Neve had started seeing him everywhere. He was in the supermarket that she went to, at the gas station she pumped her gas at, in the library that she picked up Ivy’s books at. Finally, when she saw him at her hair dresser, she called him out on it.

She dragged him out, cape and all, onto the sidewalk, ignoring the bitingly cold winter air. “Are you following me?”

He looked like he was about to grin and laugh, but one warning look from her and his face straightened. “I’m not following you, Neve. It’s a small town. I needed a haircut.”

“And gas for your nonexistent car?” she retorted, looking at him pointedly.

This time, he did grin. “Yup.”

She shook her head, saw his eyes follow the trail of her auburn hair as it fell back on her shoulders. “Don’t look at me that way.”

“What way?” he asked, staring at her in exactly that way.

“Like…like…you still feel something,” she muttered, her body starting to heat just from being near him, in spite of the chill in the air. What was it about him that could still make her feel this way? That after all this time had passed, made her feel like she was seeing him for the first time? Like she would give him anything, even herself, if he asked?

“I will always feel something for you, Neve,” he confessed with a low, rough voice.

She struggled to remain impassive, keep herself under control. “You can’t just say things like that, Connor. It’s not fair.”

He sighed. “Look, I’m not trying to make this harder than it already is for you – I swear it.”

Just by being here, he was making it hard. Everything about this situation was hard. She could deal with him being in the big city, only ever having to see or hear him on her TV screen. It was harder to avoid him here, in his hometown, with so many memories flitting through her mind. Thoughts of what might have been and what could have been had he not left.

“Just stay away from me,” she said in a tight voice, not wanting to draw attention to them and also not trusting her voice not to shake if it got any louder.

Connor grinned. “Kinda hard to do that when you have my daughter living with you, babe.”

Neve gasped, not just at the mention of their daughter, but also the pet name. She wasn’t ready for this. She was already regretting offering that he could come over tomorrow night and see Ivy.

“Don’t.” she growled.

He groaned. “Then don’t look at me like that.”

“Like what,” she breathed, her mind not fully functioning.

“Like you want me to kiss you,” he whispered, his eyes staring into hers so deep it was like he could see into her soul.

“I do?” she asked, trying to catch her breath, trying to calm her heart rate down.

“You want me to kiss you?” he growled, taking half a step closer to her. So close that she could see his nostrils flare as he took in her scent. So close that she could see how his pupils dilated until his eyes were almost purely black.

Thankfully, she came to her senses. She took a step back. And then another. And another. Until she was a safe distance away. She mentally shook her head.

What was she doing? She needed to stay away from Connor. Hadn’t she already shown both herself and him that she lacked control around him? And clearly, he couldn’t be counted on to maintain their distance either. “My jacket is inside, and it’s cold outside. I’ve gotta go. I’ll see you Friday.”

He waited a moment, and then nodded. “Yeah, absolutely. I wouldn’t miss it.”

She nodded, going back inside. Right before she walked in the door, she looked back at him. “Well? Didn’t you want to get that haircut?”

She didn’t wait to see the wide grin that she knew so well flash across his face.