“It’s not funny, but you’re the only one who doesn’t see it.” Her lips press into a straight line, her tone suddenly serious. “You say you hate him, but you clearly don’t. I think you’ve just used hate to disguise your true feelings. You’re still so madly in love with him. Maybe this is what you need—some time together. You twonever really had closure—” Her eyes widen as she stares behind me.
Light shifts as the door opens. The vibe instantly changes as my body feels a magnetic tug. The awareness of beingobserved.I whip my head around.
Elijah’s perfect face peeks through the crack in the woman’s bathroom. When he sees us, he covers his eyes and blurts, “Koren, I’m not looking at you. I was just looking for you.”
His voice.
Smooth.
It’s always had the power to undo me—the way he says my name sends my central nervous system into a spiral. One person shouldn’t be able to affect someone this much. I don’t even know how he has this power over me, but it’s always been this way, ever since the first time I saw him. He hopped the fence to introduce himself and asked if I wanted to skip rocks into the water. I just stared. I’d never seen anyone so beautiful. Even in middle school, his confident swagger put me in a chokehold. That wasn’t the worst of it. What really undid me were the gentle glances when no one else was around. He wasn’t cocky when it was just us.
My head snaps back as I shake off the flashback, remembering that his easy presence is invading my private space—in the women’s bathroom!
“Koren.” There it is again, that smooth way he practically hums my name.
It’s like poetry.
Dangerous poetry that has the power to make me ache.
“Elijah.” I say like I’m challenging him to explain his existence.
“Ah.” He’s still covering his eyes, but I know all his looks even with his eyes covered. I know he’s wearing a look of pure confusion that knits his brows together. “I know Kaci’s with you,but I was worried you got sick and might go into one of your fainting spells again. Are you okay?”
“I’m fine.” I mean for it to sound forceful so he gets the hint and walks away. But the fact he referenced my fainting disorder—like he actually cares an inkling about me—makes my breath shallow and my words sound transparent.
Silence stretches. The kind of silence where my mind fills with all the things I never said to him. I wonder if the same thing is happening to him, if he has unsaid things too. I mean, things ended so abruptly.
Kaci finally unfreezes, speaking to him for the first time. “I’m here with her, and she’ll be fine. But thanks for checking.”
“Okay.” He starts backing out, hands still over his eyes before he pauses and says, “It’s good to see you again. I just heard we’re aisle buddies …” His voice drifts off, then returns stronger with a hint of forced humor. “Guess we finally get to walk down the aisle together.”
My cheeks blaze. Inferno-level fire fills my gut.
I could totally stab him for looking so hot and saying something like that.
Or marry him.
Or vomit—because there’s no way I can let myself fall for him again. There aren’t enough drops of water in the ocean to fuel the tears I’d need to get over him twice.
“Don’t even try to flirt with me,” I spit out.
Chuckling, he backs out of the doorway. My blood boils to new temperatures as I make a mental note to pack a hairbrush for the wedding.
One with extra-pointy teeth.
four
Elijah
It’s not a big deal.
One trip down the aisle.
I don’t even have to look at her—just grab her arm and go.
I’ve survived far more pressure and pain. Playing through double overtime with an undiagnosed cracked rib. Sneaking Motrin to bring down a one-hundred-three-degree fever just enough to play an entire tournament and then end up in an ambulance afterward because I was dehydrated and blacked out. I even faked a smile through all of it, because I knew the reporters were watching and anything that goes viral affects my paycheck somehow.
But none of that training prepared me for seeing Koren—the forever love of my life—in a church, practicing for a wedding. Her dress is the perfect shade of ocean blue to match her eyes. I’m on the struggle bus not to stare.
