Broken Hart (A Cross Creek Small Town Novel #1) - Kelly Collins Page 0,6
at me after all these years? Something about Roy’s statement wasn’t meshing in my brain. I couldn’t entertain the thought of him standing up to Benji for me while still being mad at me for the past.
Sure, Noah had always been a good guy, but would he defend the honor of a woman who had no honor to speak of?
Dark spots swam before my eyes, and I adjusted the tray in my aching arm while begging myself not to faint.
I was back in Cross Creek, freshly dumped, alone, and standing in front of my first love, who stared at me like I was something someone had dragged in on the bottom of their shoe.
Chapter Three
Noah
“She’s almost here.” Quinn’s voice stayed in rhythm with his tap on Ethan’s shoulder. Bayden sat sullenly after his conversation with Angie, but my eyes were on Kandra.
Tomorrow was the anniversary of the most tragic loss of my life, and it coincided with the woman I’d loved—the one who tore my heart out—showing back up in our hometown.
Could my day get any worse?
What next? Was I about to fall out of my chair from a heart attack? An aneurysm, maybe?
I finished my beer and watched her approach. Her “deer in the headlights” expression didn’t change one bit as she inched our way. She pressed her full, red lips together into a tight line, then released them. When the blood rushed back, they appeared redder—the color of succulent overripe strawberries.
Kandra knew all the tricks of the trade. The woman who left wanting to be a photographer became a model instead, so the whole lip thing was no accident. How many men fell for those soulful eyes and kissable lips?
I scrubbed my face with my palm. What did it matter? Everything she ever told me, everything she’d claimed to aspire to, was all bullshit. I could put a rock in a pretty box, but at the end of the day, it was still just a rock. Pretty on the outside doesn’t mean the inside matches.
I had nothing against attractive women or modeling as a profession, but I didn’t like being lied to, manipulated, or tricked by someone who claimed to love me.
Her aquamarine eyes locked on to my face and silently begged me not to make a scene. How was it that, after all these years, I could still read her expressions, but she obviously never really knew me if she thought I was the kind of guy to cause trouble.
“Be cool.” Quinn elbowed Ethan, who let out a stunned grunt. “But not too cool. She’s Noah’s, remember.”
“She’s not mine,” I grumbled under my breath. Maybe she had been once when we were kids. Back then, I’d given her my heart, but Kandra Sullivan didn’t love men for who they were, she loved men for what they could give her, and I failed to give her the things she thought she needed, so she abandoned me.
She was so close her sweet perfume tickled my nose. It was something citrusy, like tangerines mixed with peaches.
“We have to be at work early.” Ethan’s chair scraped the wooden floor as he pushed back and stood up. I glanced at him as he tossed cash onto the table—more than enough to cover his beers. With a nod, he walked toward the door.
Bayden downed the rest of his beer, thumped the mug on the tabletop, and rose. “I need to get home and grab a shower. I’ve got a hot date tonight.”
“Yeah, with your right hand.” Quinn’s teasing earned him a sharp glare.
Bayden paid his portion and left a tip before heading for the door right on Ethan’s heels.
Quinn flashed me a salute. “I just remembered, I have plans tonight.” He laid a few bills on the table while his gaze slid side to side like the eyes on the Kit-Cat clock. “Have a good one.”
Without another word, or giving me a chance to say anything, he all but ran for the door, leaving me alone.
I turned in time to see Kandra stop in front of me. She inhaled, inflating her ribs—no doubt to make me notice her assets, which were still nice, but I wasn’t going to get sucked into her games ever again.
Standing there, she gripped the tray so tightly her fingers blanched. Her lips curved into a smile that trembled at the corners.
“They sure scattered in a hurry.” Her voice wobbled at first, but quickly gained confidence. “Like mice running from a cat.”