Page 7 of Just a Little Promise

Tripp groaned as he slid into the chair right next to Skye’s. “Don’tevertell him that. It’ll go to his head and he already has an inflated ego.” He was teasing, of course. Tripp had a great relationship with both Hudson and Brett, who were like brothers to him. Hence, how easy it was to push each other’s buttons.

He’d deliberately chosen the seat right beside Skye’s, instead of across from her, so they could talk without yelling over the noise in the bar. But sitting side by side, he realized it put them in very close proximity, and the onslaught of memories was almost instantaneous.

When he inhaled, he caught her light floral scent that made him want to bury his nose against her neck and breathe her in. Their thighs brushed, resulting in an arousal that was thankfully hidden by the table above his lap. And he could clearly see her beautiful face, her delicate features, and those lush, pink lips that made him remember hot, intimate moments that caused his stomach to also heat with anticipation. Then there was her glorious mane of blonde hair that beckoned for him to tangle his fingers through the silken strands, and pull just hard enough to make her gasp and moan.

The blouse she wore was loose, but there was no mistaking the soft fullness of her breasts beneath, or the modest peek of lace he glimpsed at her cleavage. Everything about Skye was sexy, in an understated way. Elegant and classy... until he had her in the bedroom, where she used to drop every inhibition and enjoyed all the dirty, filthy ways he seduced her.

He lifted his gaze back to hers, the mutual awareness in her eyes startling him. As did the way her tongue absently licked across her bottom lip and a faint pink tinge rose in her cheeks.

Then again, maybe her reaction to him ogling her shouldn’t surprise him. From the moment they’d first met, they’d been physically in tune to each other’s needs, their thoughts, feelings, and lust also aligned. All it took was one look, one touch, one whispered word, and they were desperate to find a secluded place to tear each other’s clothes off. Clearly, their mutual desire hadn’t changed.

He had the insane urge to slide his hand around the nape of her neck, lean in and kiss her parted lips, just to confirm that attraction. But the arrival of the bar waitress kept him from following through on the impulse. Which was probably for the best. Just because they were still attracted to each other, and Skye was single and available, didn’t mean she’d welcome a kiss.

“Can I get you two something to drink or eat?” the friendly young woman asked as she placed fresh cocktail napkins on the table.

Skye cleared her throat and shifted her gaze to the waitress. “I’ll have a Pellegrino if you have it, please.”

“I’ll have the same,” Tripp said.

As soon as the girl was gone and they were alone again, Skye returned her attention to him, a small frown marring her brows. “So, back at the bar when I ran into you, you asked if I was in New York with my husband. How did you know I was once married?”

He saw no reason to lie, or even fudge the truth. “I saw it on social media, before you deactivated your accounts. I still followed you even after things ended between us.”

Her eyes widened in surprise. He didn’t blame her, considering he’d been the one to break things off with her. “Why?”

“Because... I cared about you,” he said, sharing more honesty. “Just because I couldn’t give you what you wanted and needed at that time in your life, it didn’t mean it wasn’t a difficult decision for me to make.”

No, it had been an excruciating one, but at the time he’d been nowhere near ready to settle down, get married, and start a family, and he’d told himself she deserved to find that with another man, and thought she had.

Her chin lifted a fraction, and he caught the quick flash of pain in her eyes before she blinked away the emotion. “Didn’t seem like a difficult choice at the time.”

Those words felt like a stab in the heart. “The last thing I ever wanted to do was hurt you—”

“It’s okay,” she said with an indifferent shrug he saw right through. “It’s water under the bridge, as they say. People break up all the time.”

Despite her dismissive tone, there was no doubt in his mind that she was trying to hide the fact that he’d hurt her, badly. That even over five years later, their feelings still lingered.

Their drinks arrived and he was grateful for the chance to regroup and find a topic that would steer the conversation away from the painful part of their past. The waitress placed their bottles of Pellegrino and two glasses of ice on the table, then moved on to another customer. When she was gone, he poured the water over the ice, and Skye did the same.

“Have you been divorced long?” he asked in a casual voice, wanting to know if the emotional impact of her marriage ending was still fresh and raw.

She exhaled a deep breath. “Let’s see,” she said, her tone sarcastic. “I was married for two years, and legally separated for a year and a half since I couldn’t get my ex-husband, Jack, to sign the divorce papers because he had delusions of us reconciling. Thankfully, I’ve been officially divorced for almost a year.”

There was no mistaking the bitterness in her voice, and it piqued his curiosity. “Do you mind me asking what happened?”

Staring at her glass of sparkling water, she hesitated, long enough that he wondered if he’d struck a nerve.

“If you’d rather not talk about it, I understand,” he quickly amended.

She shook her head, and glanced back at him, her expressive eyes pained once again, but this time Tripp wasn’t the reason.

“It was a complicated relationship, and something I don’t want to rehash. Let’s just say there were a lot of irreconcilable differences that ended our marriage.”

The answer was pat and superficial, and he didn’t push her to share more. But there wasn’t much he could do about the protective feeling rising inside of him as he recalled her stiffening at the slightest touch. Clearly, the marriage had been a turbulent one, and he couldn’t help but wonder if that’s why she was so guarded and wary now.

“Are there kids involved?” he asked instead. Another thing he’d often wondered about.

She released a harsh laugh. “No, thank God.”

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