“Rhys?” she asks, sounding equally shocked.
In the next five seconds, my mind races through that night three years ago—the way she caught my eye the second I walked into the bar, how I couldn’t keep my eyes off her, but I had to keep telling myself no—she’s human!
When she came up to me, I thought a quick chat wouldn’t hurt. How could it? We probably had nothing in common, and it would help to kill my attraction. I didn’t expect to get drawn into a four-hour-long conversation and find that this girl was smart, witty, and extremely funny.
I told Owen and Shane to go. I was just hanging out with her. They believed me, thank the gods.
I tried to leave, I really did, but I just couldn’t. Then, when she touched me and took me outside, I was beyond all reason.
I had to have her. Oh, Sadie. Oh my God.
I stare at her, going over every detail. All these years, I thought I’d forgotten about her, but all I’d done was lock the details away in the deep recesses of my mind.
She hasn’t changed, not really. She’s been tempered with hard work—her hands are rough, and her eyes hold a deep sadness—but other than that, she’s still the same Sadie.
“Sadie, I—”
“What are you doing here?” she asks, her voice completely flat. Emotion is surging in her. I can hear her heart beating faster, sense her blood running hot, and I know her voice is only staying even through an act of extreme will.
I shake my head a little, looking her over. She’s wearing rumpled flannel pajamas, a pale pink color that contrasts with her rosy skin and brown hair. The long chestnut locks are falling chaotically over her shoulders in tousled curls, and she reaches up self-consciously, trying to smooth them back behind her ears.
Her face is blank as if she’s still not fully awake, but deep in her dark brown eyes, I can see fire brewing, and I realize I’m about to get hit with three years of pent-up frustration and betrayal.
I didn’t mean to walk out on you… I just… walked out on you… No. Shit. I can’t say that.
The moment stretches out, and I know I have to at least try to answer her question, but I can’t. I have absolutely no wayto explain my presence here or tell her how I knew where she was.
Do I just launch straight into an explanation of the magical world? Would that even work?
I know from experience that humans can go completely insane if they are made aware of our world, even if they think they’re ready for it, so I decide not to fully disclose everything yet.
But what the fuck am I going to say?
It’s hard to think with her scent rising all around me, the vanilla, almost buttery texture of it coating my tongue and making me think of kissing her, trailing my tongue down her neck, tearing open the soft flannel shirt, finding her nipple with my mouth—
“Rhys!” she snaps. “What the fuck are you doing here? How did you find me?”
“I, ah—look. It’s involved, okay? The first thing I want to say is, it’s really good to see you.”
Sadie stares at me, her face paling with shock.
“So why did you walk out on me, then?”
“We both said it was out of character for us and that it would be a one-night thing,” I answer, my voice getting hard.
“You didn’t have to just disappear on me,” she shoots back. “Class act, Rhys.”
“Look, there is a reason,” I say. “I can answer all your questions. It’s going to be a bit weird, but I promise, it will all make sense. Can I take you out for breakfast, or—”
“Why would I say yes to you?” she replies, her voice a low growl. “After what you did. You think you can just show upafter all these years and ask me out on a date? Furthermore, the only explanation for you being here is that you’ve stalked me, or hacked into a computer database, or—wait! Did you track me through social media? That’s creepy as fuck, Rhys!”
“No, I didn’t do any of those things!” I protest. “I swear! I barely even thought about you for years—”
“Is that supposed to make me feel better?” she cuts me off.
I want to snap right back, but instead I put my hand over my face and step back.
Just calm down. Work through this somehow. Don’t fight with her.
