Footsteps approach, and I fix Alicia with one last warning expression before the door swings open. Dave—our on-site supervisor—holds the door open, and I straighten up, prepared to greet our clients with a broad smile.
The next few minutes happen in slow motion and as if I’m looking down on myself as it plays out.
A flash of wavy, long blonde hair hits the corner of my eye first.
Vibrant green eyes that haunt me in my dreams latch on to my startled gaze.
Skin so flawless it looks like silk pales as disbelief scatters across her beautiful face.
My smile falters as shock renders me speechless.
I stare at the woman I still love, afraid to tear my eyes from her face in case I wake up and discover it’s all been a dream. The last time I saw Astrid, she was only beginning to settle into herself. Now, she’s all woman. Comfortable and confident in her skin, looking even more beautiful if that’s possible. I can’t believe she is here, and I can’t stop staring at her.
She is still my everything, and I’m in complete and utter shock.
For so long, I dreamed of this moment, never imagining it’d ever happen or happen like this.
Words are spoken, but it’s like I’m in a bubble and I can’t hear them or even comprehend who has said them.
My heart is racing a million miles an hour, and blood charges through my veins as vitality returns to my frozen limbs, and I take a step toward her. “Astrid?” My voice cracks a little, and I clear my throat, fighting the surge of emotions swelling inside me. “What are you doing here?”
58
ASTRID
This cannot be happening. I’ve stumbled into an alternate universe. A House of Horrors where every nightmare is made real. Seán is speaking, but I can’t hear him over the ringing in my ears and the blood rushing to my head.
No. No. No.
Fan!
This can’t be real.
What is he even doing here? I’m so confused.
“Darling.” Seán blocks my ex from view, stepping in front of me and clasping my face. “Talk to me. What the hell is going on? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”
I’d like the answer to that question too.
“We know one another,” Callan says, sounding way too close for comfort.
His sultry, deep voice yanks me back into the moment. Panic is nipping at my heels, and I need to do damage control. “We went to high school together. Callan moved to Ryemont in senior year. I haven’t seen him in years.” None of that is a lie, but it’s not the full truth either.
“We were?—”
“Good friends.” I cut across whatever he was about to reveal.
Seán’s insightful gaze drills into mine, and I know I need to fess up, but it won’t be now. We need privacy for that conversation. I’m in complete shock. Never in a million years did I imagine meeting Callan again like this, but I can’t let my emotions derail me.
I’m a professional, and this is a professional environment, an important first meeting, and I’m not going to blow it the very first time I’m on-site. So, I pull my big-girl panties on, check the walls of my mental lockbox are intact, and plaster the fakest smile on my face. I shuck out of Seán’s embrace, stepping around him, and thrust out my hand, praying I can pull this off. “This is the last place I ever expected to see you, Callan.”
He glances at my hand for a few awkward seconds before firmly grasping my palm. Tingles shoot up my arm from the contact, and I barely resist the urge to yank my hand back.
“My construction company has completed the renovation,” he says, pumping my hand while staring deep into my eyes. “I was expecting Melissa. Is she no longer working on the project?”
I pull my hand back, noticing the absence of a wedding band on his ring finger.
“You should’ve received an update email from Mandy.” Seán circles his arm around my waist as he glares at his new assistant. I’m guessing this one isn’t going to last much longer either. She is the third assistant Seán has had since I’ve known him, and it’s a running joke around the company that he terrorizes them all into quitting on purpose before they complete their probationary period.
