Page 348 of One More Kiss

Cole

I knewI should have backed out of this stupid race. I don’t know why I’d let Deac push me into running it. I woke before dawn after a shitty night’s sleep where I tossed and turned for most of it. When I did finally fall asleep, I was haunted by dreams of long, dark hair and a teasing smile. Jules. In the dream, she’d been just a step ahead of me as she walked and no matter how fast I urged my feet to move, I could never catch her. I’d reach out to touch her and she’d dissolve into smoke, only to reappear a few feet away, still wearing that teasing smile. No matter what I did, I was never able to catch her.

I’d considered texting Deac to tell him I wouldn’t be able to make it to the race. But I couldn’t think of a valid reason that wouldn’t have him coming over here to make sure I’m okay. And I didn’t want him worrying about me more than he already does. So, I’d resolved myself to push all thoughts of Julia Scott out of my head and focus on the race.

Once I’d started running, I’d immediately felt better. I focused on my breathing and putting one foot in front of the other. Running is easy. It doesn’t require any thought at all. It’s peaceful. Or at least it had been. Until I’d crossed the finish line and looked over to see Jules standing there with Anna, a beer in her hand.

What the hell was she doing there? It had taken me a single glance at Deac’s face to know that he wasn’t surprised to see her here. In fact, the look of excitement on his face told me that he likely set this whole thing up. If he’d thought there would be some beautiful reunion between us, he’d been wrong. Seeing her here today, in the bright morning sunlight had been so much worse than last night.

When she’d given me that hesitant smile and said it was good to see me, part of me had wanted to pull her to me in a hug. I’d had to fight against the urge. Which had made me lash out in anger. I prefer the anger. It’s easier to handle. So, I’d felt righteous when I’d turned and walked away, leaving them all standing there on the beach.

I’d half-expected one of them to come after me. I’ve never known Jules to take an insult lying down. The Jules I knew was fierce and a fighter. But she doesn’t. Instead, it’s Deac who shows up at my door an hour later. He doesn’t wait for me to move aside. He just pushes his way into the house.

“Come on in,” I say as I close the door and turn to face my best friend.

I see that Deac has made himself comfortable on my couch, his feet propped up on my coffee table. I cross my arms over my chest and just look at him.

“Did you stop by for a reason?” I ask, not bothering to hide my annoyance.

He shrugs. “That depends. Are you going to tell me why you were an asshole to Jules this morning?”

I feel my anger flare up again. “Why did you let her ambush me this morning? We ran that whole damned race and you didn’t say shit about her being there.”

He shrugs which just pisses me off even more. “I didn’t know how you’d react. Granted, I didn’t think you’d run away the first second you saw her.”

“I didn’t run away,” I argue. “I walked away.”

Deac rolls his eyes. “Without so much as a basic greeting. Don’t you want to know what she’s been up to for the past decade?”

I bite back my response, because yes, I do want to know what she’s been doing for the past eleven years. But I don’t want to hear about how she’s been happily married to some suit and tie ass bag that her parents adore, either. I don’t want to dive into all the reasons the thought of that pisses me off, but it does. Which is stupid, considering I don’t want anything to do with her. Why should it matter if she’s married? It shouldn’t. It doesn’t.

I shake my head. “Nope,” I say, sounding almost convincing. But it’s clearly not convincing enough because Deac just rolls his eyes.

“You mean you don’t want to know why she came back?” he asks.

“If I let you tell me, will you drop it?” I ask, knowing it’s what he wants anyway.

He grins. “For now,” he says.

I sigh. “Fine. Go ahead.” I turn to walk toward the kitchen. “But I’m getting a beer for this conversation. You want one?”

“You could have had free beer if you’d stuck around after the race,” he says, making me roll my own eyes. I grab him a beer anyway.

After I hand Deac his beer and take a seat on the opposite end of the couch, he finally starts speaking. I brace myself for him to tell me that Jules is married with a couple of kids and here for a fun family beach vacation. But that’s not what he tells me.

“She just got divorced,” he says. “She was married to some asshole who cheated on her.”

The fury that burns through me at the idea of someone treating Jules badly is intense and shocking, but I manage to keep my feelings off my face. The idea that someone promised to love and honor Jules but betrayed that promise by being unfaithful pisses me off more than Deac hiding her return had.

“Any kids?” I ask, proud that my voice is steady.

Deac shakes his head. “Nope. She’s here alone. Seems pretty happy about it, too. She doesn’t seem heartbroken over the cheating asshole, either.”

I nod. “Good for her.”

Deac looks at me for several long moments. “That’s it? That’s all you’re going to say about the love of your life returning after more than a decade. ‘Good for her.’ Really?”

“Really,” I say, taking a sip of my beer. “That’s all I have to say about Jules. And we were just dumb kids. We didn’t know what love was.”

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