But she’s just honest.
And that honesty heats me up. Like everything else about her.
“Is that what I was doing?”
Vague questions always catch her attention. She wants to sand off their uneven corners. Organize them with clear-cut answers.
“Yes. Although I doubt it was intentional.”
But it was. Isla’s focus often lands on Owen, and I have an idea why. He saved her life. Perfectly normal for Isla to develop hero worship for the guy. Maybe I should stop trying to distract her when Owen is around. But I can’t help the painful tug of jealousy in my chest whenever Isla stares at my friend, her focus trained solely on him.
“Your hair is shorter than the last time I saw you. Two years ago,” I repeat the time frame. Giving her another rough edge to catch on.
Isla bites into her plump lower lip as her eyes spark, every ounce of her attention adhering to me. Her hand curls in an unrelenting grip around the strap of the bag hanging from her shoulder. She wants to tell me I’m wrong. But both things I said are accurate. Her ebony hair sits in a pixie cut that shows off all the curves and angles of her face.
Which isn’t how it looked two years ago.
“Fine,” she relents. “When did you see me that I didn’t see you?”
I consider teasing her more, but then I’d risk her getting frustrated and leaving. Isla doesn’t stay in conversations she doesn’t want to.
“I visited a friend in Portland two years ago. We were leaving a brewery, and I saw you walking on the other side of the street.”
Isla’s brow furrows, creating a V-shaped wrinkle above her nose that I want to trace. “Why didn’t you say hello to me?”
Why?
The truth is, I was too stunned. Which I shouldn’t have been.
When I’d booked my flight to Portland, I had known that Isla was in the same city, studying at a university there and writingup her dissertation. I’d thought about trying to get her phone number. Asking her to meet up.
But I’d denied myself. Something that’s much easier to do when the temptress is not standing directly in front of me, wearing a sundress. She had on a dress that day too. A long green one that swirled around her legs as she walked purposefully down the sidewalk.
And by the time I recovered from the random sighting, Isla had already turned a corner.
I couldn’t let her go. I chased after her, sprinting across the street, dodging cars and pedestrians as my friend shouted behind me. As I turned the same corner, I saw the skirt of her dress disappear into the backseat of a car. Before I could reach the spot, the car pulled away.
Taking her out of my life again.
“What would you have done if I had?”
Her brows dip further. “Said hello back.”
Of course. So simple. Why do her candid statements wreck me? All I can think about is pulling her into my arms and kissing her neck while she tries answering my questions with the same neutral tone. Until she can’t keep steady because of her gasping.
“Next time, say hello,” Isla instructs me before turning her back. Leaving me.
I should let her go.That’s what I tell myself every time.
And every time, I fail to heed the warning.
“How does the dam work?”
Isla pauses mid-step and then slowly rotates to face me, eyes wide. “What do you want to know?”
I’ve got her back. “Everything. I didn’t pay attention on that field trip we took sophomore year.”
Isla steps fully into my space now, bafflement parting her lips. “How could you not? That was the most informative day of the entire year!”
