Page 15 of Wild Hearts

My body immediately starts to hum at his proximity. Geez, it’s like I’m wired into his frequency or something. I suck in a deep breath and try to ignore the fluttering sensation in my stomach.

“Oh, the usual.” Ivy ruffles Jordan’s dark hair with an affectionate grin. “We’re just talking about how much of a man-whore your best friend is.”

Brady chuckles and claps Jordan on the shoulder. “Sounds like the girls really have your number, mate.” He chuckles.

“Hey, I never claim to be anything different.” Jordan shrugs and throws his hands up in the air with a wink and a smirk. “At least I’m anhonestman-whore.”

I try to come up with some sort of witty response, but with Brady standing so close, my brain has turned to mush. Despite everything I’ve gone through since we were last together, it turns out I can’t just switch off my feelings for him.

“So, are we going to stand around all night talking about Jordan’s prowess with the female species,” I ask with a forced laugh. “Or are we actually going to enjoy this party?”

A pretty brunette calls out to Jordan.

“And that’s my cue,” he says with a wink. He claps his brother on the shoulder as he walks off.

“Game of pool?” Ivy suggests, nodding over at the pool house. “Queens versus... Man-whores?”

“Hey, hey, hey!” Brady raises his eyebrows in his sister’s direction. “How’d I get lumped in with this? What did I do?”

Ivy lets out a snort. “Oh, like the two of you aren’t as bad as each other. I’ve seen you flirting up a storm with all the bikini clad bimbos on the beach while you’re ‘working’.”

I drop my gaze as Brady glances over at me.

“You’re delusional, Ivy.”

I try to ignore the clenching pain in my chest at Ivy’s words. Brady’s an attractive twenty-year-old guy. Of course he’s not going to be lacking in female attention.Iwalked away fromhimthat night. I can’t blame him for moving on. I could never expect him to wait for me.

“Are we playing, or what?” I ask.

I feel Brady’s eyes on me as I reach the pool table, but he doesn’t respond when Ivy whispers, “You’re right – something is definitely going on with her.”

I take a deep breath. I need to get my shit together before they start asking questions that I’m not ready to answer.

IVY AND LACHY DISAPPEARtogether after the game of pool, Jordan’s making out with the pretty brunette, and I’m left alone in the middle of the party... with Brady.So much for my plan to avoid him.

“So, how’ve you been, Rookie?” Brady asks, scratching his head. “You seem... different.”

First Ivy, now Brady. I guess I’m not as good an actor as I give myself credit for. I stare down at the pool table, giving him a slight shrug. “I’m good, just getting used to the move. It’s the first time I’ve been away from my parents, you know?”

He studies me for a moment before quietly responding, “Yeah, it must be crazy.”

I pick at my fingernail. I still have feelings for the fourteen-year-old boy who smiled at me and called me Rookie for the first time; for the fifteen-year-old boy who teased me; for the sixteen-year-old boy who used to go boogie boarding with me; for the seventeen-year-old boy who tried to teach me to surf; for the eighteen-year-old boy who invited me to parties; for the nineteen-year-old boy who kissed me and took my virginity. I’ve been through a lot in the last twelve months, but my feelings for Brady have not disappeared.

I spot Harley sitting by the pool. “I’m going to go say hi to Harley.”

Brady grabs my hand, and sparks shoot up my arm. My eyes meet his, but the silent questions in them cause me to look away. “Rookie, please. Talk to me. How did we get here? What happened to us?”

“To us?” I swallow the bile rising up the back of my throat. It’s killing me inside, but I can’t let him get close to me again, no matter how much my body craves his touch. I’m damaged goods. He deserves better, and if that means I have to lie to him, then so be it. “Brady, there never was an us. We hooked up last summer, and it was... nice or whatever, but that’s all it was.”

“That’s all it was?” he bursts out. “We talked on the phone every night for three months. We... we had that night...” The anguish on his face cuts through me like a knife.

My hand twitches, wanting to reach out for him, but I have to hold strong. I’m doing thisforhim. I bite the inside of my cheek to stop myself from crying as I scramble to think of something to say.

I can’t tell him that night was the most magical night of my life, that I fell in love with him all over again. The way he made me feel so safe, so cherished, as if I was the most precious thing on the planet. I can’t tell him that I’d do anything to feel that way about sex again. Instead of saying any of that, I deliver the final blow.

“We did have that night, and I don’t regret it, but I’m not looking for anything serious right now. I’m eighteen. I need to have some fun for a little while.”

Brady reels back like he’s been physically hit. He shakes his head, and I watch his Adam’s apple bounce as he swallows my words. My stomach twists. I can see how much I hurt him. I want to take them back. I want to throw myself into his arms and see if he can heal me, but I know I can’t. I know he won’t be able to. Thanks to Drew Pembroke, I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to let another man touch me like that again. And that’s not fair to Brady.

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