Chapter 11
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Dylan
I’m not arrogant enough to think Eden walked into this coffee shop with the hope that I’d stop in before work.
Kurt’s office is a block over on Lexington. I see his staff here regularly, including the man himself.
It was purely coincidence that we ended up here at the same time.
Typically, I’m in my office before seven. The clock is approaching nine, but Barrett’s in town, so work can wait.
I take a seat at an empty table by the window. Barrett offered to grab two coffees after Eden took off. I don’t know if he thought I was going to give chase as she pushed her way through the crowded café to the exit.
This isn’t the time or the place to corner her.
Barrett places a large cup in front of me before he takes the seat across the table. “Eden looks great.”
I take a sip of the black coffee. It’s potent. I look forward to the jolt of caffeine it offers.
Barrett went to sleep after his second glass of scotch last night. I stayed up staring at the yearbook picture of Eden.
Jesus, she was such an angel back then.
Pure and innocent. Smart and kind.
I used her to hurt someone else, never considering the toll that my actions would have.
“I can’t believe she’s a lawyer.” He rests his back against the wooden chair. “She was smart enough to get it done. She skipped ahead a grade, didn’t she?”
“In middle school,” I say with a sharp nod.
It was never what Eden wanted. We met during sophomore year when she transferred to the honors program in our school. She felt out of place. She was out of place. She was too good for all of us.
“I didn’t see a ring on her finger.” Barrett glances at two women who pass our table. “Has she mentioned Clark at all?”
Fifteen years have passed, but the sound of that name still makes my fist clench.
Clark Dodson symbolizes everything I hate in this world.
He was the quarterback of the rival high school’s football team, the dick every girl wanted, and the reason Eden planned to go to Ohio State instead of coming to New York to study at Juilliard.
Barrett’s phone buzzes in the pocket of his jeans. He fishes it out while I take another sip of coffee. I don’t want to discuss Clark. I try to forget he exists most of the time. I would have taken that same approach in high school, but the bastard was in my face all the fucking time.
“I need to make a few calls.” Barrett skims his finger over the screen of his phone. “I won’t be able to walk you to your office. I’m a shitty date.”
“You’re a busy COO.” I chuckle. “Thanks again for the yearbook.”
“There are things I need to say… want to say about Eden.” He ignores the string of chimes coming from his phone. “I can tell that you’re not ready to talk about it. I get it. If or when you are, I’ll hop back on a plane.”
“I need to figure some things out.”
“It’s not my place to say this, but you know I don’t give a shit about my place. You need to hear this one thing.”
I laugh. “Say what you need to say.”
“You can’t change the past, so stop looking back.”
“I fucked up her life.” I squint at him. “She’s got to be pissed about that.”
“She didn’t look at you like she’s pissed.” He glances at his ringing phone before he sets his gaze back on me. “I didn’t see any of that in her expression.”
“You figured all of that out after seeing her for less than a minute?”
He holds up a hand in surrender. “I’m not an expert on all things Eden Conrad, but I like to believe I have some insight when it comes to women. She wouldn’t have gotten into bed with you if she were holding a grudge or if she hated you.”
“Hate sex is a thing.”
His lips curve into a grin. “That I’m an expert on.”
I laugh aloud.
“Look.” He taps his palm on the edge of the table. “You have no idea what the past fifteen years of Eden’s life look like. You let her down one night of her life. It’s time to stop beating yourself up over it, because it sure as hell seems like she’s doing just fine.”
He means well, but even though Barrett is my oldest and closest friend, I’ve never told him every detail about the night of our graduation party. He has no clue that I made a decision that night that has impacted Eden’s life to this day.
Only one other person on this earth knows what the fuck I did that night.
Clark Dodson, Eden’s first boyfriend and the guy she wanted to marry, knows my dirty little secret.
I exit the café, my hand hovering over the screen of my smartphone. My contact list is open, and it would take only one touch for me to call Tony Girano.
Tony’s the private investigator I keep on retainer. I run the man ragged, but he’s not complaining.
The apartment he purchased in Murray Hill two years ago was financed primarily by the monthly checks I place in his hand.
In exchange, he brings me concrete proof that the soon-to-be exes of my clients haven’t lived up to their vows to love, honor, and cherish.
Remaining faithful is something too many people struggle with much to my benefit.
I’ve been entertaining the idea of using Tony to bring me up to speed on where the hell Clark Dodson is and whether he’s a factor in Eden’s life.
I’ve resisted the urge until now because I didn’t want confirmation that he was living the dream with Eden and a couple of kids who looked like her by his side.
Eden made it clear to me on the last night of high school that Clark was her future.
I pocket my phone, praying with everything I am that he’s part of her past and that my secret remains there too.