The Rivals - Dylan Allen Page 0,198

swaths of her dark honey skin exposed—at her shoulder, and at her waist. My fingers itch to touch her.

Her deep, wide-set dark brown eyes flare when our gazes meet and I see all the questions in her eyes. But I also see the same longing I’m feeling.

Holy shit, yes. My heart is going to fucking explode and I’m not sure I would even mind.

I was so not ready… I’ve dreamed. I’ve imagined. But all of that falls short to the reality of how beautiful she is. The noise falls away as I take her in.

And memories start flooding me.

Us in my car.

Us on her porch.

Us at CASA.

Us on the phone until the sun came up.

Us saying we loved each other in every way, except for with words.

Her leaving and taking a part of me with her that I’ve never been able to find again.

Fuck.

And she’s standing with the man Joni’s been talking to. The one she’s been trying to introduce me to. His arm rests casually around her waist, but there’s no mistaking the possession and intimacy in that touch. I can’t fucking breathe. Seeing him touch her makes me want to strangle him until he swears he’ll never do it again. I clench my fists at my side and force myself to stand still.

“Kalilah Greer, is that you?” Joni asks in a tone that makes it clear, she’s praying the answer is no.

“Yes.”

“Yes.”

We answer at the same time. But then, we just look at each other, again. My ability to speak seems suspended in the viscous tension that’s gripped me. Joni clears her throat loudly and I shake myself out of my stupor and remember where the fuck I am and I smile apologetically at all of them.

“Sorry, it’s just been a long time… I didn’t expect to see you here, Kal.”

Kal tucks a lock of her thick curls behind her ear and smiles at me. It doesn’t reach her eyes.

“Yeah… I didn’t realize who the bride was until we got here. Paul and Marcel are old friends. When we checked in and I heard the last name Wilde…” she presses her lips together like it hurts to say the name. “So, of course, I knew I’d see you.” Her throat bobs with the effort that steadiness in her voice cost her.

“I had no idea that she was friends with the great Remington Wilde. How auspicious—you’re quite the dark horse, aren’t you?” he says to Kal in a way that feels wrong. He’s smiling at her, his dark eyes twinkling, but there’s a thread of something in his voice that I don’t like. And it’s not just that he’s talking to her.

Before I can think about it much more, he turns to me. “Marcel is a good friend from business school, and your girlfriend,” he nods at Joni as if he needed to clarify which of the two women he’s talking about, “sits on the board of a charity with my sister. It’s just a coincidence that we’re all meeting at this wedding.”

“Yeah, what a coincidence,” I say with no humor. It’s more like a big fuck you from fate.

“So, are you here for the entire weekend?” I ask him, not because I care how long he’ll be here, but because I need to figure out when I can get Kal alone.

“Yes. We’re heading back to New York on Monday.”

I look back at Kal and she looks distinctly like a deer caught in the headlights.

“I see. Is that where you live?”

She nods and runs that nervous finger down the side of her throat. I want to trace its path with my tongue.

I have fucking missed her so much.

God. There are so many things I’ve questioned over the years. My choices, my purpose.

But just like the first time I saw her in that library—there’s no questioning us. There’s just something. An understanding, a connection that, no matter how much time has gone by, never needs refreshing. It just needs us to be in the same space. And right now, it’s screaming.

Kal’s expression is making me crazy because I can see she’s feeling everything I am. I wish I could talk to her right now.

“So, that’s where you’ve been all this time?” Joni asks and steps into my side, she intertwines our arms and grasps my hand. We never hold hands. I look sharply just in time to see the possessive glint in her eyes before she tosses her head and looks back at Kal.

Kal’s eyes dart up from our joined