I want to breathe a sigh of relief, but tension hangs heavy in the air, making this whole thing super awkward.
At least I know now why they wanted me here.
I should have picked up on it during the phone call. The questions about my career. They didn’t want me to be supportive, they wanted free labour.
But I will not lie down and let them walk all over me.
Coming back was a mistake I won’t make again.
THREE
CASPER
Isee her as soon as I make it to the venue.
Inky black hair falls in soft waves down her back, bangs framing her round face. The curves I’d noticed in her interview photo are even more prominent in person, shaped by the tight jeans and Henley she wears.
I stay back, eyes locked on her. There’s a light flush to her cheeks, and it looks like the others in their group are annoyed by something. Lucy, Foster’s fiancé, is talking about something to do with portfolios, but I’m not paying attention to what she’s saying. I’ve only got eyes for Hattie.
She looks great, better than the last I saw her. When she’d said goodbye the day after graduation, there’d been tears in her eyes and a sadness I hadn’t been able to shake.
Now, though, there’s determination in her green eyes that takes my breath away. A certainty that hadn’t been there all those years ago.
I swallow hard when Foster and Lucy start guiding the others into the barn, likely to Lucy’s makeshift office. Hattie hangs back like she’s wondering whether she wants to follow them or not. No one else seems to notice her. They’re too wrapped up inplanning to care. And Hattie looks like she wants to run while no one is watching.
After a moment, though, she squares her shoulders and starts for the barn.
It’s like a switch flips in my brain. Before I realise what I’m doing, I grab her by the hand and pull her off to the side of the building where there’s crates stacked to hide the leftover building materials.
Hattie makes a sound in the back of her throat, eyes widening with shock. My heart pounds as I take in her dark green eyes, the red stain to her lips, and the pink blooming across her cheeks.
“Casper?” she whispers, brows raised. “What? What are you doing?”
My hand still holds hers as I shake my head. “I wasn’t sure you would be here.”
She glances down at our joined hand, pulling her bottom lip between her teeth. “Casper…” Her eyes flicker back up to meet mine. “I need to go.”
Hattie starts to pull away. Heart pounding, I grab her by the waist, pulling her into my body. It’s hard to ignore the way we fit so easily together. How she still feels like that missing piece of my heart.
A gasp comes from her as she tilts her head up to meet my eye. We’re close enough now that our lips are a breath apart. It shouldn’t even cross my mind; I came here to finally put whatever this was to rest. To say goodbye to that part of my life and focus on what I have now.
I should just apologise to Hattie. Let her go and leave.
But then someone screeches and everything falls apart.
Hattie tears her gaze from mine to take in whoever found us. And based on the look in her eyes, it’s not anyone good.
I follow her line of sight and fight back the urge to grimace. Shit. Stella, her fiancé, and Hattie’s mom all stand there lookinglike they’ve seen a ghost. Or worse—me holding Hattie like I’m about to kiss her.
“What the actual fuck?” Stella shouts, hands on her hips. Rage burns in her blue eyes, a flush darkening her cheeks.
For someone who moved on pretty quickly and is about to be married, she looks a little too pissed about this scene.
I expect Hattie to pull away, but she doesn’t. Instead, she rests her hand on my forearm, fingers warm as they wrap around me.
“Stella, it’s not what it looks like,” Hattie says, but still, she doesn’t move. Her eyes flash to mine, and she gives me a look that sayshelp.
Except I know exactly how this will play out. I remember the way Stella tormented her, and by extension, how her mother made everything worse.
