Page 14 of Easton

“It’s been too long,” I murmur.

“It has.”

We stay like this for a while, just holding each other.

I don’t know how much time passes, but we finally break away and take a very small step back.

Looking down at her, my hands still on the sides of her waist, I ask, “Do you want to come in so we can catch up?”

“Yes,” she says. “I’d like nothing more than that.”

He looks so good.

He looks so good.

He looks sooooo good.

It really isn’t fair. I was hoping the pictures I’d seen of him online were touched up or something. And that maybe Madison was overexaggerating.

But no, everything is true. Easton is hotter than ever.

He’s so tall and muscular, and his chiseled features are sharper than I remember. But his eyes are still the coolest blue. Right now they’re really vivid, though it may be the dark blue tee he has on that’s making them look so intense.

And damn, speaking of that tee…

Could his chest be any more sculpted?

Wow, just wow.

I’m in awe.

Easton Sonden is a man now, not a boy.

I like that.

Yes, I do.

But more than anything, I’m happy that it still feels like he’s my friend.

I’d never do anything to jeopardize that. What we had—and clearly still have, based on the nice hug we just engaged in—is too special.

So when he asks me if I want to come into his house to catchup, I tell him, “Yes, I’d like nothing more than that.”

It’s the truth; I want to hear about everything he’s been up to during the past few years.

Besides what I already know of his hockey career, of course.

As I follow him into his house, he asks if I’d like a little tour.

‘Sure,” I say.

I think this is his way to avoid any awkwardness. You know, keep us moving around to start off.

That’s fine. As a real estate agent, I really want to look around.

The first thing I take note of is how stunning the interior is. I mean, the exterior is nice, but the inside is striking. I love the high ceilings, exposed dark wood beams, the spiral staircase in the back of the entry hall, and just how everything is decorated in a perfectly matched southwestern motif.

He only shows me the first floor, but that’s okay.

---