However, even though there was no doubt in his mind that she was his Julia, her name badge read Delaney Rhodes, and as he looked closer, he saw the name of her company: Obsidian Analytics. He remembered the name from Levi that morning.
Suddenly, he couldn’t breathe. Couldn’t think. He could only stand there and clench his hands into tight fists.
What the hell was going on? She had a new name? Why? He stared at the new, polished version of herself, seeing no trace of the girl who used to fall asleep on his chest while watchingBlue Hawaii.
He thought about the Elvis trivia she used to roll her eyes at. The way she pretended to be annoyed but never changed the channel. How she watched him dance like a fool toJailhouse Rockin the middle of the street when he got his first motorcycle. The way she kissed him like it was a promise she meant to keep. He thought of all the plans for the future they had made together, the life they had planned and dreamed about every chance they could.
And then—she was gone.
Simply vanished.
And now she stood there, just a few feet away, pretending he didn’t exist, and that she didn’t know him. How could she not recognize him?
That was only one of the million questions swirling around his head right then. And he wanted to rush over there and demand answers.
But not right there. He couldn’t afford to make a scene. Not there. Not in front of the casino brass and a bunch of corporate contractors huddled around monitors and blueprints. He couldn’t risk anything screwing up this gig for the Silvers. Sage would never let him live it down.
So instead, he sat through the meeting with every nerve in his body on fire, barely hearing the briefing, the mention of cybersecurity threats, or the local law enforcement liaison’s input. He simply stared at her hands, the same hands that used to trace circles over his ribs while they sprawled on a blanket in his backyard.
How did she make it through the past fifteen years without leaving a single breadcrumb? And why, after all the plans they had made, the promises they gave to each other, didn’t she ever look back?
By the time the meeting wrapped, he was ready to put his fist through a wall. Instead, he eased himself to his feet and crossed the room just as she turned toward the exit.
“Excuse me,” he said, calm as ice, as if his insides weren’t a trembling mess.
She turned, and just for a second, he saw her eyes flare wide with what he took as recognition before she schooled her face once more into something neutral, more professional. “May I help you?”
She could change her hair color, but she couldn’t change her voice.
“Holy shit, it’s you. It’s really you.”
She cocked her head to the side. “I’m sorry. Do I know you?”
His heart stuttered as he took a step back like she’d slapped him. “Don’t do that. Don’t play dumb.”
“I think you have me confused with someone else.”
“The hell I do.”
She sighed as she glanced around at the others, a panic look crossing her face. “Look, I’m not sure?—”
He took a step closer, lowering his voice as he cut her off. “You just disappeared on me. No goodbyes, no note. You were just… gone. You said you wanted to get married after school, remember? You said you wanted to be together forever. But then you left. You just… left. And now,” he pointed at her nametag, “you’re not even you anymore?”
Her eyes flicked around once more as she took another slow breath. “Look, as I said, I’m not sure who you think I am, but I promise you, I’m not that person.”
“The hell you’re not.”
They stood in silence for a moment too long, the air charged with everything unsaid.
“I really don’t know what to tell you,” she said, holding the tablet over her chest like a shield. “But I need to get back to work. I would think you needed to as well.” She gave a quick dip of her head. “Have a good day.”
She jerked around and walked away, the click of her heels sounding like exclamation marks on a sentence that never ended.
And him?
He simply stood there, lost in a moment that had waited fifteen years to break him all over again.
CHAPTER FOUR
