Juicy Rebound (IceCats 1)

“Mine too. My parents told me not to do it. I didn’t listen either.”

Amelia stops abruptly. “What? You were married?”

I slide a bit in the sand before I make eye contact with her. Sadie is thankful for the stop in running; she lies down on the shore and looks up at us. “Yeah. For about three years.”

“Me too.” She eyes me. “How long have you been divorced?”

“About a year. We split up over two years ago.”

“So, what? You got married right after you left college?”

I shrug, a tad bit embarrassed. “Like a month. I knew her for three weeks before we got married. My parents were pissed, but they supported me. In the end, they were right, and I almost lost my dog.”

Her eyes widen. “What do you mean? I thought Sadie didn’t like females.”

“My ex set my house on fire and left my dog. She claims it was a grease fire, but I don’t believe her. I think she just didn’t want me to have the house because she wasn’t living there.”

Her jaw is open, having dropped halfway through my story. “Wow, you married a winner.”

“Yeah, and the kicker is, she left me. She told me I wasn’t good enough for her anymore. I came home to find everything gone and a note with where I could send her mail and alimony. Joke was on her. She signed a prenup.”

Wow, aren’t I Chatty Cathy? I’m not usually this open about my divorce. Only Nico, Ryan, and my parents know the details. In my defense, though, Amelia makes me nervous, and when I’m nervous, I start talking. Half the time, I have no clue what I am saying. She makes it so easy, while also making me shake with nerves. I know the sweat dripping down my back now isn’t from running. It’s nice and cool out, and I’m honestly not even going that hard. I’m scared I’ll trip and fall if I did since I’m staring at her so hard. Maybe I’m a bit too eager here? But then, if I had been this enthusiastic back in college, maybe she’d have picked me over Drew, and neither of us would have gone through shitty marriages and divorces. Not saying I want to marry her, but I could have saved us a lot of trouble.

“Holy moly.” The awe in her voice steals my attention from my insane and unjust thoughts. She doesn’t even seem to like me like that. I really need to remember that. But I can’t shake the feeling that she liked me enough to kiss me back then, and if I haven’t forgotten those feelings, surely she hasn’t.

“Right?”

“Do you miss her?”

“As much as I miss the mole they just removed off my ass.”

When she lets out a loud cackle, I grin. “Shut up,” she demands through laughter, but I shake my head.

“Seriously, it was big and nasty. I was self-conscious about it.”

She’s snorting at this point, bent over, and the smile I wear is genuine and wide. “You’re insane.”

“For real, it was scary. Thought it was cancerous at one point.”

“Good Lord.”

I smile. “But thankfully, it’s gone. Like her.” I shrug as I bend down, petting Sadie behind her ears. “When she left, I was heartbroken. I thought we were meant to be and all that jazz, but she kept demanding money. Like I owed it to her. Then she tried to come back, and when I wouldn’t take her back, she set my house on fire. So now, I couldn’t care less about her. She still calls, though.”

“She does?”

“Yeah, but I ignore her mostly.”

“That’s absolutely crazy.”

“Yup, that’s what I get for marrying someone I only knew for three weeks. Thankfully, I listened to my dad and had the prenup drawn up.”

“For sure. We had one too, but it was more to protect me.”

“Ah, because of your dad’s money and businesses.”

She nods sullenly. “Yeah. That’s probably the only thing I listened to my uncle about.”

“Good you did,” I say with a nod. “But ya know, it sucks. I’m divorced, and I never thought that would happen. Though, at the same time, I’m glad it played out the way it did. I wasn’t happy.”

She looks up at me through her lashes. “You weren’t?”

“No, it was rough, and she was crazy-controlling. But now that she’s gone, I am happy.” We share a long look, one that only two people coming from the same shit can. With a shrug, I smile. “Wow, sorry for unloading my crazy. I was supposed to be listening to you.”

“It’s okay, and honestly, you don’t have to listen to mine,” she says, her eyes burning into mine.

“But I want to. We’re friends.”

Chapter Six

Amelia

We’re friends.

I don’t have friends. I only have family.

“Chandler, we don’t even know each other.”

“Sure we do. Your brother is my best friend. Even if we haven’t hung out or seen each other in a while, we still know each other. We’re cool,” he insists, and I dig my toe into the sand.