Page 7 of Release You

Henry Cavalier.

The name flashed in my mind’s eyes. How could this be?

This close, the familiar serenity of his brown eyes brought back more memories of the summer we’d spent together when I was ten. Right before it had all gone to hell. I’d been so focused on getting to the hotel I hadn’t stopped to really see the man in front of me. But now that we were here, I was sure this was Henry Cavalier, the only boy I’d ever loved.

Of course he didn’t remember me. Why would he? I was nothing back then. Not that any of it mattered. I wasn’t here for some cheesy reunion. I was here for Lisa. I stared at him, stillnot fully believing he was the boy who broke my heart so long ago.

I glanced away from him and searched for my car. It’d nose-dived into a sinkhole in the middle of the street that was easily six feet deep, half-filled with crumbled asphalt. I pushed Henry away from me and lifted his car key off the inside of his jean pocket. Stealing from him wasn’t the best way to thank him for saving my life, but I’d survived all these years by trusting my instincts and reacting quickly as situations presented themselves. Henry had let his guard down for a second, and I needed a car.

“I always keep my promises,” I answered his question from before.

In all fairness, it’d taken me years to make good on my promise to Lisa. And I wasn’t sure the Cavalier Hotel was the way to deliver on that vow. The place was a wreck, a real, live wreck.

“Okay, Construction Guy, is there anything else that’s going to crap out on us today?”

He furrowed his brows, then faced the massive pothole, which was about the length of the hotel entrance. The narrow sidewalk where he’d dragged me for cover was intact, but beyond that, the street had caved in.

“Can’t really say for sure until we get in there, but it looks like this should be it.” He rubbed the sexy stubble on his jaw and prowled around the wreckage. “And not that it matters, but I’m not a construction worker.”

“Earlier you were in a construction site, holding a stop sign. What does that make you?”

“That makes me the architect the town hired to renovate the old downtown.”

He wrinkled his nose before he dropped into the hole. Or did he fall? Shit. I rushed to the edge, where the asphalt hadsplit in half, creating a sort of ramp. I stepped on it, and it wobbled. A shock of adrenaline made me stumble back.

“Stay where you are.” His voice came from somewhere below.

“How come you get to go down there?” I didn’t like being told what to do.

“Because I know what I’m doing,” he deadpanned.

I rolled my eyes at him.

“I saw that.” His voice rumbled closer to where I was. “You want your stuff or not?”

“Of course I want it.” It was all I had left. “Could you also get my purse?”

A second later, my bag landed a couple of feet away, followed by my luggage. My suitcases weighed more than fifty pounds each, but he threw them over his head as if it were a bag of marshmallows. Show off.

“So, you’re here to restore the town. How are you going to find the time to work on your revenge mission?” I asked.

He probably said it for shock value, but something in his eyes made me wonder if maybe there was more to it. Were we here for the same thing?

He climbed out of the sink hole. The sweat on his tanned skin made him glisten under the sun. I swallowed, crossing my arms. God, he made it hard for me to focus. The bit of chest hair and the curve of a tattoo peeking over the V-neckline of his T-shirt weren’t helping either. I had to call Lisa. This plan of hers had no shot, not with this version of Henry in the way.

“That was meant as a joke.” He dusted his jeans.

“You’re hard to read.” I closed the space between us. “This coming from someone like me, it’s saying something.”

“I know what you are.” He ran a hand through his dark hair, meeting my gaze.

“What did this town do to you? Maybe there’s a way we can help each other.” I braced my hands on my hips.

He clenched his jaw. The effort made him look dangerous. Not at all like the Henry I remembered. His dark gaze darted from the condemned hotel to the broken street before it settled on me.

“I don’t know what brought you here. What I do know is that everything that comes out of that pretty mouth of yours is either a lie or a half truth. I see you. You’re full of tells, and you’re a horrible liar, but somehow people buy your act. My guys certainly did.” He shook his head.

“You see me?” I chuckled. “What do you see?”

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