Page 57 of Inevitable
“What do you need from him? Obviously, you want him to be part of Wren’s life, but I also think you’re still crazy about him. I’ve known you for years, and I’ve never seen you look at another guy the way you look at him.”
I nodded. Sara was the one person I talked to about everything. “Nothing has changed for me. He’s just as gorgeous and irresistible as he was fourteen years ago. He thinks he’s changed because of his injury to his leg, but he’s still the same guy who made me do something completely out of character for me in Virginia Beach. There’s something about Colin that makes every rational thought fly out of my head. It’s stupid. It’s been fourteen years.”
“Maybe not so stupid,” Sara said sympathetically as she leaned against her vehicle. “I’m not so sure you ever got over him. You’ve never been attracted to another guy. What if this is a second chance for you two? Maybe it’s time for you to have that relationship you should have had years ago.”
“That’s not possible,” I sputtered.
“Why not? You’re both still single.”
“It was a short fling fourteen years ago, Sara. Our lives are different. We aren’t the same people we were then. He lives in San Diego. My life is in Cherry Cove. I’m almost forty-six with a teenage daughter. God, we never even discussed a relationship. We had sex. Lots and lots of amazing sex. And then we went our separate ways. That was the deal we made in Virginia Beach.”
“You wanted more than that, Emma. I know you did. Apparently, Colin did, too. You said he went back to find you later that morning and you were already gone. Maybe you did have mind-blowing sex, but I think there was more than that for both of you. It just didn’t happen that way because you both made that deal and you realized too late that you wanted more. It’s not too late now.”
I shook my head. “I don’t think Colin is a relationship kind of guy.”
I couldn’t tell Sara about Last Hope or Colin’s career, but I knew he was completely dedicated to both of them.
“You won’t know that unless you ask him,” she scolded. “The way he looks at you tells me he might be willing to try. Hell, have another fling with him if that’s what it takes to make both of you see some sense. Dammit, Emma. You deserve to grab every bit of happiness you can get. You’ve dedicated your entire life to Wren and being a good mom. She’s a teenager now. She doesn’t need you to give up your life for her anymore, and she wouldn’t want that. Wren is pretty independent and pretty mature for her age.”
I snorted. “I might just offer him that fling until Wren gets home if I thought he’d take me up on it.”
I was old enough to know that life was short and happiness could be fleeting.
It might kill me eventually when we had to say goodbye, but I wanted to be with Colin so much that I was almost willing to deal with the pain later to have an opportunity to be with him again.
Even if it was only for a little while.
“Seduce him,” she said empathically. “Something tells me it wouldn’t take much effort. Start there and see what happens. As your friend, I know I should be telling you to be cautious, but I also know you’ve carried a flame for this guy for years. Now that I’ve met him and spent some time watching you two, I think he feels the same way. Part of me wants you to be careful because you could end up with your heart broken. On the other hand, I don’t want you to regret that you never even tried after the miracle of you two meeting up again. What were the chances of that?”
I knew she was right.
Itwasa miracle that we actually knew some of the same people and that our paths crossed one more time.
“I can’t even explain what a shock it was for me to see him in Lania,” I explained.
“He risked his life for you, Emma. And that was before he knew about Wren. God knows I’m not a woman who has any business giving relationship advice, but I think he might be a guy worth taking some risks for.”
Sara didn’t know about Last Hope, but she did know that Colin had been a SEAL commander. I’d told her that he’d volunteered to go to Lania to locate me because of his previous special forces experience. She didn’t know the details about how Brock and Nate had actually rescued me themselves.
All she knew was that they had gone to Lania to bring me home.
I hated deceiving my best friend, but I couldn’t tell her the truth.
I completely understood the importance of keeping the existence of Last Hope a mystery to anyone who wasn’t directly involved.
I had to let her continue to believe I’d been rescued by an active special forces team after Colin had located me.
Luckily, she’d been so relieved that I was safe that she hadn’t asked for a bunch of details about the rescue. I’d given her the impression that I didn’t want to talk about it and that I wanted to leave that experience behind me.
“I’m not saying he’s not worth taking risks,” I said hesitantly. “I’m just not sure he wants more than the fling we had years ago. I know he’s still attracted to me, but that doesn’t mean he wants to pick up where we left off.”
“There’s only one way to find out,” she informed me.
Crap!I knew she was right, but putting myself out there was setting myself up for another heartbreak.
He’s worth it, Emma. If he rejects you, at least you’ll know that you tried.
I was getting to the point that possible heartbreak was less risky than living with the fact that I missed an opportunity that had been handed to me by a twist of fate.
