I don’t look at him right away. “You’re not the first to say that.”
As I slowly slide my eyes to my ex-best friend, my whole body is suddenly aware of the way the gray suit brings out his blue eyes, and how the five-o’clock shadow makes him seem a little less polished than normal.
“Do you keep the company of comedians often, then?” he says, his voice low and half amused.
“Perhaps.” I attempt to keep my voice steady. Tearing my eyes away, my fingers trace the edge of the empty glass.
Julian leans in, close enough that I catch a hint of cedar and something darker beneath it, like expensive leather and faint smoke. And bergamot—just like he used to smell growing up.It’s too familiar, and I immediately think of Sophie and her not-so-secret smoking habit. I look back at him, feeling like I’m being pulled into a whirlpool of my own making.
Julian’s eyes gleam as he watches me over the rim of his glass.
“I didn’t think this was your scene,” he murmurs, looking around. His eyes linger on my button-up shirt—I’d removed my tie earlier, and I’m sure my hair isn’t as neat as it was this morning, considering it’s been a hell of a long day.
“It’s not.”
“And yet…”
His gaze flicks to the empty glass in front of me, as if it holds answers I haven’t admitted yet. I shrug, but it feels like a weak attempt to downplay the heat curling low in my stomach. This isn’t about the drink—and we both know it.
“Nevertheless, you look like you’re here to make bad decisions,” he murmurs, a hint of a smirk playing at the corner of his mouth.
“And you’re here to stop me?” I ask, a touch too quickly, almost daring him.
He raises an eyebrow, a flicker of surprise in his gaze. “Now why would I do that?” His voice drops even lower, practically a rumble. His hand brushes mine on the bar, just a featherlight touch, but it sends a jolt up my arm, something I don’t think he misses.
I pull my hand away.
“Then why are you here?” I ask, my eyes flicking to his mouth before I can stop myself.
“A business meeting, if you’ll believe it. My client appreciates the exclusivity here.” His eyes drag over my face. “The piece he’s after is very high-value, and he doesn’t want to be seen with me in public in case it attracts competitors.”
I nod. “I see. How’s Sophie?”
“Fine. Still recovering from the housewarming party,” he says casually. His knee grazes mine beneath the bar, and I tense—not from discomfort, but from the sharp pull inside of me that I can’t shake.
Which part?I want to ask, but instead, I keep my mouth shut.
And maybe it’s the whiskey that makes me want to ask the one burning question I’ve had since Julian returned to Crestwood, or maybe it’s what happened a couple of weeks ago at the party… either way, I can’t move on without knowing. I can’t help myself.
“Does she know about us? About… what happened back then?”
His jaw tightens. “Why wouldn’t she know? She knows everything else about me.”
Somehow, his answer stings more than it should, and his words linger in the air between us. His gaze holds mine with quiet passion, almost daring me to ask why she knows.
I already know the answer.
Because she loves him—and because they share a connection I can’t even fathom.
The weight of the past sits like a stone in my throat.
“Everything?” I ask again, my voice sounding hollow even to me. “So, does she know why I left?”
His jaw tightens, a flash of bitterness in his eyes that’s both unexpected and all too familiar. “I imagine you’d know the answer to that better than I would,” he replies, his voice cold but low. “You were the one who walked away, Kai. You didn’t exactly stick around to explain, so how could I explain it to her?”
I swallow, the burn of his words worse than the whiskey. “I’m sorry, Julian. I couldn’t do it. It was a mistake. I should have never…”
I can’t even admit it out loud.
