02

She frowned. « I am heading to the other side of town. »

« You don’t give a shit about the leaves. »

« No ? Fine. I wanted to see my grandmother’s house. That’s all. » Her hackles went up, though she couldn’t say exactly why. Maybe because he looked kind of smug, like he’d just blown her nature-loving cover. « Is that a crime ? »

What right did he have to criticize her when apparently, he’d pulled over when he’d seen her, just to talk to her ? That must’ve been what he’d done, though it was surprising that he’d recognized her, and she was at a total loss to explain what he was doing in Willow Heights in the first place. As stealthily as she could, she gave one of her thighs a pinch, just in case she was dreaming.

« Well, this property’s not posted, so no. If I told you to leave, though … then you’d be trespassing. »

« Oh, right. What are you – the caretaker, come to run the trespassing out-of-towner off the grounds ? »

A hint of a smile curled one side of his mouth, but his jaw was so strong and darkened by stubble that it looked more like a snarl. « You’re no out-of-towner, even if you did run away. And I’m no caretaker. You’re standing on my lawn. »

« You’re messing with me. » She shook her head. « Who bought this place, really ? » It wasn’t like her mom had shared that information with her – she’d heard, only recently, from her cousin, that her mother had finally found a buyer for the house she’d inherited.

« I did. »

A million reasons why he had to be lying filled her head – he was supposed to be somewhere far, far away, he couldn’t afford it, he’d never want to live here. Would he ? Did he ?

Still, she believed him, but only because she knew Donovan Kemp didn’t lie.

Thunder rumbled overhead, and raindrops pelted her head and shoulders, as if on cue.

« It’s gonna be a bad storm, » he said. « Flash flood warnings on the radio have businesses closing and everything. Seems like we’ve had nothing but bad storms since summer. »

« I wouldn’t know. » So, even though the house had only sold two months ago, he’d been in town since summer, at least. « How long has it been since you moved back to Willow Heights ? »

« Six months. »

« Oh. » Her lame reply came out softer than she’d intended it to. He’d been back in town for six months ? She hadn’t suspected, hadn’t dared to hope for it or dread it. « I thought you were off being a soldier. » Years ago, the news that he’d joined the Army had reached her through a dying grapevine just weeks after she’d left the state for college. Had it only been a rumor ?

Flashbacks of the agony the news had brought rained down on her, sharp and hot. To think that she’d tortured herself over a rumor, hiding from her roommate in their little bathroom, taking extra showers just so she could cry without being seen or heard…

His expression didn’t change, but his voice hardened. « Marine. »

« What ? »

« A marine, not a soldier. There’s a difference. »

« So you were in the military. And now… »

« A standard contract is only four years. Surely a college graduate can do the math. »

« You could’ve reenlisted. » She’d imagined him doing so for some reason, maybe because Willow Heights had held nothing for him. At any rate, it’d never crossed her mind that he’d return.

« Four years was enough. »

She didn’t ask why. He was radiating a strange energy, intense and dark, like the clouds overhead. His thin t-shirt had quickly been soaked, though he seemed impervious to the discomfort. Semi-transparent, the cotton clung to his torso and shoulders, revealing … everything.

As casually as she could, she swept a dampened lock of her dark brown hair out of her eyes, tucking it behind her ear so she could see more clearly. Specifically, so she could see him more clearly.

His shoulders were as broad as ever, deep olive skin stretched taut over pecs that looked like something out of a fitness magazine and abs that rippled. Even the trail of dark hair that led to his groin was visible, thick between slashing muscles that showcased his athletic hips. Clementine’s mouth watered, and she swallowed, grateful for the thunder that drowned out the sound.

God, she’d been cut off from so much at college, then during graduate school and even her internship. Men who looked like Donovan just hadn’t been present strolling around campus or working in the firm she’d interned at. The men she’d known then had been softer, smaller, their thoroughly average bodies shrouded in sweatshirts or suits. Getting an eyeful of Donovan in a wet t-shirt was like being struck by lightning.

« You going to stand in my driveway all day ? » He raised one brow over the rim of his sunglasses.

« You going to wear your sunglasses all day ? » she shot back, unwilling to answer his question … unable to just walk away. « It’s so dark out here it might as well be evening. »

He peeled away the glasses, and the shiver that raced down her spine had nothing to do with nearby lightning and everything to do with awareness. Unlike his body, his eyes hadn’t changed. They were the same dark grey she remembered, the color that always made him look like he was brooding over something. With his black hair and slashing brows, brown – like her own eyes – would’ve been the expected color. Grey was always a surprise, no matter how many times she met his gaze.

« Do you want to come inside ? »

His invitation sent another bolt of something down her spine. A sense of longing rose up inside her – for the home she loved and longed to revisit, for a past that had included Donovan – but was quickly suppressed by common sense. « I should go. I need to check out my new place. »

Something flashed in his eyes – surprise ? « You’re moving back ? »

She nodded. « For the time being. »

« You ran away to college in another state just so you could move back to a wide spot in the road that you hate seven years later. » His statement was flat, not a question, and dripped with disbelief.

Ran away. It grated on her more every time he said it like that. « It’s not any weirder than you coming back and buying my grandmother’s house for God knows what reason. »

He shrugged like he was above explaining his bizarre choices, broad shoulders rising and falling, straining the wet cotton that clung to his skin.

Two could play at that game – and she was fully aware that her decision to return, even temporarily, was bizarre, even if it made sense on a strictly practical level. « I have to go. This rain is getting ridiculous. » She spoke the words even though her feet felt glued to the ground, resisting as she willed herself to climb into her car.

Donovan was like a planet of his own, a heavenly body in every sense of the word, complete with his own gravitational pull, which she’d never been able to resist – another thing that hadn’t changed.

« You sure you don’t want to come in and dry off ? » He broke eye contact, his gaze dipping below her collarbones before coming up again.

Heat blazed across her cheeks even before she looked down.