Series: Willow Winters
Total pages in book: 17
Estimated words: 15525 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 78(@200wpm)___ 62(@250wpm)___ 52(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 15525 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 78(@200wpm)___ 62(@250wpm)___ 52(@300wpm)
And oh, my heart is going to break. Because just looking at him makes me feel like I'd do anything to be near him, anything to see that smile again.
I'm in trouble.
Huge trouble. The kind of trouble that'll shatter my heart. I just know it. I'll be left with nothing but memories.
A wiser person might turn away and forget Bennet Thompson.
I smile back at him instead.
BENNET
At first, I think I have to be imagining her.
Aubrey Peters, with her doe eyes staring straight at me and her beautiful red lips parted just slightly, proving she’s just as shocked to see me as I am to see her. All I’ve got on is worn blue jeans and a white tee, and this gorgeous woman’s little black dress and red heels put her way above my league.
There's no way Aubrey Peters is standing in my bar. Or--the one I work at since Steve let me bartend until I get settled back in town. There's no way she's standing there with her arm hooked through her friend's, looking at me with a beautiful blush spreading over her cheeks, exactly the way she used to look at me in school.
It takes great effort not to show every emotion on my face and keep my cool. Her friend--Lauren--says something to her, and the two of them come closer.
She's real. Aubrey is standing there, right in front of me, making my heart race all over again. The bar lights shine down on her hair and men on the other side of the bar turn to check her out, and I’m not surprised by the flare of jealousy straight through my chest. She and Lauren are at the bar in a matter of steps. I lean over to take their order, and I swear there's a magnetic pull between us.
"Hi," Aubrey says. I only half-hear the order Lauren places. My hands move automatically to make the drinks, and suddenly Lauren's gone. It's just Aubrey, leaning in too, her face lit up with surprise. "I didn't know you were back in town."
"I am." I open my arms and gesture at the bar. "This is what I do now."
"Flirt with women?"
I give her wide eyes. "Is that what it looks like I’m doing?"
"You're smiling a lot."
I can’t help myself as she sways back and forth in front of me, "I'm smiling at you."
Even though half the ice completely misses the glass,I keep going on the drinks as if I’m not hot and bothered. Aubrey laughs, tossing her hair over her shoulder, and I want to run my fingers through it. I want it so much I could jump over the bar and capture her in my arms, but I don't. I have more self-control than that.
I've been back for nearly two weeks now, working at the bar all week, and I haven't heard anything about her other than she’s settled down in Cedar Lane. Although a quick glance at her finger tells me my definition of ‘settled down’ might be different from what I thought before.
"What have you been up to lately? You come here a lot?"
She grins, her eyes twinkling. "Working. I got a promotion, actually. That's why we're out tonight."
"A promotion?"
"Head Editor." Bree looks so damn proud of herself, and hell if I'm not proud, too. "I didn't realize they'd give it to me, honestly, but I'm thrilled they have."
"Drinks," I say, wanting to ask her a hundred questions about her new job. About her life since I've been gone.
But she picks up the tray I've pushed across the bar at her with a quick, soft thanks.
"It's good to see you," she says over her shoulder as she turns toward her friends and walks away.
I can't keep my eyes off her.
No matter how hard I try, I keep looking back at her table for the rest of the evening. Just being in the same room with her gives me a high like I haven’t felt since I moved.
A few times, I catch her glancing at me. And each time I let an asymmetric grin slip into place.
The bar is busy and loud. People drink and enjoy themselves without stopping, but no matter how many orders I fill, I can't stop watching her. Nobody in this entire bar is as captivating as this woman, and my heart beats fast just to be in the same room as her.
How did I manage to stay away all this time? The memories flash by, college, a start up company and then selling it before being convinced to come back home for family… life is a wild ride but I never expected it to bring me back to her.
It's toward the end of the night when she comes back to the bar, her eyes bright from a night of drinking. She's confident and beautiful and leans right in.