Page 4 of Beyond Reach

“You won’t. I’ve been waiting for this day all my life. Come on, Chanda. Say you’ll do it. Promise you’ll come to my wedding and that you’ll be my maid of honor.”

Does this chick know what she’s asking me to do?

“Um…”

“You’re not still in love with Garner, are you?”

“What? No, of course not.” Moisture gathered on Chanda’s upper lip. “It’s been forever since he and I were a thing. What’s that like, twelve years? Yeah, no, I’m not that lame that I would be holding a torch for Garner all that time.”

“Awesome. I knew you weren’t, but I wanted to be sure.” Her cousin nattered on when Chanda wanted to drop the subject. “You two were like fire together, burning hot. I never dreamed we would get together and—”

“Right, so no issue.”

“And I checked with you a year ago, remember? I asked you if it was okay that I date him.”

“But you were already seeing each other.” Chanda kicked herself for blurting that fact out. “I mean, uh, it doesn’t matter. That’s old news. And you’re right. You did email me before things got serious between you.”

An email, not a call. Stop, Chanda. Let it go. She thought of your feelings. That’s all that matters.

Marcella bubbled with enthusiasm. “Great. That’s why this idea is perfect. So the week before the wedding, we’re going to have family celebrations and some last minute prep. You can come home next Friday,

and we’ll have a whole week of catching up plus celebrating my wedding to the most perfect man alive.”

What could Chanda say? Marcella had brushed away all avenues of excuse. And as she said, it had been twelve long years since she was back home. It was time to let go of the past and build anew the relationships she left behind.

“Okay,” she said. “I’ll be there, Marcella. And I’ll be your maid of honor.”

Chapter 2

The second Chanda’s plane touched down, she knew she’d made a mistake. Her stomach knotted painfully as she collected her luggage and headed toward the airport exit. All during the flight, she’d felt ill. Now her head pounded, and her stomach kept threatening to toss its contents.

Hot night air hit her in the face as she stepped outside. Her head spun, and she paused to shut her eyes and wait for the dizziness to pass. It didn’t. She pressed a hand to her forehead. Moisture was already gathering there as well as on her top lip. She hadn’t missed Texas summers.

A moan escaped her. This was almost like morning sickness, except her womb didn’t hold a little one. Sadness washed over her, but she pushed the thought away.

“Ma’am, are you okay?”

She opened her eyes and looked around. A taxi driver approached her. Yeah, that’s what she needed, a taxi to take her to the hotel where she was staying. While she’d given in to Marcella’s begging that she celebrate her marriage to Chanda’s ex, she refused to stay at Marcella’s apartment. There had to be somewhere in all of Arlington where she could be alone to collect her thoughts.

“Yes, I’m fine. Thanks. Can you take me to—”

“Chanda.”

Her heart stopped. Twelve years passed without her hearing Garner’s voice. As soon as she heard it again, she recognized it. Chaos broke loose in her emotions. He stood near a dark expensive looking car and shut the driver side door to jog around to the curb.

She tried not to notice how a decade of aging did nothing to dial down his gorgeousness. Garner was what people used to call “a pretty boy.” Six foot four, dark hair, electric silver eyes, a strong clean-shaven jaw, and a fantastic build—he was the full package. Any woman would kill to have him because along with good looks, he was sweet as gold.

How is gold sweet, Chanda? Focus, idiot!

“Garner,” she breathed. “What are you doing here? I told Marcella I was getting in kind of late, so I would make my own way to the hotel.”

He gestured to the taxi driver that he had it, and the man turned away disappointed. Garner strolled straight up to her and drew her close to kiss her cheek. Her body exploded from the first touch. Head to toe, she was a pile of jelly, wibbling and wobbling, barely able to stand.

He drew back to look into her eyes. His easy smile brought her attention to the lines around his mouth that weren’t there before. Now that she saw him closer, she spotted the very slight gray at his temples and the creases around the corners of his eyes. What was he? Thirty-five? Yeah, and still looked amazing.

“It’s good to see you.” His deep voice echoed in her chest. “You’re still beautiful.”

“Um.” She licked her lips. His hands on her arms kept her off balance. She stepped backward away from his touch. “Thanks. You look the same as well.”

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