Chapter 3
CHAPTER THREE
SLOANE
"You didn't have to come with me." I glanced to where Anita sat in the passenger’s seat of my Jeep.
"I wasn't going to let you do this on your own."
Anita acted like she didn't care about people, but I knew better. It was incidents like this one that proved me right.
"He's not going to be happy to see me."
Anita shrugged. "Who gives a shit? You did what was best for you. It's not your responsibility to make him feel better."
That was easy for Anita to say. She didn't rip her soulmate’s heart to shreds after promising him they were endgame. "It's not that simple."
"Maybe not, but you have two options. Accept that he's going to be pissed and there's nothing you can do about it, or you tell him the truth."
Just the thought of telling Hayes the truth had stomach acid threatening to crawl up my esophagus.
I swallowed the bile down and shook my head vigorously.
"I can't do that. He's going to blame himself.
" I knew my ex well enough to know there was no scenario where he wouldn't shoulder the blame for what happened to me.
"Probably, but you can't control how people respond to a situation."
I wish I could have Anita's carte blanche attitude toward life. There were times my overthinking got so bad that it drove me insane. "No, I can't, but I can save him from the truth, and that's exactly what I'm going to do."
There was no changing my mind. Ten years ago, I made the most difficult decision of my life, and I was sticking by it.
"Okay. Let's go inside and figure out how he knows Mason."
Anita didn't give me a chance to procrastinate any longer before she slipped out of the passenger’s seat and stood in the library parking lot.
I managed to trace Hayes back to this very location after he met with Mason.
I couldn't fathom why he would spend so long in a public library, but from what I could see, he had yet to leave.
Letting out a deep sigh, I shut the vehicle off and climbed out. Anita met me near the front of the Jeep.
"You look like a woman on death row, walking to your execution."
I wanted to say that was exactly how I felt, but I kept the thought to myself. "Let's just get this over with."
When I snuck away from Hayes, it was with the knowledge that I would never see him again.
Despite how much it hurt, the only reason I got through those years was my confidence in never seeing him again meant the pain couldn't get any worse.
Clearly, the universe felt my actions deserved a giant fuck you.
The small-town library was dead in the center of town. It was sandwiched nicely between a bank on the left and the courthouse on the right. Growing up, this place was the perfect example of small-town America, which I wanted to call home. Now, it just reminded me of everything I couldn't have.
The inside of the library was small. An unmanned circulation desk sat right in the middle. To the left was a bank of computers. Behind the desk were rows upon rows of books, and nestled to the right were a few tables that people could work at.
The man we were looking for sat at one of those tables.
His dark brown hair was cut short on the sides and a little longer on the top.
I knew from our time together just how soft those locks were as they slid through my fingers.
A neatly trimmed beard covered his strong jaw.
It was a new addition, and I wondered if it would be soft under my palms.
His gaze was focused on the book in front of him, so I was deprived of seeing if his hazel eyes still sparked with the same mischief as when we were younger.
It's now or never.
That was the only pep talk I allowed myself as I stepped closer to the table and made my presence known.
"Hello, Hayes. It's been a long time."
HAYES
I slammed my eyes shut and prayed. For what I didn't know. I was either hallucinating and the voice wasn't the same one that haunted me all these years. Or after so long, I was finally getting my chance for the closure I so desperately needed. I had no idea which one I preferred.
There was one thing I knew for sure. I wasn't a coward. I peeled my eyes open and got a good look at the woman whose voice matched my ex, and for a moment, I soaked everything in.
Same piercing blue eyes that reminded me of the pristine waters of the Caribbean Ocean.
The same pale complexion with a dusting of freckles along her nose and the apple of her cheeks.
Her once blonde hair was now strands of silver.
Her pert nose boasted a blue stud that matched her irises perfectly.
But it was the way she dressed that changed drastically since the last time I saw her. Gone were the summer dresses and sandals. This new version of Sloane appeared to prefer cargo pants, band tees, and chunky boots.
"Sloane." I glanced down to her ring finger and found it free of jewelry. Somehow that made matters even worse. There was a time when she wore my handmade ring proudly. The lack of it just further proof I was nothing but a distant memory. "To what do I owe the pleasure of this visit?"
Sloane raised her left brow. "Seriously? The Hayes I remember would make fun of someone who spoke like that. In fact, I distinctly remember you making fun of me most days because of my hoity-toity speech as you’d liked to call it."
I had teased her about the way she spoke.
But it was actually one of the things that drew me to her in the beginning.
The boy from the wrong side of the tracks wanted to dirty up the prim and proper princess.
To see if I could get her to let her hair down and have fun.
Little did I know that same princess would become my whole world.
"Yeah, well, people change after nearly a decade apart." I waved my hand at her. "You clearly did."
The woman standing in front of me didn't look like she came from a million-dollar family. That Sloane used to spend her free time in country clubs. This new version looked like she belonged in a biker gang.
"I'm not here to walk down memory lane. Tell me how you know Mason Dunkin?"
