Page 4 of The Corner of Heartbreak and Forever
He studied her, while trying not to at the same time. The chip on her shoulder was bigger now, overshadowing the sexy smirk on her lips. She’d always exuded confidence, but somehow that, too, seemed more intense. His heart thumped harder with the memory of the first time he’d spotted her standing on the sidelines in her cute cheerleading uniform as he headed out to the football field. She’d challenged him with her glare, as if she were playing on the rival team rather than cheering for them. She’d hated that cheerleading outfit, but man, he’d loved it. And that challenge she’d emitted? He’d taken her up on that in a hot second.
But she’d kicked him to the curb once, he reminded himself. Why was he giving her any consideration at all? He had a job to do, and sure, he’d momentarily lost his footing and checked her out, but it wasn’t like that was a crime. She was hot, and they had history.That’s as far as it goes.
“I asked you why you’re here,” she repeated, her green eyes shooting spears he didn’t deserve.
He stepped closer, curious about how she’d react, and yeah, he just wanted to be near her. “I’m fixing your parents’ porch. Obviously.”
“Nothere, Reed. Why are you back in Virginia?”
“That’s not really any of your concern,” he said, stepping deeper into her personal space despite his brain telling him to back off. “You’re so frustrating, demanding answers. How about a hello?”
“Me? I’m the frustrating one? You…” she stammered, and he grinned, pleased he was having the same effect on her that she had on him. “Darn it. Why do you smell so good when you’re sweaty?” She pushed at his chest. “Back up. Get away from me.”
He grabbed her wrist, unwilling to let her get away, despite knowing he should. But how could he? He couldn’t believe after all these years she was right there in front of him. His first love, the first andonlyperson he’d ever truly given his heart to. He couldn’t just pretend his heart wasn’t going crazy or that he wasn’t suddenly flooded with emotions he hadn’t felt in forever. He stepped even closer, testing himself, expecting the spell to break, but it only got stronger.
Oh yeah, baby, you still feel it, too.
He had no idea why he was pursuing her when she had the power to destroy him, but as was the case in high school, he was powerless to resist her. Alina had never affected him half as intensely as eventhoughtsof Grace always had. Maybe that’s why he’d lost no sleep over ending his relationship with Alina. She’d been convenient, and maybe on some level he’d loved her the only way he’d been able to, but nothing—nothing—compared to the immensity of his feelings for the woman before him. The one he now realized he’d never moved on from.
“Back up,” she repeated, her voice thinner now, a little shaky.
“Why should I? You’re the one who came out here.” He raked his gaze down her body. “Dressed likethat.”
They’d been surrounded by rivalries from the get-go. Opposite teams all the way—until a day just like this, when she’d challenged and he’d pushed.
She pressed her lips together, holding his stare. Her eyes still tore straight to his heart. Another challenge he wasn’t about to back away from. He closed the minuscule distance between them. Her breasts grazed his chest.
She sucked in a sharp breath and stepped back. He followed her onto the threshold of the door.
“You might as well get used to seeing me,” he said in a low voice, pausing to let his words sink in. It took all his willpower not to ask if she’d thought of him as often as he’d thought of her. But this was a dangerous game he was playing, and he knew the answer could make it even more so. She’d walked away once, and he’d been forced to leave town. He was never going to leave his family again. Not for her or anyone else.
“I’m not leaving again, Grace.” He released her wrist and took a step back as all that lust morphed to anger, and a rush of cold air filled the space between them.
“It doesn’t matter anyway,” she said with too much venom, “because I am.”
They stared at each other, challenging, sizing up, remembering—wishing? He shifted his gaze away in an effort to reclaim his sanity and squinted up at the sun, pushing aside the fact that she was making him a lot hotter than the sun ever could. She was a big-city girl now, he reminded himself, just like Alina. He’d followed Grace’s career over the years despite himself and knew she had achieved what she’d always wanted.
At their expense.
Hadn’t he learned his lesson?
With that uncomfortable thought, he turned his back and reached for his tools, needing the distraction. But he felt her presence, hot and alluring, behind him andhadto take one more look. She stood with her hands on her hips and didn’t seem concerned over her lack of clothing. There was some type of disconnect between Reed’s brain and his body, and it took all his effort to keep his eyes locked on hers when they were begging for another quick sweep of the womanly curves his first love had developed.
Get a grip.There was only one way to do that. He needed to convince himself she wasn’t worth the risk.
“You always were good at leaving things behind,” he said coldly.
Her jaw fell open and a sound of disbelief escaped, sending a pang of regret to his gut. She stormed into the house, giving him an eyeful of her barely covered, and even-more-beautiful-than-before, butt—pushing that spear of regret in deeper.
GRACE PULLED THE door and the curtains closed and paced her bedroom, crossing and uncrossing her arms, trying to suck air into her lungs. What was Reed doing back in town, and why was he working at her parents’ house? She hadn’t even realized her parentsknewhim. She stared at the swinging curtains, and much to her dismay, her body was still trembling andhot. She hated him for making her feel that way. But it wasn’t only Reed she was mad at. She had a bone to pick with Sable.
She threw open the bedroom door, heard Clayton jump from the bed and land gently on the floor with a softmeow, and headed down the hall toward the scent of freshly brewed coffee. Sable was staying at their parents’ house while her apartment over her auto shop was undergoing renovations. With the exception of their rock-star brother, Axsel, who traveled endlessly with his band, and Pepper, who worked as a research and development scientist outside of Oak Falls, her siblings stopped by often for meals at their parents’ house.
She found Sable and Amber standing by the kitchen sink, staring out the window at Reed. They were so busy gawking, they didn’t even notice she was there. Sable was dressed in cutoffs, cowgirl boots, and her favorite Stetson, while Amber wore a short flowery dress with her boots—typical Oak Falls attire. For some reason that annoyed Grace even more. Why didsmall townlook so right and comfortable on her sisters, when it felt ill fitted on Grace? A streak of jealousy floated through her, and she tucked it away, reminding herself of how hard she’d worked to break out of that small-town mode.
“Take the stupid shirt off already,” Sable said as she twisted the ends of her long dark hair. The three of them, along with Axsel, were brunette, like their mother, while Brindle and Morgyn were fair-haired, like their father, and Pepper was a beautiful mixture of both.
Their comments did nothing to calm Grace’s racing heart from the brief—and abrupt—encounter with the full-on torturous beast outside. His toffee-brown hair was thicker now. His kissable lips were fuller. Add in sun-kissed skin, honest eyes, a strong, square jaw, and a dusting of scruff, andholy cow. Reed Cross was still hotter than any man she knew, and Grace had met some seriouslyfinemen.
