Page 16 of Accidentally Mine
The pain.
The humiliation.
I shook my head, forcing the memories from my brain.
As I waited for the train, I looked around the station, then back at the photo of myself, unable to believe three years had passed since that day.I didn’t look very different now, just blonde.People could easily recognize me.
An old man studied me closely as he passed, and the sense of paranoia returned with a vengeance.
I cursed as I craned my neck toward the track, wondering where the hell the train was.My mind circled once again back to the man I’d met in the café.Of course he couldn’t have been that man from two years ago.The man in the Porsche.The chance of running into him now was about nil.Plus, it wasn’t the first time I’d seen someone who reminded me of him.That was the curse of the guilt I knew I’d carry around forever: I saw him everywhere I went.
But something about that guy was different.He wasn’t one of Anthony’s men, that was for sure.Those men exuded a kind of arrogance, walking around like the world was theirs.This man exuded quiet confidence, but not cockiness.And maybe it was also something I once experienced a long, long time ago.
Chemistry.
Yes, he was good-looking.I couldn’t remember feeling the way I did in the coffee shop about a man since I’d first set eyes on Anthony at the Black Rose Pub.Taller than Anthony by at least a few inches, this man had dark hair that he wore combed back from a strong forehead, a chiseled jaw, and chocolate-brown eyes.He was wearing what had to be a custom suit by how well it fit him, or maybe he just had a body that everything looked good on.He was more lean than beefy and muscular like Anthony, but definitely attractive.
All the more reason to flee.The last time I’d had chemistry with a guy?It hadn’t exactly ended well.
As I thought more about those chocolate-brown eyes, something warm came alive low in my abdomen—a feeling that was almost foreign to me now.
The first sparks of desire.
Stop it!That is the last thing you need right now.You know that will only get you in trouble.
Without warning, someone dropped a hand on my shoulder.
I whirled, jumping nearly to the ceiling.“Fuck!”I screamed, the word echoing off the walls so that all the commuters turned as I whipped my arm out and my fist made quick contact with a face.
A nose, actually.Not prominent, but just right for his face.
The face belonging to that cute guy from the café.
“Motherfu—” he breathed before dropping his briefcase and clamping both palms over his nose, turning away.But not quick enough for me to miss the bright red blood gushing between his fingers.
Blood.So much blood.
Once again, I was in the center of the Pike, a road I’ve never traveled again since that day, slipping in puddles of gasoline.
Blood everywhere.All over him, so much so that I couldn’t tell what the original color of his shirt was.It was running down his face, but those deep brown eyes were on me.Far away, I heard Anthony’s muffled yells, saying my name, over and over again.
I ripped off my cardigan and pressed it to his wound.Told him to hold on to me, as together, we staggered to the edge of the road, out of the way of other cars.He fell there, limp and motionless, staring up at me helplessly as I called 9-1-1.I watched him for a moment, thinking he was dead and praying for a miracle until his eyes slowly blinked open.
“Are you all right, sir?”The gruff words knocked me back into the present.
The man I’d just smacked in the face was now bleeding all over the concrete, droplets splattering on his shiny black shoes.
“Oh!”I wailed.“Oh, my gosh!”
Spurred into frantic action, I reached into my bag, but I couldn’t find so much as a tissue.So I pulled off my sweater and handed it to him.“Use this.”
He reached out and nudged it away, his fingers grazing mine.The electric zing of it shot up my arm, punched me in the gut before sliding to my toes.
“No, I got it,” he said, his voice muffled by his hand.He reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a fancy linen handkerchief.“Thanks.”
Yes, that was probably a better solution than my massive sweater.My face heated.I’d just decked this gorgeous man’s nose, and he was being so nice to me about it.
“Thanks?I just broke your nose.”
