Page 123 of California Wild

Hayley blinked. “Wait. You sing?”

“He plays, too,” Isaac added, tone casual but laced with something that sounded suspiciously like bait. “Pretty damn well.”

Hayley turned to Jesse slowly, her pulse kicking. “You promised me one song.”

He didn’t look at her.

“Jesse,” she said, quieter this time.

His jaw ticked. Still no response.

Isaac grinned. “She doesn’t let up, huh?”

Jesse exhaled through his nose. “I’ll deal with you later.”

“She’s winning,” Isaac said.

“I always do,” Hayley murmured, still staring at Jesse.

He finally looked at her. There was something tight in his gaze, something unspoken.

Like don’t push me.

But she had to. Because suddenly it mattered more than it should.

“Why didn’t I know this?” she asked, her voice soft. Honest.

He didn’t answer.

And that said everything.

Hayley felt it like a cold rush in her chest. That he’d had a life she never touched. Years she didn’t know about. Pieces of himself he’d kept in lockdown while she tried to pretend they were anything close to normal.

“Why don’t I even know you?” she whispered.

Jesse looked like he’d been slapped. Like her words hit deeper than she meant them to. And maybe they did. Maybe she’d needed them to.

Isaac watched the exchange but didn’t interrupt. Smart enough to know this wasn’t his moment.

Then—Jesse stood.

Hayley just raised a brow.

And then—he was up there.

A guitar in his hands.

And Hayley watched as Jesse Navarro became a version of himself she had never seen before.

* * * * *

Hayley hadn’t meant to fall in love with him again.

That hadn’t been the plan when they walked into McP’s, when she slid into the weather-worn seat beside Jesse, her thigh brushing his under the table, her hand wrapped around a mug of tea instead of a beer. That hadn’t been the plan when she smiled at the guys, laughed at their jokes, answered their questions like she belonged there—because tonight, maybe she did.

But then he got on stage.

And the second she saw him step into the light, she felt her heart stutter.

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