“Maybe he’s old and ugly now. All flabby. Gone are the abs and the thick hair. You’ll see him and it’ll be a relief that you dodged that bullet.”
I laughed. “I suppose if he had a rough four years, it might be true.”
“If we see him, we ignore him. He doesn’t exist. We’ll pretend he’s invisible. He doesn’t matter.”
“I can’t believe he’s back.” I inhaled deeply and let it out, hoping some of the tension I felt would go with it.
Capri grinned. “And he lives next door.”
I glared at her. “You are not helping.”
“Sorry.”
“I don’t feel like you’re sorry.”
She shrugged. “The house is huge. You probably won’t even see him.”
“I don’t want to go to the bonfire,” I said.
“No. Don’t do that. Don’t hole up and hide. If he’s in town, so what? This is your town. You get to party when and where you want.”
“I’m not in the mood.”
“Which is exactly why you need to go. We need to find you a man so you don’t even think about him. He’s nobody. You need a hot summer fling that obliterates him from memory.”
If only it was that easy. Colt Anderson was not the kind of man that was easily forgotten. It had taken me two years to move on. And just hearing his name sent me right back to the days where he never showed up for me. For us.
I straightened and patted my face dry with a paper towel.
It was safer with him far away in Texas. If we didn’t have physical distance between us, I would have to create distance. No way was I falling for him again. Not after how badly it hurt the last time. Not after how much I wanted…
I shook my head.Not going down that road right now.
Capri put her hand on my shoulder and offered me a soft smile in the mirror. “You good?”
I have to be.
CHAPTER 2
COLT
Istepped off the private jet and breathed in the briny sea air. I hadn’t smelled that air in four years. A flood of memories rolled over me. The same scent that had followed me through every summer of my childhood was carrying me back to a time of long summer days and even longer summer nights. Bonfires and cold beer.
The place felt like home more than Texas did until I figured out I couldn’t be in two places at once.
I told myself it was timing. Distance. Life. But none of those excuses erased the memory of coconut sunscreen and sea salt. I couldn’t make myself forget the way Summer’s smile used to knock the air out of me.
That smile and those sea-glass eyes still haunted me in the best way. No man would ever forget meeting a beautiful mermaid.
“You good, bro?” Cody asked.
I glanced to my left. My brother stood beside me, sunglasses on and looking far too casual. I was stressing out and he looked like he was ready to go tanning.
“Yeah,” I said, running a hand through my hair. “I’m good.”
Cody smirked and shook his head. “She’s probably long gone. Living out her surfer dreams somewhere in Hawaii.”
I would accept the lie. It was easier to believe she’d moved on. I hoped she was happy. Truly.