Did that mean her being here was temporary? Fuck, that idea shouldn’t cause the panic that crawled beneath his skin.
She glanced over her shoulder. “I should go. It was really good seeing you, Ethan.”
He didn’t want her to leave. He wanted to learn everything about her and the life she’d lived without him, even if it hurt. He wanted to know about her job and her social life. He wanted to know about the places she’d lived in LA and the countries she’d traveled to. He wanted to know why she wasn’t working as aflight attendant right now. Was it a permanent change? Had she taken leave?
Instead, he watched her walk away, each step putting a bit more distance between them.She’dbroken up withhim. She’d destroyed him. Yet it had done nothing to dull the ache he felt for her.
A hand clenched his shoulder. He turned to see Connor and the other guys not far behind.
Connor was frowning. “You okay?”
“That was Maggie.”
“It was.”
The rest of the guys joined them.
“You gonna be all right with her living in the same town as you?” Zac asked.
They all knew what she’d meant to him. And they knew what her loss had done to him. How he’d had to crawl his way out of the hole in which he’d found himself.
And seeing her tonight felt like the ground had been ripped from beneath his feet.
“I don’t know ifall rightis the word,” he finally said.
He’d never quite figured out how to stop loving her. Not when she’d broken up with him. Not when she’d disappeared.
And now, eleven years later, she was back, and he had a feeling she still held the power to ruin him.
Breathe.Just breathe.
The quiet words whispered in Maggie’s head. But it was hard. Air wasn’t getting into her lungs. Not enough at least.
She moved quickly down the concrete path, the town square coming into view. A gazebo centered the grass, the communitycenter and a bunch of businesses around it. Basil’s Pancake Bar. A small grocery store. The Wandering Bloom, owned and run by Polly, which technically was a café but doubled as a florist and bookstore.
But Maggie barely saw any of it. She barely felt the pavement beneath her feet.
Ethan had been right there. He’d spoken to her. Touched her.
She pressed a palm to her chest, as if that could somehow ease the ache in her heart. It didn’t. The thing pounded against her ribs. This had to be what a heart attack felt like, right? Or maybe she was being dramatic.
That man had lived inside her for so long that she couldn’t remember a time before him. How many nights had she stayed awake thinking of him? So many that she wasn’t even sure she’d slept those first few years.
The chatter of voices was loud as she stepped inside the community center. It took her a few seconds to spot the back of Polly’s head.
She groaned.
The front row? Really? When she was on the verge of a panic attack?
Maggie speed-walked down the center aisle. Even though her head was down, she felt the stares of locals on her skin. She heard the hushed whispers.
Almost there.
Three more steps and she dropped into the seat beside her best friend. She rubbed her chest in firm circles.
Polly frowned at her. “Are you okay?”
“What does a heart attack feel like?”
