“Unlike me, who’s old enough to have actually watched that show.”
“You’re old, yeah.” She chuckled. “But you look even hotter than you did when we met. Not sure how that’s possible.”
I shook my head and sank deeper into the couch. “I’ve been thinking the same about you.”
“Oh, now you’re a liar?”
My eyes widened.Does she not realize?“Why would I lie about that?”
“When you showed up at my house, I was wearing a dirty T-shirt and had my hair in a messy bun… How could I be hotter than you remember?”
I loved the way she’d looked that day. Her hair was up, showcasing her long, beautiful neck. I remember wishing I could take a bite out of it. She also hadn’t been wearing a bra. It had been hard not to stare at her, especially during Nicholas’s bathtime. I’d spent way too many minutes since then thinking about how damn gorgeous she was.
“You look the same, but even more beautiful,” I told her. “That’s coming from someone who’s looked at the photos of you from the resort often over the past four years.”
“You did?” Her voice was barely a whisper.
“Yep. Even though I thought you’d chosen never to contact me again, I still tortured myself with those photos.” I hesitated.Fuck it. “And that letter you left me… That was…”
“When did you read it?”
“Minutes after you left the resort.”
“Minutes?Thatsoon?”
“I was a fucking wreck when you left. I needed something. The letter was all I had.”
“I can’t remember everything I wrote. I just poured out what I was feeling in that moment.”
“Everything you said, I felt the same.”
“It doesn’t matter anymore, though, does it?” she said.
For a few seconds, you could hear a pin drop.
“I don’t know how this is gonna play out, Blair. But I’m gonna be here for that boy. That’s my focus now.” I paused. “Speaking of which, I think I found a place for us to meet.”
“Where?”
“In Western Mass. That’s where you grew up, right?”
“Yes.”
“It’s a couple hours’ drive from here, but the house has a swing set in the back for him.”
“He’ll love that.”
“Will you mind driving that distance?”
“Nicholas is good in the car, so it should be fine. The farther the better, I think.”
“Okay.” I nodded. “I can lease the place for a three-month minimum.”
“That works.”
“Would you be able to meet there this Saturday?” I asked, eager to see them.
Them.
