I’m mere feet from the woman I believed to be dead a week ago.
The same woman I fell madly in love with a decade ago and haven’t gone a day without thinking of since.
I can smell her earthy honey and leather scent from where I remain rooted to the spot, and I’ve never wanted to reach out and touch her more than I do now.
“Look, I don’t know who you are,” she says, the note of warning in her tone hovering somewhere between violent and fearful. “But you need to leave. My husband will be home any second, and I assure you, he won’t be at all pleased if you’re still here.”
Hearing her confirmation that she’s moved on unleashes an agony inside me that nearly brings me to my knees.
It’s all I can do to keep the pain from my face as I stare at her, dumbfounded, while my entire world comes crumbling down around me.
Then, like a bolt from the blue, it hits me—why Stephanie’s acting like she doesn’t know me.
It’s not that she doesn’t recognize me.
She’s pretending not to.
She’s trying to make it clear that she wants nothing to do with her past.
Nothing to do with me.
She’s wiping us from existence completely.
The realization is like a knife to the heart, plunging to the hilt right alongside the one she thrust in when she said, “My husband”.
I swallow hard, trying to force the lump back down my throat as I scramble to think of something—anything—to say that might prolong this conversation.
Because I can feel her fury building as her impatience reaches its breaking point.
She wants to act like she doesn’t know me?
Fine. I can accept that, even if it cuts me to the quick, but two can play this game.
I don’t mind acting like a stranger.
At least until I figure out how in the hell I’m going to let her walk out of my life once more.
She wants a reason for why I’ve been loitering outside her home, but I sure as hell won’t admit I stalked her here. Let’s see what she does when I act like I don’t recognize her either.
Straightening my spine, I place my palm on my chest once more. “Sorry, I should have properly introduced myself sooner. I’m new to the area and just wanted to get to know my neighbors.” It’s the first lie I’ve ever told Stephanie, and even if it’s a white lie—certainly no more harmful than her pretending not to know me—it still tastes like acid as it slips off the tip of my tongue.
Stephanie’s head snaps back, her expression shifting instantly from dangerous momma bear to apologetic neighbor who just realized she mistakenly yelled at me to get off her lawn. “Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry. I didn’t think…” She releases a breathy laugh, her brows pressing together as they rise, vanishing beneath her wispy curtain of dark bangs. “I got a bit too worked up, didn’t I?” Color floods her cheeks as she presses her palms to her face in a look of mortification, and her green eyes soften as she peers up at me through thick lashes, instantly ashamed.
I can’t help but chuckle as I take an involuntary step toward her, my natural instinct to put her at ease. “Not at all,” I assure her. “I can fully respect a mom who wants to protect her son.” I always knew Stephanie would make a good mother, and from what I’ve seen of her this past week, she didn’t disappoint. “You couldn’t know I wasn’t some rando with bad intentions. It’s my fault, really, for not taking the time to knock on your door. I just—I met Jackson the other day, and we hit it off, so I stopped to chat when I saw him today. That’s a great kid you’ve got there.”
Stephanie laughs, the sound stopping my heart as her smile steals my breath away.
And even if it’s an apologetic one, it’s more captivating than all the flowers in her garden.
“Thanks. He clearly has better manners than his mother. I’m Jane, by the way. Jane Cook.” Stephanie extends her hand across the fence, the unassuming gesture and instant shift in her demeanor throwing me for another loop.
Wait, did she just say Jane?
Maybe she decided to change her identity to protect herself.
Who am I to question it?
My gut clenches at the possibility that she might have been so desperate to separate herself from my world that she legally changed her name.
