Her gaze softened. “Okay. I know a thing or two about trying to forget something awful. Do you want to talk about it?”
Holly had been in a car accident in high school. Her boyfriend had died, and her closest friend had suffered severe burns. That accident had been a marker for all of us back then, and I knew Holly still carried the emotional scars from it.
My gaze dipped down, but I forced my eyes up. “I know you understand, and thank you.”
Her nod was nothing more than the barest dip of her chin.
“I definitely don’t want to talk about it now.” I took a shaky breath, mentally dragging my tattered composure around me.
“Understood.”
“It was seven years ago,” I added, shaking my head slightly because it annoyed the hell out of me that this was still a thing for me.
Holly’s eyes searched mine for a moment. “Oh, who's counting?” she commented lightly. “Rowan seems nice. I think you can live with being in town with him.” She pressed her lips together, and I knew she was trying not to laugh.
I rolled my eyes. “I can live with Rowan, but I can't freaking believe he's here. What are the chances of that?”
“It's a small world, girl. You know that.”
“How do you know Rowan?” I asked, relieved she’d followed my lead to steer this conversation away from deeper, darker waters.
“Because he's friends with Delilah, who's engaged to Alex. He also rents the apartment above their garage,” she explained, referring to her twin brother. “He knows Remy Martin too. That's how Delilah ended up here. Remy’s sister Shay, who still lives in North Carolina, gave Delilah her tickets for a ski trip because they had to cancel. It was at that ski lodge in Diamond Creek.”
“Oh, that’s a nice place,” I interjected.
“Anyway, Delilah and Alex knew each other from that summer camp he went to in high school in Colorado. Talk about a small world. Anyway, Rowan seems nice. He's got the whole quiet vibe going. I thought he was too serious for my taste, but he's actually kind of funny.”
Rowan was quiet and funny, and I missed our friendship so much. I took a bite of pizza, chewing hard as if I could pour my feelings into my food.
When the door to the restaurant opened again, we both glanced over, and a wide smile broke out across Holly's face.
“Hey, babe!” she called.
“Nate looks just like he did in high school,” I said with a grin when she looked back toward me.
“Even a little better, don't you think?”
I chuckled. “Even better.”
Nate called over to Holly, “Be there in a minute. I'm picking up takeout since you didn't invite me to dinner.” He winked and paused to talk with Rowan.
Just looking at Rowan again sent a prickle of awareness chasing down my spine and heat blooming through me. I shouldn't have been sneaking glances at Rowan, but I was. Nate chatted with him while they waited at the counter. Then they were walking over to our booth together. Fuck my life.
I pasted a bland smile on my face and prayed the tension spinning inside me wasn’t obvious.
“How's it going, Mae?” Nate asked when he stopped by our booth before leaning down and dusting a kiss on Holly's cheek.
“Good,” I replied politely. “How are you?”
“Right as rain,” he offered with a lopsided grin.
When Holly smiled up at him, my heart gave an odd little squeeze. The love in her eyes was so obvious, and I was thrilled for them. I really was. It felt weird to witness such joy because the chances of me having that with anyone were slim to none. I didn’t trust myself or the universe.
Even though it would’ve been easier to pretend Rowan wasn’t standing right there, that would only draw attention to me. I turned my tight smile to him, wishing the heat climbing up my neck would dissipate.
He dipped his chin when our eyes met, his lips kicking up into a half grin that sent butterflies spinning in my belly. “How's it going, Mae? All recovered from the fire?”
“I forgot about that,” Holly said, slapping her hand on the table. “You were in that fire at the funeral home.”
“Yeah, I'm fine. Totally fine,” I said quickly before taking a gulp of water. I almost sputtered but managed to swallow without making a mess.
“You saved her, Rowan,” Holly said with a dimpled smile.
He chuckled lightly, the sound sending a shiver down my spine. Jesus. This man got to me, and it was so freaking annoying.
“It's his job,” Nate interjected, his tone dry.
“He still rescued her,” Holly added. “You haven't rescued me.”
Nate rolled his eyes. “I'm not a firefighter. Would you like me to fly over and drop some water on you?” he teased.
Nate was a pilot. Among other things, he helped out during fire season, flying crews out to the fires and also dropping water and fire retardant in areas where it was needed.
“No, thank you,” Holly said pointedly before glancing at Rowan. “I just learned from Mae that you two actually went to college together.”
I tore off a bite of pizza, chewing rapidly while I pondered the ways I could get back at her. She studiously didn't look my way. Rowan’s gaze bounced from her to me and back again before he nodded. “Yep.”
“Small world,” Nate commented.
Ugh. I was annoyed with that fucking phrase at this point. “Well, now you can be friends again,” Holly offered brightly.
I didn’t have a damn thing to say about that. Rowan's eyes met mine, and I could have sworn I saw a flare of heat there. I almost growled at my friend. She was purposely meddling, and I did not appreciate it.
Chapter Four
Rowan
Mae was glaring at Holly, her eyes narrowed and her lips pressed in a tight line. God, she was so fucking sexy when she was annoyed. I knew I shouldn't enjoy it. I especially knew I shouldn't be thinking any of these thoughts around her. I still didn’t know why, but Mae had cut me out of her life before so completely that I knew something big had happened.
It felt too late to fix it. Yet all I wanted was to make it right, to get back the friend I thought I’d had and find my way back to the only girl I’d ever loved.
Nate chuckled because obviously he knew his wife was up to no good. My name was called from the counter, and I turned away. “Gonna grab my pizza. Good to see you again, Holly,” I said with a nod.
Nate’s name was called next, and he walked over with me. “What's the scoop on you and Mae?” he asked as soon as we reached the counter again.
“The scoop?”
He grinned. “You can try to play dumb, but clearly, there is some history with you two.”
I rolled my eyes as I handed cash over to the guy at the register. “We were in college together. We were good friends and then went on a few dates. After that, she iced me out. I still don’t know what I did.”
Nate let out a low whistle. “Ouch. Did you try to find out?”
“I tried but never did get the story.” My heart felt a burn, and I shifted my shoulders.
“How long ago was that?”