ELIZA
Of all the places in this universe, the sidewalk of a run-down brick building is the last place I imagined running into Carter Rawlings. Or maybe my brain is playing tricks on me after he’s been on my mind for weeks.
But then the mayor, who I hadn’t noticed, playfully slaps his shoulder and they burst out laughing like they went to the same preschool. The rich timbre of Carter’s laugh is unmistakable, and it flares up my temper. I was going to the pizza place next door, but my appetite just disappeared.
Two steps back to my truck he spots me.
“Eliza!” The insufferable burr stuck to my heart is grinning, strolling toward me, too sure of himself. “I was just thinking about you.”
“Highly doubt it,” I bite.
His eyes light up. “I’ve missed you.”
I blink owlishly, rage simmering to a boiling point. His audacity leaves me speechless. He doesn’t get to waltz back into Silver Lake Falls and say things like that.
“You might be wondering what I’m doing here.” His tone is annoyingly casual. The fact that I don’t say anything doesn’t stop him from continuing the conversation.
“Something was nagging at me ever since I left.” He rubs his jaw, looking nervous for the first time. “Turns out last summer was the happiest time in my life and I was an idiot for leaving.”
“I’m glad you managed to sort through your feelings. Now excuse me.” My heart is thundering with the flow of emotions flooding my chest. I can’t be near him.
I continue my power walk toward the car, but he falls in step with me, enveloping me in his imposing presence. Thankfully he doesn’t reach for me and I’m grateful for that because I don’t know what my reaction would be. Punch him or kiss him until my lungs burn.
“I’m planning on a longer stay. Hope you don’t mind I’m monopolizing your cabin until I find something more permanent.”
That traitorous smooth-talking realtor! Valerie said somebody booked the place but didn’t bother telling me it was Carter.
“I’m fine, thanks for asking,” he continues, amused.
Steam is probably coming out of my ears. “I didn’t—”
“It’d be even better if we started over.”
That stops me in my tracks. “What is that supposed to mean?”
Carter invades my personal space, ignoring the people giving us weird looks. “I know I have to work for your forgiveness and trust. It was torture without you. I’m willing to do anything to have you back,” he says without a hint of hesitation.
A part of me desperately wants to believe Carter and his pleading eyes. What’s left of my rational side can’t trust his change of heart will last and he’ll never flee again. He’ll get swept up in the fantasy until boredom shifts his mind back to New York. When he sees I’m holding him back from greatness and starts missing the rush of high-stakes business deals, the glamour of the city, and the important people he used to rub elbows with.
“I don’t want to be your little experiment. Who knows how long your city boy awakening will last until you realize you want your life back? The one youworked so hard for,” I quote, and he flinches.
When Jared constantly criticized me, I didn’t stop loving him. But loved myself a little less every time. I don’t want that to happen again.
I have to put a stop to whatever this is. “I’m just a nobody you met one summer. You’ll get over it.”
“You’re not…”
Throwing his words back at him is petty, but so satisfying.
“You’re everything to me.”
Nothing that comes out of his mouth makes sense. I’m dizzy.
“Don’t say things you don’t mean,” I spit out. “I’m not a toy you can play with and discard whenever you get bored. People have underestimated me all my life. And I let them. I believed them. Not anymore. I deserve better than that.”
Carter narrows the gap between us, a delicious temptation. His face is grave. “You’re right. I underestimated you. How much you changed my life. How lasting your touch is. How addictive your smile is. I was a fool for thinking leaving you behind would erase my feelings for you.” He reaches for my chin and gently caresses the skin under my lower lip. “Let me show you.”
I can’t take any more of this conversation. The cool fall air presses down on my skin and the sense of peace I carefully designed after he left is a sandcastle crashing down in a storm. I jerk my head away and turn on my heels, fleeing to the truck.
