Page 69 of Wine and Research
Talk to her…Scott’s words resounded in his head.
His buddy was right. Jeremy straightened his shoulders and headed for the trail she’d taken. They needed to talk.
“You’re Jeremy, right?” the rugged dude asked.
A little surprised that the guy knew his name, he nodded. “And you are?”
“Callum Hudson,” he replied, shoving out his hand.
Jeremy automatically shook it, his mind temporarily in shock. “As in Elle’s ex?”
The guy nodded, releasing him. “Yes.”
Too many chaotic thoughts stormed his brain at once, while his heart pinched. “You two getting back together?”
“What?” Hudson’s head jerked back. “No, man. I screwed that up years ago. So, I want to ensure you don’t make the same mistake.”
Jeremy really didn’t give a shit what had happened between those two. That was their business.
He lifted his chin. “Thanks, but what’s going on between Elle and me isn’t your concern,” he stated and moved to head for the trail.
Hudson stepped in front of him and set a hand on Jeremy’s chest. “See, that’s where you’re wrong.”
Jeremy wasn’t firing on all cylinders and was in the mood for a fight. But common sense prevailed. He was a cop on and off duty. He had principles to uphold. An example to set. Brawling in public, in broad daylight with Elle’s ex-husband, wasn’t the right move.
Besides, it was stupid. They weren’t hormonal-driven teenagers in high school.
Still, he straightened his spine, ready to defend himself if the need arose. “I suggest you move your hand.”
Hudson’s gaze narrowed for a beat before he nodded and released him. But he didn’t move out of Jeremy’s way. “If you care about Elle, then you’re going to want to hear what I have to say.”
He clenched his jaw and his fists. Where the hell did this guy get off insinuating that he didn’t care about her?
“Look, I’m not here to cause trouble,” the ex said, holding up his hands and taking one step back. “I want to help. She’s about to bolt, man.”
A sharp pain stabbed through Jeremy’s chest, expelling his anger, leaving a gaping hole in its wake. “What?”
Hudson exhaled. “She told me she was thinking about finishing her books back in New York.”
Shit.
She was going to dessert him?
“You need to not make this about you,” Hudson said as if reading Jeremy’s mind. “Elle is scared. The reason we divorced was because she had it in her head that I was going to die because of her. And if I became a SEAL while we were married, she was certain I would not survive.”
Jeremy jerked his head back and frowned. “Why would she think that?”
It was absurd. A married military man and a single one had equal chances of coming home in a box.
“She thought that because her entire family was dead,” he declared. “Everyone she ever loved was gone, so the fact she loved me put a bullseye on my back, and joining the Navy was the last straw. I tried to reason with her, but she was too stubborn, too sure she was right. I foolishly thought I could have both. That I could change her mind, but I was wrong. So she filed for divorce the day I enlisted.”
Jeremy began to see things clearer.
“It’s why she keeps herself closed off,” Hudson continued, “Certain that she is protecting people by locking up her heart. But you got past it.”
His pulse leapt. “How can you be sure?”
“Because you’re not only in the military, she told me you’re also a cop,” the guy replied. “The fact she even talked to you is a miracle, let alone started dating you.”
