I blink, taken aback. “Julian, I wasn’t trying to?—”
“You think you can just come back after all this time, ask a few questions, and everything will go back to how it was.”
“I wasn’t?—”
But he’s already walking away, his voice tight with anger. “I should go.”
I watch him leave, still trying to figure out what the hell I did wrong.
“Hey!” I call out, chasing after him. “Did I say something to offend you?” I ask as I catch up with Julian a few doors down.
Julian stops walking and turns to face me. “You’re exactly the same. Asking questions to put me at ease, but instead itfeels like a smooth interrogation. You always were so good at manipulating the situation.”
I narrow my eyes. “I was asking a question to be nice. To see what you’ve been up to for the last seventeen years.” My tone is harsher than I anticipate, and Julian’s eyes widen just a fraction.
“Well, now you know all about my life, and like always, I know next to nothing about yours. Which is fine, I suppose, because I’ve spent the last seventeen years trying to forget about you.”
He storms off before I can fully comprehend his words.
I’ve spent the last seventeen years trying to forget about you.
I’ve spent the last seventeen years trying to forget about you.
I’ve spent the last seventeen years trying to forget about you.
It hits me as I stand there, watching him disappear down the street. I spent years convincing myself that walking away was the right thing to do. That Julian was better off without me and whatever confusion we felt that night. But maybe… maybe I wasn’t the only one confused.
I walk down the street until I get to the parking lot for the gym, but his Range Rover is already gone by the time I get to where he was parked.
Fuck.
My heart sinks as I lean against my car, rubbing my face as if that’ll somehow erase the last ten minutes. I thought seventeen years was enough time to bury one kiss. But the way Julian looked at me today, like he’s still holding on to something he doesn’t want to name, makes me wonder if I ever really let go either.
I have to fix this.
I have to apologize.
But for what?
CHAPTER FOUR
THE OFFER
Sophie
“Babe, someone’s at the door!” I shout from the pantry. Chappell Roan is blasting through the surround sound speakers, and my arms are covered in wet paint. I probably shouldn’t be painting in my favorite spandex shorts, but here we are. At this rate, half the clothes I own are destined to become ‘painting outfits,’ and honestly, I’m fine with that. Julian keeps threatening to toss them out, but I’ve caught him staring at my arse too many times for him to follow through. “Julian, can you hear me?”
The doorbell rings again, and when I glance down at my phone, I see an unfamiliar man standing at the front door according to the security camera.
Setting the paintbrush down, I quickly wipe my hands on my shorts and walk through the house to the front door. It’s probably the tree delivery company with the new magnolia trees I ordered for the front garden. As I pull the door open, I place one hand on my hip.
“Hi. Let me go grab my husband and he’ll tell you where to plant it. You’re from the garden center, right?”
The man before me is incredibly good-looking, and I swallow as I take in his fitted jeans and leather jacket. He’s tall, like Julian, and has dark brown hair that compliments his golden skin tone. And his eyes… they’re a light gray color that reminds me of molten silver.
“Umm, not exactly. My name is Malakai Ravage.”
The name clangs through me, and it takes me a second too long to realize this is Julian’s long-lost childhood friend.
