
“I visited with family,” I said. “We lost touch for a while, so it was good seeing them today.”
Ian asked about my job as an accountant, and I repeated what I’d told him the first time he’d asked about it.
It was strange; meeting him and getting to know him all over again. I knew Ian intimately and could recall the sounds he made when he was pushing into me, as he was coming. But the Ian in front of me wasn’tthatIan.
“Did you find what you were looking for?” Ian asked. My gaze flashed to his face as my stomach rolled with shock. “In the antique store,” he added. “I saw you come out of it. It’s a nice place.”
“I didn’t find anything,” I answered. “Turns out they don’t sell tall, handsome men.”
Ian laughed and slapped a hand to his mouth, catching the few drips of coffee that leaked from between his lips. I grinned.
“No, I don’t believe they do,” he responded, grabbing a napkin and dabbing at his mouth. He still chuckled a little, and my heart felt like it was going to fly away. God, I had missed his laugh. “I’m sure there are other places to find that, though.”
“Yeah. Probably atFind Me a Daddy dot com.”
He snorted and flashed a beautiful smile. “Keep saying stuff like that and I’ll need another coffee.”
“That can be arranged.”
One coffee turned to two, and we eventually ordered bagels and cream cheese for lunch as it was getting later in the day. But we were deep into conversation. Hours passed as we talked. He asked about my life, my goals, and it embarrassed me when I realized I didn’t really have any life goals.
Mom had wanted me to go to college. And I did. After my parents and sister passed away, I cleaned up my life and got an associate’s degree. But I wasn’t happy. Far from it.
