Page 10 of The Lake House

She takes a deep breath and motions for me to follow her. We take a few steps and sit at a white wooden bench off to the side. I can still see Declan from here.

Liv takes a swig of the bottle of water she bought along with the fried food and then swallows. “His bitch of a wife took off with her personal trainer. Left him and their daughter and moved to Maryland.”

My eyes widen and my mouth drops. “What?!”

Liv nods. “Can you imagine abandoning your family like that?”

I shake my head. “That’s unbelievable.”

She nods again. “Yeah, it was horrible, but it happened about three years ago. His daughter was only a year old. It sucks that she’s growing up without her mother, but she’s better off. Claire was a bitch.”

“Claire? The Claire.”

“The one and only… Claire Miller. That Claire. They got married a few years back. She couldn’t get pregnant for a while… until she did. They had Lily, and after everything, the bitch took off.”

“I can’t believe what I’m hearing,” I say.

If truth be told, I can’t believe he married Claire. She had been the town whore for as long as I could remember. What made Declan fall for her? She didn’t seem like his type. Growing up, he wasn’t a player or type of guy to sleep around with all the women in town. But Claire? Claire was known for taking people’s boyfriends all the time. She’d done it to me and she’d done it to Liv, too. Of course, she took off on Declan and their kid.

Liv pulls out the funnel cake from the white paper bag and takes a bite. She chews a mouthful and, after swallowing, says, “But you know Declan is a great dad. He does everything for that little girl. She’s his world, and it shows. I mean, look at him. A single dad, hot as fuck… a freakingdilf.” She pauses for a moment and then adds, “Dad I’d like to fuck..”

I punch her in the arm playfully as we both laugh. “Liv!” Obviously, I know she’s joking.

“If I weren’t a happily married woman… just kidding, but I’m saying, though, what kind of woman cheats and runs off on a man like that? And her little girl…” She shakes her head back and forth. “But whatever. Lily’s doing just fine. She’s very happy, and since Claire took off when she was so young, Lily’s not even going to remember her when she grows up.”

“I guess that’s a good thing.”

Suddenly, the ride comes to a halt and Declan goes to help his daughter off of it. He picks her up and then spins around. And finally, I can see his face.

Oh. My. Fucking. God.

My insides turn to mush as I get a good look at him. He’s always been so damn gorgeous. And that smile? Ah, yes. I remember that smile all too well. I had drooled over it and daydreamed about it for years and years. I had had it so bad for him. We used to be good friends, but as we got older, we drifted apart. I had dreamed of kissing him every time I’d see him, but we never hooked up or anything. Back when I was single, of course.

And now that I’m single again? No, I can’t. I can’t go there and begin to think that maybe I can take a chance on this. Besides, who’s to say he’d even want to? We had never hooked up in the past, meaning he had never shown an interest in me. So what would be different now? He probably doesn’t even remember me anymore. It’s been too damn long.

Liv pulls out another fried Oreo and says, “You sure you don’t want any?”

I shake my head. “No, thanks. I’m good.”

She nods and finishes the treat. I can’t help but look away and glance back over at Declan. He’s so damn handsome… hot even. Why the hell had we never gotten together when I had been single before I got involved with Todd? Oh, yeah. I guess because I never really stayed single long enough, and every time I’d come to Silver Mist, I would already have a man. I was single for a couple of years before I met Todd, and yet nothing happened with Declan when I visited my grandparents. He had never even shown an interest in me when we’d talk.

Liv gets up off the bench and walks over to the trash can. She throws out the empty bag and then makes her way back to me. “Okay, Giules. Let’s go.”

I stand up, but before I can take a step, Liv says, “Let’s go over and say hello to Declan and Lily.”

I grab Liv by the arm, stopping her before she has a chance to embarrass me. “What? No! Absolutely not, Liv. I can’t.”

She chuckles. “And why not? Why can’t you say hello? It’s the nice thing to do when you know someone. I want to go say hi.” She smirks.

I give her my smug grin. “Because. I know you. Even though you say you want to say hi, you really want to do something.”

She raises an eyebrow at me. “Do something?” She mimics the way I had just said it.

I roll my eyes. “Yes. You want to set me up with him…” I sneak a peek over at the hottie and see he’s holding his daughter’s hand. She’s pointing at something and he follows her stare.

“And that’s such a bad thing, Giules? That’s just me being a good friend. I mean, come on, look at that hunk. Is it so bad that I want you to break off a piece of that?!” Liv crosses her arms across her chest, smirking.

I give her puppy dog eyes. “Please, Liv. Not yet, okay? Give me some time… just a few more… months.”

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