Sheepishly, I bite my lip. “If I tell you, don’t freak out. It’s not something anyone knows.”
Her eyes light up. “Is it scandalous?”
I roll my eyes. “Only you would ask that. And no, it’s not scandalous. I ran into someone at the store and he walked with me here.”
She gasps. “Who?”
“Brennan McLean.”
The second I say his name, her mouth opens and then closes. She’s at a loss for words which isn’t normal for her. “Oh, my dear ever-loving God. The Brennan McLean?”
I laugh. “Yep. He also happens to be my ex-boyfriend. We grew up together.”
Her eyes widened so far, I thought they’d pop out of her head. “Shut the front door. You can’t be serious?”
I nod. “I am. We dated in high school before he got famous. He’s in town visiting his parents and it just so happens that he’s upstairs right now with a guy we graduated with.”
She jumps to her feet and squeals. “Holy shit, this is insane. My best friend used to date Brennan McLean.” After her squeal fest is over, she takes my wine glass away and pulls me to my feet. “What did you two talk about? Were you all super excited to see him?”
I shrug. “Of course, I was excited to see him. It’s been so long. We just talked about our lives in general.”
She fans herself. “Girl, if that was me, I’d be screaming from the rooftops.”
I shake my head. “It’s not like that between us.”
“Did you love him?” she asks.
There’s no hesitation in my answer. “Yes,” I admit honestly. “We were young, but our love was more real than anything I’d ever felt. He was my first in more ways than one.”
Her mouth gaped and she gasped. “You had sex with Brennan McLean. I don’t know if I hate you right now or if I’m just totally jealous. That’s so hot.”
She makes me laugh. “It was a long time ago. I was his first as well. I’m sure he’s gotten a lot of practice in since then.” I don’t even want to think about all the women he’s been with.
“Do you think you’ll see each other again?”
I look at her and sigh. “Don’t know. We exchanged numbers but I doubt he’ll call.”
She glances over at her bedside clock and smiles. “You know what? I think you should go to him. It’s New Year’s for goodness sake. Think of it like Las Vegas. What happens on New Year’s, stays on New Year’s. What do you have to lose?”
Everything. Things with Brennan couldn’t be simple like that. There’s too much history. With Zeke, I could handle a one-night stand, but with Brennan …
“I don’t think I can,” I say.
Emerson grabs my shoulders and squeezes. “Yes, you can. If you don’t, you’ll regret it for the rest of your life. You might never get this opportunity again? He’s upstairs right now.” She shakes me. “Go to him, Natalie.”
I want to more than anything, but I’m scared. She has a point though. I might never see him again. If one night is all we have, then so be it. I have to take a chance.
I blow out a nervous breath and stand. “Okay, I’m going. Wish me luck.”
She squeals again and hugs me so hard I can barely breathe. “Good luck. I want all the details later.”
Grabbing my coat, I rush out of her bedroom and out the door to the elevators down the hall. My hands shake as I pull out my phone, but I don’t have the courage to call him yet. As soon as the elevator doors open, I step in and take a deep breath as I hit the button for the floor above.
“What the hell am I doing?” I groan.
Heart racing, I shut my eyes as the elevator comes to a stop and the doors open. The second I open my eyes, my heart stops completely. Standing right in front of me is Brennan looking just as surprised as I am.
“Brennan,” I breathe. “What are you doing?”
He smirks. “I could ask you the same thing.”
5
Brennan
My hand rests on the wall, waiting for the elevator to arrive on my floor. It seems slow, or maybe it’s because I’m impatient. It could also be because I have a million thoughts running through my mind right now, mostly about what I’m going to say to Natalie when I see her again or how I’m going to weasel my way into the party downstairs. Of course, I know once I knock on the door, whoever answers will let me in simply because of who I am. Celebrity status goes a long way in that regard.
The metal doors open slowly. I see the snow boots first, followed by jeans and a sweater. Typical winter wear in Boston. Funny thing is, people think it’s cold in Los Angeles right now, and it’s not, at least not compared to the North East.