She wasn’t a shy person, but there was no denying Ella still had walls up. He’d chalked up her quiet reserve to her strict homelife when they were in school, but she was an adult now. Their brief, too-casual conversation at the carnival had been completely unsatisfying. Because it hadn’t told him a damn thing about the woman she was now.
Staying away from her was self-preservation, the right thing to do.
Which was why it should have come as no surprise to Maverick—who lived by his gut rather than his brain—that he was going to do the wrong thing.
All because of that touch.
When his hand brushed against Ella’s as they both reached for a French fry, that lightning that struck him when he was seventeen hit again.
Harder and even more powerful.
Maverick had fought to take a breath, his heart thudding so hard, he couldn’t believe Ella couldn’t hear it.
He knew in that moment, past be damned, that he and Ella Decker had a day of reckoning coming. And, given how little he knew about her life and her future plans, there was a chance it would end with him getting his heart broken again.
“Damn,” Jace muttered under his breath, drawing Maverick’s attention away from Ella and back to the table. “You’ve got it bad, bro.”
Maverick scowled. “What are you talking about?”
“Ella Decker,” Jace said, as if it should be obvious. “Just ask her to dance already.”
Maverick’s gaze flew to Grayson, who held his hands up. “I didn’t say a word,” he insisted. “Again, talk to your face.”
Jace frowned. “What are you guys talking about?”
Grayson shrugged, letting Maverick know it was up to him to fill in their baby brother.
Maverick sighed, then grimaced. “Ella and I dated for eight months during our junior year,” he explained.
“Really?” Jace was as confused as Grayson had been.
“Secret relationship,” Maverick added.
Jace was quiet for a moment, letting that information settle. “Why secret?”
“She wasn’t allowed to date.”
“Did it end bad?” he asked.
Maverick nodded, then glanced at Grayson. He was tired of holding all of this inside. His brothers were his best friends, and given he was considering doing something hella stupid, like putting his heart on the line again, it was time he asked for advice.
“She was the first girl I ever slept with,” he said. “In fact, she…” He swallowed hard, because even if the words were true, they were still hard to say.
“She’s the one,” Grayson said for him. When Jace frowned, he added, “Love at first touch.”
Jace’s jaw dropped in shock. “But you don’t believe in the legend.”
“Me think he doth protests too much,” Grayson said with a chuckle.
The joke did as intended, because Jace laughed as well. “We should have known,” he said to Grayson. “He’s been way too outspoken about how it’s bullshit and a curse.”
“Turns out, he was actually the first of us to fall,” Grayson added.
“So what happened? Why aren’t you over there talking to her if she’s the one?” Jace asked.
“She dumped him,” Grayson explained. “In a letter. Then her family left town. Moved away.”
“Because ofyou?” Jace asked, struggling to make sense of the tiny crumbs they were feeding him.