Anna

I’d planned to offer Sean the note it took me all day to write. A small thanks—not from me, but from Gran. I figured with a hundred people around I could find someone to give it to him. But then I’d managed to make my way backstage, and now he was in front of me, mere feet away, enigmatic smile and piercing azure eyes locked on me like a heat-seeking missile.

Whatever he’d just said, I didn’t hear. I was too lost in the past, in that place I’d avoided for years.

Sean took a blind step toward me and almost got mowed down by a parade of roadies hauling equipment.

“Anna?” His voice was urgent, demanding. But I heard disbelief as well. Like maybe he wasn’t sure it was me. 

I should’ve slipped away. Fallen into step beside the worker bees and headed for the door. 

But Sean muscled his way through before I had the chance. 

“Hey, Sean.” It was all I could manage, and my smile wobbled when the brunette found her way to his side. “I just wanted to…um…” I swallowed hard when her hand curled around his arm, right below the tattoo of the willow tree on his bicep that matched my own. “I wanted to thank you for the roses. For Gran.” 

That knocked Sean out of his haze. “Yeah, I’m so sorry about that.” His hand went to the back of his neck, and then he smiled. “I just can’t believe you’re here.” 

The brunette scowled, expelling a small snort. 

I shook my head, more for her benefit than Sean’s. “Oh, no, I’m not staying.” My attention shifted to the thank you note twisted in my hand, the ink blurred from the sweat on my palm. “Here.” I shoved the card at him, my smile thin and tight lipped. “I’ll let you get back to your plans. It was a great show, by the way.” 

Sean took the card, his fingers latching onto mine. And he didn’t let go. “You can’t stay for a minute?”

The brunette huffed in earnest this time, catching Sean’s attention. He gave her a sidelong glance, annoyed, then shrugged off her hand.

“I’m busy here,” he said to her, curt and dismissive. “Do you mind?” 

She blinked at him, big brown eyes clouded with confusion. “I thought you were taking me to a party at the Four Seasons?”

I took a step back, trying to detach myself from his grip and their conversation, but Sean tightened his hold, long fingers sliding to my wrist.

“Plans change.” He cut his gaze to mine for a second, and even though I didn’t make any gesture of agreement, he turned back to the brunette. “You should run along now.” 

The girl appraised me, then turned a coy smile on Sean. “I told you I don’t mind sharing.” 

My stomach hit the floor with a loud thump, and I was surprised no one heard it.

Adrenaline surged, and I freed myself with one tug. “It was nice seeing you, Sean.” Painful is what it was, and I only hoped my voice didn’t betray me as I spun on my heel. “Thanks again for the flowers.” 

I shot him a smile over my shoulder before ducking in between a group of fans heading for the red exit sign. My breathing came in labored spurts as I rounded the corner into another hallway. 

“Anna!” Hearing Sean’s voice behind me like a doorway to the past and all the pain, I picked up speed. “Anna-baby, stop!”

Anna-baby . . .

Two words. That’s all it took. My steps faltered, time collapsing around me. 

Why did I think I could do this? 

Determined to try, I turned to face Sean’s devastating smile. “Yeah?” 

His breathing was as labored as mine, probably the unspent energy from the show. He ripped a hand through his long hair, staring at me. 

Shifting under his intense scrutiny as his eyes continued their trek from my face to my body, I wrapped my arms around my middle and went for casual. “Someone’s going to scoop Veronica up if you don’t get back there.” 

Sean blinked and then barked out a laugh. “You remember that, huh? Logan still does that you know? All blondes are Betty and all brunettes are Veronica.” 

My heart squeezed at the mention of Logan. I’d seen him for a split second when he’d come off stage, and it had been nearly as bad as seeing Sean. 

I coaxed out a laugh. “Well, I’m sure no one’s complaining.” 

Hell, nobody complained in high school, and Logan wasn’t even a star back then.

Glancing Sean over, I wondered what his term of choice was for the groupies and fangirls. 

Sugar. 

Somehow, I knew that was it. He was fond of the phrase but had never once used it on me. 

Sean’s chuckle died, and his smile lost its luster. “I’m not . . . you know, with that girl. I just met her.” 

As if he knew that was worse, his gaze dropped to his boots, giving me time to take a step backward. 

“I figured,” I said. “Anyway, I should go.”

He looked up, his face unguarded. “Don’t. I mean, unless you have to.” After a beat of silence, he asked, “Are you here alone?” 

Lie. 

My brain issued the command, but before I could follow it, I nodded. “Yeah. Flying solo tonight.” 

Every night.

But Sean didn’t need to know that. In fact, I’d gone to great lengths to ensure that he wouldn’t. I felt the weight of the gold band on my ring finger, fraudulent since I hadn’t worn it in months. 

Sean’s eyes narrowed as he looked past me, biting his lip. Then, out of nowhere, he took my elbow. “Good. Let’s go get a drink somewhere.” 

Without waiting for an answer, he guided us further into the depths of the arena. It took me a few seconds to pump the breaks. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.” 

Running small circles on the inside of my arm with his thumb, Sean gave me a smile that didn’t reach his eyes. “Why? You got a curfew or something?”

His gaze slipped to my left hand, gripping the strap of my purse so tight I could feel the leather digging into my palm. After a pointed look at my wedding band, Sean dragged his eyes to mine and waited for an answer. 

My shoulders sagged in defeat. “No . . . I don’t have a curfew.”

 Sean’s lips turned up at the corners. “Alrighty then. Drinks it is.” 

“I can’t believe you’re rewriting history this way,” I protested with a snort, sloshing Jack and Dr. Pepper over the rim of my glass and onto the plush leather seat in the limo. “You were the one who stalked me. I didn’t show up at any of your classes.”

