Page 97 of Frosting and Flames

“Mandy Wilkerson.”

“Really?” I had no idea. I just talked to her not that long ago, too.

The smallest twinge of jealousy hits me. Mandy is beautiful, with shiny strawberry blonde hair and a killer body. Sure, she’s married with a kid now, but still…

“What happened?” I ask.

“She didn’t like my job. I hadn’t figured out then a good sleep schedule that works for me after my twenty-four-hour shifts, so I was tired all the time.”

“This was a while ago?”

“Yeah, we were nineteen, I think?”

That twinge in my gut eases some. That was eight years ago. “Do you ever still see her?”

He shrugs. “Occasionally. She brings her daughter to the story times at the library, so sometimes I see her there. We’re not friends but friendly, if that makes sense.” He pauses, his fingers stopping their circles on my back. “Why?”

“I’m just curious.”

I don’t think he believes me because he says, “You know I’m not interested in Mandy still, right?”

I nod, logically knowing that. God, I’m stupid. Why’d I even ask him about it?

“You had left Aurora,” he continues, as if he needs to explain himself. “I had no idea if you were coming back.”

“Nick.” I smooth a hand down his chest. “You don’t need to justify yourself. It’s perfectly fine you dated Mandy a long time ago. She’s a nice person.” I let go of any kind of comparison. God knows I have no leg to stand on with who my ex is.

“I haven’t dated anyone since you moved back.”

My breath catches, and I tread carefully. “Are you saying you happen to have not dated anyone in the last couple of years? Or you haven’t… because of me?”

He sighs, but doesn’t answer. I’m silent, too, waiting to see what he’ll say.

“I’m not sure if it was a conscious choice,” he finally says. “I thought you hated me.” He chuckles a little, though there’s not much humor in it.

I bring my hand to his neck, turning his head to face me. “I’ve never hated you.”

He nods. “But I still couldn’t shake the way I felt about you. Even if I knew I never stood a chance.”

What if we had run into each other when I’d first got back to town? I could have skipped all the bullshit with Kyle. I could have had this amazing man this whole time.

But maybe I wasn’t ready then. Wouldn’t have a comparison to know how incredible he is.

“I’m glad we have this now,” I tell him. “Even if it took us a while to get here.”

“Me, too,” he says, kissing me softly. “What about you?”

“Me, what?”

“Your dating history.”

“Oh. Well, you know about Kyle. Obviously.”

“The asshole.”

“The asshole,” I agree. “And I had a boyfriend in college. Chris. Things kind of fizzled out with him. There was no big blowup.”

“Kyle was the only guy you lived with?”

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