I side-eyed Victoria, who just shrugged. “It’s true. She’s hard not to love. Those blue eyes get me every single time.”
The color she’d inherited from her dad. The reminder was a splash of cold water down my spine, and I sat up, needing more air. I had to get out of here. Goodbye new friends; back to the solitude I go.
Before I could open my mouth to say goodbye, Hadley’s eyes lifted over my head, a wide smile taking over the bottom half of her face. “There he is. Nice of you to finally stop by.”
“Yeah, well, only because of your almost-husband. He sent me a dozen texts, demanding I get my ass over here.”
“Then he did his job,” Hadley smirked. “You’re not allowed to be Mr. Anti-Social anymore, Jace.” Her eyes darted back down to me, and all the blood rushed out of my veins. A loud buzzing overtook all my other senses as she held out her hand toward me. “Where are my manners? Jace, meet Kinsley, my new friend.”
EIGHTEEN
Kinsley.
My feet stilled in the doorway, unable to look away from the woman standing next to Hadley. The other guys had already taken over the living room, their voices echoing over my shoulder. Requests for food and squabbles about what happened on the field filled Hadley and Cam’s home, but in the kitchen, there was only silence—only me and Kinsley staring at each other.
When Hadley first said her name, it had given me pause, but enough time had passed that I didn’t think there was any way it could bemyKinsley.
At least, until she turned around. My mouth fell open as her dark, umber eyes met mine, and color filled her cheeks. My heart hammered against the wall of my chest; it was the only sound I made. If I moved—if I blinked—she’d be gone, just another missed moment from a long list of dreams. Hadley said something, but her voice came out like a high-pitched buzz.Kinsley. It wasn’t until her lips parted that I remembered to breathe. Memories of her kissing my bare skin flashed through my mind. How her blush traveled down her chest, spreading across her supple skin when she fell apart.
Fuck, she was beautiful.
So much time had passed between us that part of me believed I’d built her up in my mind, some perfect fantasy no one else could touch. But being so close to her again proved the opposite—my dreams could never match up to the real thing. There were slight changes since she left my bed: her curves were a little more pronounced, and deep circles lined her wide eyes.
Hadley kept talking, but none of her words registered, too attuned to the woman in front of me. What did Hadley say about her? She was a new friend? How had she stumbled into my world after years of praying for this exact moment? For two years, I’d chased this woman like a ghost, held my breath every time a brunette crossed my path, searched the faces in every crowd, hoping it would be her.
After two years without Kinsley, I resigned myself to the fact that we’d only ever have one night—the best night of my life—and that was it.
But no.
“Kinsley,” I gasped, taking a step closer to her.
Her eyes flared to life, but, instead of disbelief, anger tinted her irises. Her head snapped to the side, not even acknowledging me. “I need to get out of here.”
“What do you mean?” Victoria asked, her gaze volleying between Kinsley and me. “Do you two know each other?”
I barked out, “Yes”, at the same time as Kinsley said, “No.”
My head was still spinning as Kinsley stood, whipping past me without as much as a hello. Fuck that. There was no way she was walking back out the door without even a conversation. The guys tried to talk to me as I stalked through the house, but I could only focus on one person: Kinsley.
By the time I spotted her, she was rushing toward a small, dark blue SUV with a friend in tow. My brow furrowed as I triedto place her. She seemed familiar, but not enough to remember her name or if we’d ever met.
As she pulled open the driver’s side door, I called out her name. Her eyes widened as I rushed over, placing my hand on the door so she couldn’t escape inside the car. “I—” I stammered. “How? What are you doing here?”
“Doesn’t matter.” She shook her head. “I need to get out of here.”
“Wait,” I snapped, and she flinched away from me. I sighed, running my hand over my face.In and out. Focus on breathing in and out.But my chest felt too tight, as if every step she took away from me only tightened the vice. My hands clenched at my sides. Damn, I wanted to touch her, wanted to hold her, if only to keep her in one place for a moment. There were so many questions, so many things I needed to know. Where had she been all this time? Why did she leave in the middle of the night? And why, now that I found her again, was she so desperate to get away from me?
“Please,” I said, keeping my tone much softer. “Just talk to me, Kinsley.”
She let out a loud laugh. “Oh, now you want to talk? The opportunity for that passed a long time ago. You had no interest in hearing what I had to say two years ago, so why should I care now?”
My hands dropped away. What the fuck was she talking about? If she’d reached out years ago, I would have called her. No matter how dark my life got, Kinsley was always lingering in the back of my mind. “What do you mean?”
The girl on the other side of the car moved over, taking Kinsley’s hand. A silent conversation passed between them, and my molars ground. Kinsley shook her head. “I’m okay, Chels. Please get in the car. I can handle Jace.”
Her friend gave me a withering stare as she moved to the passenger side. For a moment, her eyes flashed to the back seat, and my gaze followed. But before I could see anything, Kinsley blocked my path. “Go back inside, Jace. I have nothing to say to you.”
Despite the anger lacing her voice, her eyes ensnared me, bringing me right back to that morning on the lake. The world was lit up around me, a sight that most people would remember for all their days, but all I’d seen was Kinsley.
