He smiled, but didn’t push. “High school sweethearts?”
Her fingers stilled for a second. “Yeah,” she admitted with a whisper. “One.”
Roman cocked a brow as his head fell to the side slightly. “I take it that’s who you were trying to avoid today?”
She nodded once. “Bobby Jenkins, but you can’t say anything to him about it. It’s best if he thinks I’m someone else.”
“That doesn’t sound ominous at all,” Roman said. “Was he abusive in some way?”
She shook her head, a small smile slipping across her face. “Not at all. He was the sweetest man I’ve ever known, played guitar badly. Sang even worse. Had this stupid grin that got him out of trouble and was a freak when it came to Elvis Presley.”
Roman chuckled. “Sounds dangerous.”
“He was,” she said. Then added carefully, “In a good way, of course.”
“Then why are you not wanting to catch up with him?” he asked. “Sounds like it ended amicably enough.”
“It’s hard to explain. Life took us to different places.”
It wasn’t a lie, just not the whole truth.
Roman didn’t press after that. He simply studied her for a moment, then gave a small nod. “Well, for what it’s worth, mysterious past or not, I think you turned out okay. Hell, you built a company that’s on the verge of moving to the next level.”
She glanced at him, one brow cocked. “High praise coming from a man who still uses ‘password123’ on his personal email.”
“Hey,” Roman protested. “I at least use a capital P. Give me some credit. Besides, whoever hacked into my email account would only see a bunch of coupons for the local comic book store and a rundown BBQ place.”
She snorted despite herself, pushing up from her chair and stretching the stiffness from her shoulders. Some truths were safe. Some weren’t. And Bobby Jenkins lived in the ones she couldn’t share because it simply wasn’t safe.
Without meaning to, her gaze drifted past the glass wall that overlooked the casino floor. Crowds moved in slow, glittering currents below. Some were in suits and dresses, the keynote for the summit having ended a few minutes ago, while others wore casual clothes like it was simply another day. She could see people laughing as she witnessed the soft chaos of money and music and motion.
And there?—
Her breath caught.
There stood Bobby near one of the security pillars, speaking to the man she saw him with earlier today, posture loose but alert. His dark blond hair caught the overhead light, making him look older. He was broader through the chest, harder around the edges.
But it was still him.
Her pulse stuttered, then picked up speed like it had a memory of its own.
Fifteen years.
She swallowed.
The part of her that had learned to survive whispered that this was dangerous. That ghosts didn’t just show up in your life without consequence. That buried things stayed buried for a reason.
She tore her eyes away before Roman could follow her line of sight.
Before questions started again.
Before anything broke open.
Work had to come first.
Always. That’s why she was there and what she would use to get her through the ache in her chest.
But her hands shook just enough as she clutched the strap to her laptop bag so hard that her knuckles turned white. Because no matter how many firewalls she built…
