The man I can’t stop thinking about finishes chopping the green beans before moving to the refrigerator and pulling out a plate of raw crab. “Let me get this simmerin’ and then we can move to the livin’ room, yeah?”
I nod, drinking my wine and letting myself enjoy the view. When everything is put in and the smell of mouthwatering spices fills the air, Austin stays true to his word, grabbing his wine and rounding the counter.
As soon as I place my hand in his, he leads me into the living room. I follow him willingly, somehow getting used to the tingles and trembles that I seem to get whenever he touches me now.
He grabs a remote and soft guitar sounds fill the air as we take a seat side by side on the plush cushions, the cozy atmosphere wraps around me like a warm embrace, relaxing me despite all the thoughts running through my head.
Austin leans back comfortably, one arm draped over the back of the sofa as he sips his wine, but as I’m finding is always the case, his gaze is fixed on me. “Real glad you’re here. Char. I wasn’t sure I’d ever get to have this with you."
I smile. “Dinner? We had lunch the other day.”
“I mean getting my best friend back. Gettingyouback,” he rumbles.
My heart sighs and the tension I didn't know I was holding on to just disappears. Turning on the couch, I fold a leg up in front of me and lean against the arm of the couch, getting comfortable. “I guess I’m sorry I stayed away so long.” I take a deep breath to give me the courage to say what I need to. “And that we lost contact. I was just so busy and at the time it felt like life was pullin’ us in different directions.”
“And down different paths,” he adds with a nod. “I knew it was going to happen though because you were always too big for this little ol’ town. You were destined for greatness and needed to go out and experience the world, get your trainin’ in and spread your wings.”
“That doesn’t make it right though. I don’t want to make excuses. I could’ve tried harder but, in some ways, I think it felt easier to?—"
“Let it go?”
“I guess? Hindsight’s a wonderful thing.”
He chuckles. “It definitely is.”
“In sayin’ that, if I had my chance to do it all over again, I wouldn’t do that to you.”
Austin’s gaze darkens. “We did it to each other, Char. You’re not the only one in this.”
“I know,” I say with a sigh. “I guess now that I’m back, it feels like I never left.”
He tilts his head, a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. “I don’t know. I’d like to think I’ve grown up some.”
“Oh believe me, you’vegrown up. Maybe a little too well," I say, making a show of looking him over and giving him a goofy thumbs up which earns me a sought-after blushanda grin.Score!
“You have too, you know,” he replies. “I didn't think it was possible for you to become even more beautiful than my memories of you were, but the day I saw you at the diner with your mom, I was lost for words.”
There’s no wiping the smile off my face now. “Here I was thinkin’ you were mad at me that day.”
He reaches out then, his hand finding mine on the cushion between us. His touch is gentle as his thumb rubs small circles on the back of my hand.
“Never angry, Char. Disappointed maybe, but that was more at myself. Not sure I have it in me to be mad at you. Been kickin’ myself for years for not havin’ the courage to tell you how I felt about you.” His gaze softens, a hint of vulnerability shining through. “I’m just glad that we’ve found our way back to each other. Life’s too short for regrets, some surprisingly wise men told me that.”
“Oh yeah?” I reply with a tilt of my head. “What else did these wise men say?”
"That I should get to know the woman you are now and show you the man I've become rather than worry about what ifs and missed chances. There’s no point wastin’ time on the past when there’s a big wide future out in front of us just there for the takin’.”
I feel a lump forming in my throat as his words sink in and I squeeze his hand as if to prove to myself that this connection, this conversation, is all real. “Is that from the wise men too? Or was that you?”
“All me, Char,” he whispers.
I squeeze his hand. “The funny thing is, I’ve been thinkin’ the same thing. As much as I wanted us to be more than friends back then, I’m not sure if we’d be here now.”
His whole body jolts and his brows jump high. “You did?”
I stare at him, wondering how he could’ve missed it. “I was so in love with you, Austin. It was probably puppy love filled with sunshine and unicorns, but I lived for the times when it was just the two of us hangin’ out, you lookin’ after me, me watchin’ you when you weren’t lookin’.”
I’ve shocked him now. “You did?” he repeats, and I can’t help but snicker.
