Page 14 of Feels Like the First Time
The added emphasis on ownership was a hard word to swallow, because Hawk had once been hers. And even though he knew it was over, it still burned. Just like he knew the polite thing to do would be to stick his hand out in welcome but he couldn’t seem to move.
Slinky, sophisticated, and heart-stoppingly gorgeous didn’t even cover it. Even the small smile she gave him brought on a tsunami of emotions that were as complicated as ever. Some were familiar, others were painful, and some just created a dull throbbing beneath his ribs.
The irritation at her appearance, that was new, but combined, they all made for a painful knot that twisted in his gut.
Divorced or not, Bridget was still the girl he fell for, the woman he’d vowed to love for eternity, and the partner he’d dreamed of sharing a family with. And she’d left him for another man. Oddly, not the man whose hand she was clinging to as if he was her soulmate.
Hawk wanted to tell the smug fucker not to get too comfortable, because she’d clung to him that way once. And all it took was one tiny imperfection to send her running. And guys like Jamie might look polished and shiny on the outside, but inside was a slew of imperfections waiting to be discovered. And Bridget would find them—and eventually move on. It was what she’d done her entire life.
A part of Hawk, the really stupid part that was desperate to believe love wasn’t a fleeting emotion, needed her to find someone who made her so happy she’d stop running. And although Hawk had come to terms with not being that guy for her, the betrayed lover in him hoped she’d find that special someone, perhaps, in Europe.
Not that Asshat was thesomeonefor Bridget, but he was obviously special enough to bring home to meet Marty. And if Marty had been telling the truth, Hawk had been the only boyfriend of Bridget’s he’d ever met. One of the few memories he didn’t have to share with another man.
Until tonight.
Hawk never considered himself a jealous man—hell, Bridget had been sleeping with another man before Hawk had even known she wanted a divorce—but the idea of sharing this house, Marty and Ali, and Friday night barbeques with another man didn’t settle right.
Hawk felt a strong, unwavering hand slip into his and give a squeeze. One of thoseI’ve got you, brosignals he’d come to count on when it came to Ali. But instead of taking out Jamie at the knees with her steel toes, Ali did the most un-Ali-like thing he’d ever witnessed. And that was a lot to say coming on the heels of her kissing him.
She linked both of her hands with his, then snuggled into his side, and in a tone that was all sunshine and sorority girl said, “It’s nice to meet you, Jamie. You can call me Ali. And this here is Hawk.” There went those lashes again, fluttering up at him in a way that could only mean trouble. “My boyfriend.”
“Did you just say he’s your boyfriend?” Bridget laughed.
“Did I stutter?” Ali leaned in toward her sister. “Boy. Friend.”
“You’re sayingboyfriendwith a pause, as in a friend who is a boy.”
“Maybe this will clear things up. Hawk is my boyfriend and this is a date.” She said it so serious, it dried up all of Bridget’s laughter. In fact, it sucked all of the oxygen out of the immediate area and Hawk damn near choked on his own breath.
“A date?” Hawk said at the same time as Bridget snapped, “Boyfriend? As in one word?”
“Yup.” Ali just stood there, fluttering her lashes and swaying as if she’d just spoken the gospel.
Asshat, completely unaware that Ali’s prank was bringing Bridget deathly close to DEFCON 1, smiled and said, “Congrats.”
“Thanks,” Ali said, not even a splinter in her façade. She was so convincing, if it weren’t for the fact that he was the boyfriend in question, Hawk would have believed her.
“Don’t mind my sister,” Bridget said, those cat-shaped eyes of hers slitting dangerously. “She thinks she’s being funny, when really she’s being awkward. Ali has a talent for making things awkward. On everyone.”
Ali, bless her keg-stealing, lying little heart, only smiled bigger and held on tighter. “I’m actually just trying to make tonight easy on everyone. What do you say, can we all leave smelling of rainbows and unicorn farts?”
Bridget shrugged. “As long as it includes champagne toasts, jubilation, and you dropping whatever prank you think you have going.”
“No prank,” Ali said smoothly, a challenging air circulating between the sisters.
Hawk was skilled in female nonverbal communication. He’d seen enough of it pass between the two sisters over the years to be considered fluent in lady-speak. But he had not a clue as to what was going on between them tonight.
“I know it might feel weird, us just springing this on you without giving you time to prepare, but this is kind of new, so we haven’t really told anyone yet. You know how that goes, right, Bridge?”
“Drop the act. Hawk’s not yours, he’s mine,” Bridget stated in that possessive tone that used to turn Hawk on—until he realized she was only possessive over what was hers when somebody else wanted a piece. “Now stop trying to ruin my special night.”
The words settled over the group like a bathtub full of cement, and Hawk stood in disbelieving shock of his ex-wife. No one had the power to silence a room quite like Bridget when she was ticked. But this went beyond anything he’d ever seen from her.
She wasn’t even ten minutes into her visit and already Soulmate 3.0 was starting to question his sustainability. Ali looked ready to throw up, but was doing a hell of a job keeping herself rooted in the moment when he knew on the inside she wanted to bolt.
“Man, how I love these Friday night dinners. Always leaves me wondering why I don’t try harder to get you here every week,” Ali said and, with a one-fingered salute, turned to Hawk. “Thanks for dropping off the pie, I owe you.”
All that bravado tucked into such a tiny package was impressive, but Hawk saw the apology in her eyes mixed with a shit-ton of uncertainty. Knew that she was terrified of going back inside the party alone.
