I haven’t seen Lee in so damn long. A big part of me wants to reach out and touch him, just to be sure it’s really him and I haven’t actually lost my damn mind and started hallucinating. But my sense of self-preservation won’t let me do that.
So, I keep my arms wrapped securely around Arabella’s little body, and my eyes focus anywhere but on him. He’s always been able to read me like no other. If I maintain eye contact for too long, he’ll know exactly how much this small interaction is affecting me.
My nerves are going into overdrive beneath my skin just from his proximity. And he’s not even standing that close to me. Simply knowing he’s in town is enough to send them skittering like a kitten hopped up on catnip.
I bite my bottom lip and glance down, and oh, dear God—I’m wearing mismatched shoes. They aren’t even in the same shoe family. How did this happen? The one on my right foot is a blue Converse and the left is a strappy tan sandal.
My teeth sink deeper into my lip. What must I look like to him ... My face crumples.
“If I knew approaching you would bother you so much, Till, I would have stayed away,” Lee says.
“What?” My head jerks up. “Why would you think that?”
He arches a brow at me. “You’re about to chew through your lip. That, and you haven’t said a word in a solid two minutes. It’s pretty clear I’m making you uncomfortable. I should go.”
Shit.
Before I can brace myself for what it will inevitably do to me, I reach out and curl my hand around his forearm, stopping him from walking away. The second our skin connects, a current of electricity shoots through my fingertips.
We’re both struck silent for a moment.
I’m thrown back to the last time I saw him. The day I told him I was pregnant with another boy’s baby. The day he turned away from me, just like he was about to do now. I didn’t stop him then, even though I wanted to more than anything in the world. But I couldn’t.
Without removing my hand, I say the two words I desperately wanted to say back then. “Don’t go.”
Lee’s Adam’s apple bobs as he swallows hard. His eyes bore into mine, searching for God knows what, but I hope he finds whatever it is, because I can’t let him go a second time.
A lot has happened since we went our separate ways, and I want to share it all with him. He was my best friend before we became more, that’s the part I’ve missed the most. I want him back in my life—in any way I can have him.
And then he smiles at me. I feel it all the way down to the tips of my toes.
Happiness blooms in my chest, but did I really have to be wearing mismatched shoes? And as my eyes drift over my body, I cringe. Of all the things I could have thrown on this morning, it had to be one of his old T-shirts.
I slide Ari around in a front piggyback, attempting to hide the band logo that Lee will most certainly recognise. Unfortunately, my three-year-old is not down with my plan.
She squirms in my arms. “Down, Mummy. I wanna get down.”
My arms tighten around her tiny body. “No, baby, you refused to put on your shoes this morning, remember? And the floor is yucky.” Her eyes narrow on me, and I narrow mine right back. The sass is strong in this one.
Ari resumes squirming, so much so that my grip on her slips. Lee moves fast, catching her before she reaches the ground. He swoops her up in his arms and settles her on his hip. The little flirt throws her arms around his neck, burrows her face in close, and declares, “You saved me!”
Lee strokes her hair. “Shh, you’re okay, pretty girl. I got you.”
A coy smile tips her lips and she glances at me from under her lashes. I roll my eyes. Yep, total flirt. She’s playing him so hard and he has no idea. But I’m not going to say jack about it since it’s distracting him from my shirt situation.
Or so I thought.
Lee’s eyes home in on me, or more specifically, my chest. His big palm continues stroking Ari’s hair, but those crystal-blue eyes sparkle with interest. “Is that my old Blink 182 shirt?”
I scoff. “No.”
His brow arches and his lips quirk. “I think it is.”
“You’re not the only one who likes Blink, you know.”
He chuckles then steps closer to me. My breath catches in my throat—he smells so good, like summer rain and man. His eyes lock on mine, and before I know what he’s doing, his head tips and he peers over my shoulder.
Crap balls, the stain. I shove his chest. “What are you doing?”
When his attention moves back to my face, I know I’m busted. His gorgeous lips kick up in a killer smirk. I swallow at the memories that that look brings to the forefront of my thoughts.
“That is most definitely my shirt,” he states. “I spilt bleach on the back, right in the middle, the one and only time Mum got me to do the washing.”
Well, shit. I had forgotten about that stupid stain. I decide playing it cool is the way to go. Shrugging, I say, “That proves nothing. I could have spilt bleach on my shirt too, you know. I’m awfully clumsy sometimes.”
Lee snorts. “Right.” He shakes his head and smiles at me again. His teeth are so freaking white I bet they glow in the dark.
While I’m distracted by his pearly whites, he reaches for my hair before twirling a loose strand around his finger. “I like the pink,” he murmurs.
“Thanks,” I whisper, not sure what else to say.
“Mummy, I gotta pee!” Sailor calls, tugging on the back of my tee.
Lee releases my hair. Taking a step back, he nods to Sailor, “It was good to meet you, little man. I’ll let you go take care of business.” He hands Ari over to me then strokes her cheek once she’s back in my arms. “I’ll see you around, pretty girl.”
“Bye, Lee,” Ari says, smiling her biggest, brightest smile at him.
When his gaze moves to mine, I bite my lip.
“It was good to see you, Till,” he says quietly. “I’ve missed you.”
My eyes sting with tears I refuse to let fall. “I’ve missed you too.” Those four words don’t come close to how I really feel. But for now, they’ll do. “I better go.”
He nods. “I’ll be seeing you real soon,” he says with a wink then strides away.