I wasn’t a fan of drop-in guests, and so I considered telling Alex to have the woman, whoever she was, make an appointment. Chances were that it was a journalist or someone with a crazy business idea they wanted to pass by me to see if Raven Industries would want to invest. However, a journalist could offer good PR for the company, and a would-be entrepreneur could often be counted on for some entertainment. Seeing the visitor would be a good distraction and fill the time before my next meeting.
“Show her in.”
Alex’s brows lifted as if she’d been expecting me to send the visitor away. But she nodded and left to get the visitor.
As I waited, I looked over the final numbers for Jet and started to put them back in the file when the air in the room changed. A familiar scent filled my nose and my heart swelled. I jerked my head up, and holy fuck, she was there. Beth. Good Christ, she was even more beautiful than I remembered, with her blonde hair and dark blue eyes.
Immediately I was back to six years ago, loving her on the beach. Using my hands and my body to let her know I didn’t just want to fuck her, but I wanted all of her. Her love. That night when we finally made love, I planned out my future with her, starting with telling my family. I wanted to bring her back to New York with me and then tell Ben how I felt about her. I had us married with a brood of kids. I was coaching my kids, both boys, and girls, in soccer and baseball. At night, I was loving her, making more babies. We were going to live the dream.
Before the sun had risen the next day, my father made me throw those dreams away.
I shook my head of the memories and the dream, unsure about what to do. I knew I wanted to touch her; first, to make sure she was real and not a hallucination, and second, because I so fucking missed touching her.
But I walked away from her without a word, and my attempts to reach her when guilt and grief nearly brought me to my knees, went unanswered. So, I could only guess that this wasn’t going to be some sort of movie-style reunion where we confessed our love and finally got our happily ever after. Her expression didn’t suggest she was happy to see me or longing for me. No, she looked hesitant and uncertain.
“Beth.” I finally managed to croak out. As if remembering my manners, I stood and motioned for her to sit in the chair in front of my desk.
I watched as she moved toward me and took a seat. Jesus, she was still the most beautiful woman in the world. Her blonde hair was a bit shorter, but still long enough for a man to run his fingers through. Her piercing blue eyes looked weary but determined, perhaps a little annoyed and even angry. I suppose she had a right to be. I’d fucked her on the beach and then left her the next day. I was the clichéd douchebag.
I tried to contact her and explain, but she changed her number and never responded to my letter. I heard through the grapevine she’d gone to Europe to live with her mom and go to school there instead of Princeton. I always wondered if that was her dad’s doing to keep her from me.
I considered asking Ben for help in reaching her but eventually decided that I didn’t want to disrupt our relationship as we built the club. And so I let her go, hoping my mother, the one person I confided in, had been right that while what I felt for Beth had been real, we were both young and had so much living to do. She said I’d meet someone else someday. I’d eventually look back on my time with Beth as a sweet summer romance, but that when I was older I’d find lasting love.
So far, she was wrong. No woman I’d met since Beth made me want more than just the physical pop of an orgasm. Staring at Beth, I realized that whatever connection we’d forged six years ago still bound me to her. But looking at her now, it didn’t seem like the time to tell her that.
She opened her mouth to speak and then shut it, and her cheeks flushed. It reminded me of the first time I kissed her. God, she tasted so sweet. I remember feeling drunk on her taste. I wanted to taste more; all of her. Eventually, I tasted most of her, except that one sweet place between her thighs.
Since she seemed to be struggling with how to start, I decided I would. “How are you?” I wanted to know why she was there, but I could see this was as awkward for her as it was for me. Then I remembered her father. “I was sorry to hear about your dad. I was out of town and wasn’t able to pay my respects.” I let Ben know that I was away when I sent my condolences, but he hadn’t responded.