I kept my face and tone neutral when I replied, "Who?" I didn't break eye contact with my ex, despite knowing her friend was staring a hole into the side of my head. I wondered who she was and if she was the reason Sloane had changed so much.
Sloane huffed as she shoved a picture in my face. "The man you had coffee with earlier today."
I studied the picture for a moment. I would've looked guilty if I didn't. It was useless to deny her question when the evidence was literally there in her hand, but that didn't mean I couldn't skirt the truth.
I was a proficient liar after all. A side effect of having parents who broke the law more often than not.
"Oh, that man." I snapped my finger. "I never caught his name. He asked if he could sit with me because it was so busy in there. Being the nice guy that I am, I said yes."
Sloane scoffed at my response. A fair assessment perhaps, considering the man I was in my younger years. Little did she know I only got worse over time.
"You expect me to believe you spent nearly fifteen minutes with a complete stranger and didn't talk to him the entire time?"
"I never said we didn't talk. On the contrary. The guy didn't shut up. I got the feeling he didn't have many friends. I guess when I didn't tell him to piss off, he considered that an open invitation to tell me his life story."
"What did he say about his life?" The question came from Sloane's friend.
"I didn't catch your name."
The woman wore her jet-black hair in a sleek ponytail. Her intense gray eyes and scowl did a good job trying to intimidate me. And that look probably worked on a majority of the population, but I had faced down scarier people in my life.
"I didn't give it," she answered dryly.
Talk about a winning personality. I think it was safe to assume whoever the woman was, she didn't make friends wherever she went. "I don't make a habit of answering people I don't know." I shrugged the situation off. Two could play this game.
"That's fine. I have other ways of getting the answers out of you."
Well now, I was intrigued. I leaned in conversationally even though I was sitting at the table, and the two women were standing over me. "Hypothetically speaking. What are these other ways you speak of?"
"I'd start by flaying…"
Sloane slapped her hand over her friend's mouth. "Nope, we're not doing this."
"On the contrary, I would love to hear what your friend has to say."
Was I purposely poking the bear? Yeah, yeah, I was.
Did I fear for my life? Not particularly.
Although, my hackles did rise when I saw the way the woman's eyes flashed with anger.
Every protective instinct in my body went on high alert.
If it came to it, I would step in to protect Sloane in a heartbeat.
I might hate her for what she did to us, but that didn't mean I didn't love her with every ounce of my being at the same time.
"Anita, why don't you wait outside for me?"
Anita. The name suited the woman.
Sloane slowly dropped her hand. Anita didn't take her eyes off me when she answered, "I think I'll stay."
I watched with rapt attention as my ex dropped her chin to her chest and groaned. "You're just going to make this worse."
I was curious why she thought that. Fortunately, I didn't have to wait long to find out.
"Most likely. Slaughtering someone tends to be a bit messy and certainly makes matters worse."
The matter-of-fact tone in which Anita responded was a bit concerning. Something told me it wasn't an exaggeration when she threw out those words.
"You do realize you're in a public building, right? Threats like that tend to be frowned upon by law enforcement. You might not want to say them too loudly."
Anita didn't appear phased by my suggestion. In fact, the next words out of her mouth were further proof she was unhinged. "Don't really care. Besides, I happen to know for a fact I have a good cleaner on retainer who would make the whole ordeal disappear."
Her words gave me pause. Did she know what I did for a living? Was that why she tossed the jab out? Was she trying to see how I responded? I was never more thankful for my poker face than I was right that moment.
"Good to know you have a plan in place." I shoved the chair back from the wooden table and stood up.
"As fun as this chat has been, I have places to be.
" I really didn't, but it was crucial I got away from these two before Sloane realized I was evading the truth.
She was the only person in the world who could read me like a book.
There had been times when we dated that she knew me better than I knew myself.
Sloane stepped in my way. "You didn't answer Anita's question."
"You're right; I didn't. Nor do I plan to. Now if you don't mind, I'd like you to move out of my damn way before I forcibly move you."
Sloane stared me down. Or more accurately, she stared up at me, since I was a good head taller than her. "You wouldn't dare."
I leaned down and bared my teeth. "You sure about that? Ten years is a long-ass time, and I'm not the same boy who used to worship at your feet."
Yes, I was. I would drop to my knees right now and beg her to tell me what led to her leaving me.
She didn't know that though, and I wasn't about to clue her in.
The standoff lasted for a solid minute before Sloane stepped to the side and let me pass.
It wasn't until I put some good distance between us before I spoke, "Just so we're clear.
You lost the ability to question me when you walked out of my life.
Think about that the next time you want to hunt me down and make threats. "
I forced myself to walk away. If I didn't, I would've run back and pulled Sloane into my arms. I knew my words hurt her.
That was intentional. I needed to reinforce the walls around my heart that began to crumble the moment she stepped back into my life.
If I didn't, I would be setting myself up for heartbreak once again.
Because there was no scenario where I got my dream girl.
And if I was being honest with myself, I didn't even think that girl existed anymore.