Page 103 of Captured Heart

“It suits you,” I say eventually, breaking the silence. I nudge him playfully. “I didn’t peg him as the type who’d wear golf shirts, though.”

He laughs, glancing down at his shirt. He tugs at the collar like it’s choking him. “I fucking hate these things. But, you know...I’m trying not to stand out.”

I snort. “You? Blending in? I thought we were a couple of rebels, but it looks like you’re going soft on me.”

“I’m not.”

“Before you know it, you’re gonna be getting sentimental over stupid shit.”

“Doubtful.” He rolls his eyes when he says this but makes no attempt to hide the shoelace tied around his wrist.

“I’m telling you, Alex, you’re one step away from baking cookies for the neighborhood kids and mowing your lawn in a pair of New Balances.”

He groans, and in one swift motion, he grabs the back of his shirt and yanks it off. The movement is so casual, but it still leaves me stunned. The sight of his lean abs and strong shoulders sends all my hormones into an absolute frenzy.

“Better?” he teases, balling the shirt and tossing it over the back of his chair.

“Marginally.” My voice comes out weaker than I’d like.

The tension is palpable, hanging thick and heavy in the air.

“So, where are you living now?” I ask, trying to steer the conversation somewhere neutral before my brain short-circuits.

“I was in North Carolina up until about a week ago...then I came here.”

“Yeah? For business? Vacation? Trav—”

“You,” he cuts in, firm and to the point. “I came here for you.”

I’m not going to do it. I’m not going to draw parallels between Alex’s actions and a pre-2005 rom-com. Now, there are some similarities toLake House. The guy’s name was also Alex. He also waited patiently for two years before—

What am I doing? That movie came out in 2006, anyway. I shouldn’t even be comparing because this is in a league of its own. He came all the way from North Carolina. He sought me out...and found me. That’s top tier movie level stuff.

But if that’s the case, why has he been so distant, pussy-footing and blowing hot and cold all day?

“Why did you come looking for me?”

His jaw tightens as if he’s slightly annoyed. “Take a wild guess.”

I shrug, not a hundred percent certain I want to put myself out there in case he rejects me. “You...wanted to catch up with an old friend?”

He glowers at me. “No.”

“You wanted closure. We bonded over some traumatic events, and you maybe wanted to see me again to see if...what we felt was real...or just a response to—”

“It was real,” he cuts in, his tone sharp. “I wouldn’t still be obsessing about you all the fucking time if it wasn’t real. I wouldn’t have moved here, opened up a shop, and put down roots on the off chance that we might’ve had something special.”

My eyes widen, and I’m stunned into silent for a few beats. “You did that? You opened up your shop...here?”

“Yeah.” He runs an aggravated hand over his face, then leans forward, resting his elbows on his knees. “Now, because you’re insisting on being impossibly stubborn, let me tell you why I took such a leap of faith. I did it because I can’t stop thinking about you. Every second of every day...you’re just there...in my head. It’s a constant nag, telling me it ended too soon. We weren’t even close to being finished.” He clenches and unclenches his hands. “I wake up in the middle of the night, and I’m feverish, drenched in sweat because I’m aching to have you so bad. I wanna kiss you, taste you...feel your skin...hear your laugh, and you’re just...notthere. Fuck, I miss you, Katie. And this distance is driving me crazy. I stayed away because Detective Collins told me not to contact you. When Victor got sentenced two months ago, that became ten times harder to do. That’s why I’m here. I had to dig deep every day to find the will to stay away from you, and I just couldn’t do it anymore.”

I blink, caught between shock and the overwhelming pull of his words. I want to tell him I feel the same, but he doesn’t give me a chance to speak.

“And I hate that I’m like this. I hate that I can’t get over this two-week shitstorm we went through together. Somewhere in there, you embedded yourself in the deepest part of me, and now I can’t get you out of my system. And I know I’m no goodfor you. I know you deserve more. You’ve got Michael now, and he’s probably a better man than I’ll ever be. But you know what? I couldn’t go one more day without telling you how I feel. It’s stupid and crazy, but I...I may very well be in love with you, and I couldn’t live with myself if I didn’t say it.”

Hearing that jolts me, shifts my whole world off its axis. I sit there frozen, trying to absorb everything he said, but my mind latches on to one weird detail. “Michael? Why are you bringing up Michael?”

His eyebrows crease. “Isn’t he your...boyfriend?”

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