Her pulse slammed into her throat as she grabbed Roman’s arm to keep him from walking any further.
And then Robert—Bobby—turned, his gaze locking onto hers for the briefest moment.
She turned in a huff, pulling Roman after her before her past could recognize her. Or worse, follow her. Because even if her hair was different and she was a little taller than back then, with her curves more filled in, she knew one look too long and he’d know it was her, and she couldn’t let that happen. She didn’t think she could handle it. “No. We’ll talk to them later. We need to focus on something else. Let’s go… this way.”
And she pulled Roman down another row of slots before letting go of his arm.
Roman stumbled beside her before catching himself. “What the hell, D.?”
“Come on.”
He followed her without protest, trailing her down a narrower hallway between slot banks before catching up withher. “Okay, what the hell was that about? Did you know those guys or something? I thought we were going to introduce ourselves.”
She didn’t stop walking or even slow her pace. “Nothing. It was nothing.”
“I call bullshit. I’ve seen nothing, and that wasn’t it. That was an enormous pile of something.”
She exhaled hard, her heart still galloping as if she had won the Kentucky Derby. “I don’t want to talk about it.”
“I think you better before we run into them again. They’re with Silver Security, so it’s not like you’ll be able to avoid them while we’re here.”
She came to a stop, turning and leaning back against a wall, hands on her hips as she dropped her gaze to the floor. “I know that guy. Well, one of them. The tall one.”
“What? Date gone wrong?”
“More like a life gone wrong.” She took a slow breath, trying to get her shaking to stop. “He’s someone I grew up with.”
“What was he? Class bully or something? Bad date? You know, you never really talk about your growing-up years.”
“Yeah, not something I like to talk about.” It wasn’t anything shecouldtalk about, if she were honest with herself.
“So I’ve noticed,” Roman said, pressing his lips together. But he didn’t press the issue. “So who is he? Some old flame? High school romance? Local boy with a bad boy streak and abs that didn’t quit?” He cocked his head to the side. “Was he your first kiss?”
Her glare didn’t stop him, and she really wished he would stop.
“Oh, this is amazing. Quarterback? Band nerd? Was he a farm boy and there was some hayloft action? C’mon, you can tell me. We’re best friends, remember? Besides, you know I’m not going to stop until you do.”
She exhaled slowly. “He was Bobby, and that’s all you’re getting for now. And I need him not to recognize me.”
Roman gave a low whistle. “Well, this event just got interesting, and I haven’t even found a redhead yet.”
She rolled her eyes, pushed herself off the wall with a bump of her ass, and headed back to the command room. “This is far from interesting.” It was a bloody nightmare. That’s what it was.
She ducked into a women’s bathroom, telling Roman she’d meet him in a few minutes. Leaning against the counter with both hands, she stared at the mirror and saw herself as she was fifteen years ago.
She—Julia Moretti back then—had never been kissed like that before, and it was everything she had fantasized about all year long. When Bobby had finally kissed her, the world didn’t just fade; it burned completely out, like every star collapsed into the center of his mouth, and all she did was follow gravity. She could have stood there, falling forever, as far as she was concerned.
They were in the back of his dad’s beat-up truck behind the county fairgrounds, the sweet scent of funnel cake and wet hay still clinging to the air. The lights from the Ferris wheel blinked over the hill and Bobby’s hand rested gently on her hip, like he didn’t want to scare her. Little did he know there was nothing he could ever do to scare her. She was his. She would always be his.
“You ever think about getting outta Tupelo?” he had whispered
She glanced up at him, her brow furrowed. “All the time.”
“Where would you go?”
“Somewhere with waves. The ocean. Where people don’t ask why you read books in math class.”
He leaned over and kissed the side of her head. “My little nerd. I love it.”
