Page 1 of Unfinished

Chapter 1

Hannah

Present Day

“Hannah?”

Eight years later, the hair on the back of my neck still rose in his presence. How the hell was this happening? In a city of eight million people, on two totally different walks of life, we still managed to end up in the same place at the same time.

Why did I accept coming to this charity event? The last time I came to an event like this, I ran into Douglas King, the CEO of the company I worked for, and his three sons. That was awkward as hell. I should have known better than to agree to this.

Derek, my boyfriend, brought me and was spending the entire time talking to different people that were involved with the financial firm he worked at. He begged me to come, telling me it made him look good for his career or some shit. At these events, I was nothing more than arm candy for him and it was irritating to say the least. Derek left me standing here, by myself, while he went to talk to potential clients.

Now, he was standing behind me.

It didn’t matter how many deep breaths I took to prepare myself, as I turned around, the air whooshed out of me. Ice blue eyes that I spent most of a summer staring into and a lifetime dreaming about greeted me. His familiar arrogant grin – that promised trouble – spread across his face. Flashbacks to the way I slid my fingers through his chestnut hair during the best sex I ever experienced invaded my brain. A lustful heat spread through my body as my heart pounded in my chest.

Damn him for having this effect on me still after all of these years. Damn him for being the only man I ever truly loved. Fuck him for being here, years later, and still looking as delicious as he always did.

“Liam,” I gasped, which was not at all how I wanted his name to come out of my mouth.

Two years ago, I saw him with another woman and it shattered my heart. I spent weeks consumed by thoughts of him and slipped into an unhealthy obsessive state. I had promised myself that I would never let myself be affected by him again. Except, he was standing in front of me, and I feared that I would fall back into the same patterns. It would be even harder to break free this time.

“It’s been a long time,” Liam stated.

“It has.” It was all I could think of for a reply, because all I really wanted to say was how I never stopped loving him. How I should have tried harder. How I wished that things were different and sometimes I imagined what our lives could have been like. How I wished I’d given us a chance long before it all went badly.

“How's your career coming along?” Liam asked with a curious tone. His expression was hopeful, his eyes sparkled with warmth despite the icy color. My heart wanted to jump right out of my chest to meet his own, a feeling that hadn’t changed since that summer.

“I’m a Senior Software Developer at VanadiumWorks. I think I read something about you becoming COO in the paper awhile back, congratulations,” I remarked and he flashed a smile. Shit, I didn’t want him to think I'd kept track of him over the years, but my accidental admission would lead him to believe I had. Quick, think of a cover, “Is your wife here tonight?”

He didn’t have a wife, but based on how his smile spread wider, he believed I was checking if he was still single. I wanted to be aloof, not curious. Fuck, fuck, fuck.

“I never married, there was only one person who felt right.” Liam gave me a knowing smile. Why would he say that to me? It had been so long since we were last together, I should be nothing more than a blip on his radar.

I looked around the room to find anyone who might save me from this conversation, but who was I kidding? The only face I saw was his. Images of us, how we were, everything that happened flashed through my mind.

“Why didn’t you contact me?” Liam probed.

“You know why.” It wasn’t the time or place to have a heart to heart with him. He broke my trust six years ago, and then disappeared from my life.

At one point, I had thought he would come for me, but the days of believing he ever loved me are long past. It was too late and I moved on from him. If he pushed this conversation, I would just end up making an ass of myself.

“Well, that changes now. I’m done waiting.” He flashed that damn grin again.

What the hell did that mean? I shoved the idea that he was still holding out for me out of my brain quickly because I couldn’t do that again. No way in hell was I going down that rabbit hole thinking about the one who got away. He must realize that it was a young naive love and nothing more. We were blinded by romanticism, right?

“Hey babe,” my boyfriend, interrupted my destructive thought process as he gave me a kiss on the temple and wrapped his arm around my waist.

“Derek, let me introduce you,” I started.

“Liam Teresi, I remember.” Derek held out his hand.

Liam hesitated, his eyes went cold, but he gripped Derek’s hand and shook it, “and you are?”

“Derek Wright.”

“Derek is actually from Shermer too,” I announced, and Liam’s eyebrows shot up at the mention of our hometown in California.

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