Page 33 of Honey Pot

MATTHEWS

Hilly’s was massive.

When Ella described the building, I was expecting a small diner. The two-story brick building that climbed into the soft, cloudy sky of Rhode Island was not a tiny neighborhood diner.

A flashing deep blue neon sign hung over the massive set of double doors and flickeredHilly’sat me as I slipped from the rental car and huddled into my sweater. It had started to get colder in the evenings than I was used to from Texas weather, and a chill had settled against my bones.

I slipped into a pair of jeans and a tight black tank top that ruched at the sides of my belly and pushed up my chest. The sweater was simply there to keep me warm until I was safely inside. I pulled the door open to a different world. Long brick walls were adorned with sports memorabilia, most of it highlighting the athletes of Harbor University. It was a shrine.

What was behind the bar to my left brought a smile to my face. A life-size cutout of Coach Cody stood propped against the wall. He was in good shape for an old man, and when the girl behind the counter caught me inspecting it, she raised an eyebrow in my direction.

“Do you want a picture with it?” Cael’s honey-like voice rolled down my neck as he came up behind me. “We could ask him to recreate it for you, get the real thing if that’s what you’re into.”

I spun on him and pushed him away from me with one finger. “I’ve never been one for fucking dads.”

He was wearing a tight white tank top and a short-sleeve button-down that glowed orange in the bar's black light. Rings decorated his hands, which clinked together as he scratched his eyebrow and stared at me.

Cael’s Cheshire cat smile grew. “What about their sons?”

“Been there, done that.” I clicked my teeth and slipped from my sweater as his icy blue eyes narrowed in on me. They raked down my chest and over the curves of my hips. “Eyes up here, Loverboy,” I said, and his gaze snapped to mine.

“I like that,” he purred.

“I’m not flirting with you.”

“Are you sure?” Cael cocked his head to the side, and the light bounced around in his blue eyes. “Feels like flirting.”

“One apology doesn’t undo a past as tangled as ours, Cael. You can’t just—” I stopped. “Words don’t mean anything.”

You promised me so much.

You never sent a single letter.

“Clementine,” he sighed.

You promised.

“Mary.”

A frustrated huff left him. “I’m not good at apologizing.” Cael’s shoulders rolled back tightly and stuck his knuckle between his teeth as he thought. “And given your stance on words…”

He stepped forward, inching closer and suffocating what air I had left to breathe. His hand dropped and flexed at his side. I could tell that all he wanted to do was touch me. It took everything in my body, every tense, scared muscle, not to let him.

“Let me show you how sorry I am?” He asked and ghosted his lips over mine.

“Where is Ella?”

“Upstairs.” He whispered.

I left him standing there, turning toward the stairs and ignoring how his body leaned into mine, begging quietly for more. Every inch of me wanted it, needed it, every inch except the unsteady beating of my heart that warned me not to get close.

Everything at Harbor was temporary.

In four weeks, I would be home.

I would have to deal with Julien. With my job.

If I let Cael Cody wrestle his way back into my life, then history would surely repeat itself.

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