Page 22 of The Bridges I've Burned

“Guess I broke my own rule, huh?”

He shrugged. “You know what they say about rules…”

He looked like the kind of guy who broke all sorts of rules.

And hearts.

“How about I tell you something personal and even the score?” he suggested.

I swallowed, biting the side of my lip before giving a slight nod. I watched as his gaze shifted downward. I could see his eyes lose focus, as if he was deep in thought, sifting through facts and memories, trying to pick the right one to offer up to the stranger sitting in front of him.

“I’m here for a family reunion of sorts,” he confessed, but the words were strained.

“You don’t sound happy about it.”

He shrugged, blowing out a breath. “Not sure it’s gonna be a happy sort of reunion.”

“You don’t think they’ll like seeing you?”

“No,” he countered. “I think they’ll be thrilled to see me after all this time, but I’m not here to mend fences.”

“Too late for that?” I stared across the table, a deep hollow settling in my chest.

“Yeah, something like that.”

“Families are complicated.” I knew that more than most.

He merely nodded.

A moment passed and then another as the sound of someone singing an off-key version to “Baby Got Back” went on behind us.

“You want to get out of here?” His eyes blazed, stirring a fire in my belly.

I didn’t hesitate. I just simply nodded and said, “Yeah, I do.”

CHAPTER FOUR

Iawoke with a startle.

Why am I so fucking hot?

And what the…

My fingers touched the ground next to me because it was definitely ground and not a bed.

Is that sand?

I opened my eyes, the bright morning light nearly blinding my retinas as I adjusted to my surroundings. The blue ocean winked in the distance. Lazy waves made their way to shore. I was on the beach.

I slowly sat up as the night before started to come back to me.

Waking up in a strange place always took a moment for me to acclimate to. You’d think after several years of traveling, I’d be used to it by now, but whenever I woke up in a strange hotel or tour bus, I always needed a moment or two to adjust.

Although I had to admit, waking up on the beach was a bit unusual.

Kind of nostalgic though.

“You want to get out of here?”

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