Prologue - One Year Ago
Working late again.
No wonder she fell asleep exhausted at her chair in the early hours of the morning. It’s just too bad she left her front door wide open, her fragile life vulnerable to any asshole that might want to take advantage.
Like me.
I’d been checking up on her often since I’d been back in town. So much time had passed, I wondered if she’d welcome me like old times.
Sweet Freya had come to obsess me.
I never imagined she actually needed checking on, the last time I’d left her she was strong and capable, now she seemed a broken shell to be handled with care. A grin crossed my lips as I thought about my next move. Maybe rushing into her house with a ski mask just to scare her and teach her a lesson about trusting strangers.
But I wasn’t a stranger.
I just needed the right moment and that would take strategy. I fingered the tiny digital tracker in my front pocket, anxious to slip it under the wheel well of her car to keep tabs on her. She was cautious enough to pull her car into the garage each night and lock the doors, but with time she would loosen up and then I would make my move.
With time, I was confident I could convince Freya Fremont of anything. I knew her well enough to know that at least.
I zoomed the lens in on the bay windows of the bungalow to find her chatting on the phone, a freshly steeped cup of tea on the table.
“Probably him,” I grunted, making a note to check her cell records to confirm who she was talking to.
She twirled her hair between her fingers as she spoke, then took slow sips from her mug when she listened.
Funny how a girl can get snowed in love so easily. There she was chatting away, thinking herself perfectly safe in his arms, and here he was the devil incarnate, putting her in harm’s way without her cute little upturned cheeks even knowing it. She was probably just one in a line of his victims.
She hung up the phone a moment later and sat at the table, a soft frown on her face. Apparently love wasn’t all roses in paradise this morning. She climbed the stairs where I knew she’d be headed for her morning shower in the en suite master, followed by another cup of tea before she’d settle into the small corner office and sit behind her computer, working diligently all afternoon.
This was her daily routine. I’d already had it established from the first day I’d set foot in her life. I sighed and turned away, slipping the key into the ignition until I saw her stop at her closet and rummage through clothes on the hangers and then watched as she came down the front steps of the small bungalow ten minutes later dressed in dark leggings and a button-down blouse.
Apparently Freya Fremont had a few surprises in store for me today.
One
Loved seeing you today. Wish it was more often.
I frowned before locking the screen of my phone and throwing it into my bag.
“Who’s that, babe?" Tav walked in, hiking rucksack on his back and a warm smile in his eyes.
He was so sweet.
He’d lose it if he knew I was talking to Bradley again.
I miss you,Bradley had said at the coffee shop yesterday afternoon.
I miss me too,I’d thought as my daydreams about this upcoming getaway distracted me.
Bradley only remembered the girl I was. The one in cutoffs and scuffed sneakers, quick to smile and quicker to anger. He’d asked me if I was still a spitfire like the old days, the pad of his thumb caressing my wrist with each drawn out syllable. He had a way of drawing me in, even after all the time spent between us.
Life had wrestled me into a chokehold the last few years. I thought of Tav’s words the last time I’d seen him, his concern that I was pulling away from him. In truth, I was. Hiring my oldest childhood friend to handle the outdoor maintenance at my tiny bungalow may seem unwise with hindsight, but at the time I’d been happy to be his first client in his new business.
“You look a million miles away. Did you wrap everything up with work?" Tav passed me in our small kitchen and turned my thoughts to work.
“Sorry, it’s been so long since we’ve had a weekend away, I feel like I’m going to forget to send an email or client mock-up. It’s been so hard to focus lately.”
He smiled warmly as he passed me and went out through our front door. I inhaled his usual cologne. The same green bottle I bought him every year for his birthday. It wasn’t that it was so perfectly proportioned that it naturally lent itself to his yearly gift, it’s that helikedit that way. If the bottle began to look prematurely low, he’d cautiously move it to the back of the shelf and go without for a few days to conserve soIcould buy him his new bottle.
