Unhinge - Calia Read Page 0,49

form at my temples and my clothes cling to my skin. I found myself hoping that the sky would open up and let the rain fall.

I parked right across from Renee’s shop. At that time of day, it was pretty quiet. Most people were at work. As I slammed my door the sounds of children’s shrieks of laughter pierced the air. I slowly walked toward the park. It was one of the nicer ones in Falls Church, with new playground equipment, secure fencing, and a pavilion for picnics and parties. Large oak trees peppered the area, with benches directly beneath them shielding people from the bright sun.

I found myself stopping, staring wistfully at the moms sitting underneath the tree. They were all lost in their own world. Here and there they’d glance at their kids and then go straight back to their conversations. One mom had a stroller next to her. She moved it back and forth and every so often would pull the stroller close and smile at the toddler squealing and laughing inside it.

Was it so horrible that I wanted that? Wes seemed to think so. I could think of a thousand different scenarios that could break up a relationship. I just never thought children would be one of them.

One of the moms glanced at me. Her eyes narrowed at me with suspicion and realized that I looked all wrong: me lingering around a park like a creeper.

Quickly I turned around and hurried across the street, hoping to escape their stares, yet I felt them on my back. I crossed my arms over my chest. My shoulders were hunched and if I could have folded in on myself, I would have. Even though it was cloudy, I pulled my Ray-Bans out of my purse and put them on. It sounds crazy—and probably pathetic—but my sunglasses felt like a small barrier between the outside world and myself. With my sunglasses on, no one that walked past me would be able to see my eyes or my pain.

That was an ingenious idea. Why didn’t I think of it sooner? I smiled down at the sidewalk and promptly slammed into a wall. I stumbled back and lifted my head, quickly realizing that the “wall” was actually a man.

“Sorry,” I muttered. I gave the man a quick glance and did a double take. I knew him. He was the contractor who built our house.

He smiled and I felt my stomach drop. “Victoria, isn’t it?”

I pushed my sunglasses up into my hair. Sinclair Montgomery. How could I forget him? He was still as tall and imposing as ever. Summer had treated him better than me, and his skin was the color of honey. His black hair was shorter than I remembered. He was dressed casually in jeans and a black T-shirt that strained across his wide shoulders.

“It’s good to see you,” he said.

I found myself smiling back. “You too.”

Sinclair gestured to the flower shop. “You here to see Renee?”

“Yes. I’ve been meaning to see her, but I’ve been busy.”

“It’s best to bite the bullet and see her or she’ll pester you until she has her way.”

Of that, I had no doubt.

He held open the door and swept a hand toward the doorway. “After you.”

When I walked past him, my shoulder brushed his chest and the scent of his cologne circled around. It smelled woodsy. Like nature. Or hard work. I ignored the rapid beating of my heart. I didn’t have to look in the mirror to know my cheeks were red.

“Victoria! One of my favorite people!” Renee exclaimed as she walked from behind the counter.

“I’m not included in the list?” Sinclair asked.

“That depends….Do you have the keys to my car?”

He tossed a set of keys at her. Renee caught them with one hand. “Done and done.”

“Then let me start over: Victoria! Sinclair! Two of my favorite people!”

“That was good,” Sinclair replied. “But next time, put some more feeling behind it.” Sinclair rested his huge arms on the counter and glanced at me. “Victoria, would you treat your brother this way after he so kindly took your car to the shop to get a tire patched up and the oil changed?” He didn’t ask me the question to be nice and include me in the conversation. There was genuine interest in his eyes. I was struck by the fact that it had been almost a year since I’d seen this man but somehow he made it seem as if no time had gone by.

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