Maybe it was the booze. I was three drinks in, not a lot in the old days, but right now my entire body was tingling with awareness. With nostalgia. And a hundred other things I didn’t expect and couldn’t name. All I knew was that I was having a good time, and none of our baggage followed us when we’d stepped into the limo. It was like we took the best parts of what we were and left the rest on the curb.

Sean smiled into his sip of beer, a chuckle rumbling from his chest. “Maybe, I don’t remember.” 

The downtown lights poured through the moonroof, accentuating his strong nose and angular jaw. But his eyes were mostly shadowed until he lifted his gaze.

I knew Sean’s face as well as my own, having traced every inch with my fingers in another life, and right now, I longed to do it again. 

Drowning my wild thoughts with another healthy gulp from the crystal glass, I arched a brow. “You really don’t remember?” 

The silver flecks in Sean’s eyes twinkled like tiny sparks in an azure sea. “Of course I do.” He smiled, genuine, almost shy. “I was just kidding. I freely admit,” he sighed, shaking his head, “I was obsessed with you.” 

The weight of his words, unabashedly sincere and wholly unexpected, hit me hard. I’d spent years trying to forget this Sean existed since he’d largely disappeared in the month before he walked out on me. 

Sobered by the thoughts that peeked from the corners of my mind, I shifted my focus to the window and watched the city roll by as the last words Sean had said that night played in a loop.

I’m done. With you and this town. 

And I had to wonder. How did Sean feel about being back here?

Home.

Or maybe he didn’t think of Austin as his home any longer. 

As if he sensed the change, the uncomfortable turn we’d taken on our trip down memory lane, Sean cleared his throat. “Another?” 

I turned to find him motioning to my empty glass. Sean didn’t know what I lightweight I was now. And I didn’t want to tell him. For one night, I wanted to be the girl I was, so I lifted a shoulder in a casual shrug and then held out the tumbler. “Sure.”

Sean’s face lost all expression when his fingers closed around mine. Slowly he turned my hand over, spilling the few drops left in my glass onto my knee. 

Running his thumb over the emerald ring he’d given me on my seventeenth birthday, his brow creased. “You still wear this?” 

The cloudy stone encased in gold filigree was so much a part of me, I didn’t think about taking it off before I left the house. And in my defense, I didn’t plan on seeing Sean, let alone holding his hand. 

“Uh . . . yeah.” I licked my dry lips. “Sometimes.” 

Sean’s eyes met mine, guarded. “How does your husband feel about that?” 

This time when my brain urged me to lie, I didn’t dismiss the order out of hand.

Instead, I misdirected. “He doesn’t really have a say so.” 

Sean stared at me for a long moment, the silver consuming the blue and turning his eyes from azure to turquoise. Without a word, he poured me another drink. 

But something shifted as he handed me the fresh cocktail. Sean no longer stole glances but focused all his attention on my face. “So tell me about where you’re working now.”

My stomach pitched, and I took a long swallow, hoping the alcohol would settle my nerves. “Hollis and Briggs.” 

Sean’s brows crept to his hairline, and I could see the wheels turning in his head. Since I’d promised myself that I’d be as forthright as possible, as feasible, I steeled myself for some type of interrogation. 

“You work with Peyton?” 

My best friend’s father, Mr. Hollis, was the managing partner, but I’d never expressed any desire to hang my shingle at their firm, so I could understand Sean’s confusion.

“Yeah.” 

I was hoping Sean would drop it, because really, why did he care?

But instead, he slid forward and clasped his hands around his beer, eyeing me intently. “How did that happen? Hollis is a corporate firm. You had your heart set on practicing civil rights law.”

A spark of humiliation ignited deep inside, engulfing me. My cheeks flamed from the resultant heat. “I’m not a lawyer.” 

Sean’s frosty gaze chilled the air by fifty degrees, his voice dropping to a near growl. “What do you mean you’re not a lawyer?

He knew me too well to believe I’d flunked out or that I’d changed my mind. I’d given up everything to pursue my dream until another more important dream came along. A path I’d never expected. 

Smiling sadly into my drink, I shrugged. “It didn’t work out.” 

Sean’s silence told me more than any words could say, and when I looked up, I could see all the questions dancing above his head in little cartoon bubbles.

But he said nothing, allowing the hurt and disappointment to fill the dead air.

Sean thought he had it all figured out, and I didn’t correct him. 

I finished my drink, the liquor dulling the sharp edges. “I guess I should be getting back,” I said thickly. “Do you think your driver can give me a lift to the Park and Ride?” 

Neon lights illuminated the interior as the limo turned onto Sixth Street, but none were as vibrant as the blue in Sean’s eyes. 

“You can’t drive,” he said, looking away. “You’ve had a few.” 

“I-I wasn’t. I’m just going to grab an Uber or a Lyft. There’s always one close to the Park and Ride.” 

After blowing four hundred bucks on the concert ticket on Stubhub, a seventy-five-dollar cab ride to my house in Cedar Park was out of the question. But yeah, there was no way I could drive. 

When Sean continued to stare out the window, I took that as a no, and dug my phone out of my purse.

“Where are you headed? I’ll just have the Uber pick me up there.” 

“The Four Seasons.” 

Sean’s hand came down on mine as soon as I swiped my finger over the screen. His familiar scent invaded me as he leaned into my space, making me think stupid thoughts. But unless I jumped to the other seat, there was nowhere for me to go. 

I blinked up at him. “What?”

Despite the lingering anger in his gaze, his thumb swept over mine. “You don’t need a ride. I’ve got a suite. And I’d really like to finish this discussion there.” 

It was more of a demand than an invitation. And though I’d already revealed more than I intended to, someday when our paths crossed again, I wanted Sean to remember this night. To know that I hadn’t run from his questions. 

“Okay.”