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“Seriously?” Her face lit up as she whipped her head around to look at me.

Trying to calm my blush, I shrugged. “You came all this way. You get one pitch, and that’s it.”

A cheeky grin took over Sarah’s face. It was like looking at her teenage self all over again. And she was just as stunning now as she was then.

Sarah took in a deep breath as she considered her most effective pitch. “Look, you are the most talented sculptor and carpenter I’ve ever seen. This is a once in a lifetime project. You’ll be supplied with two hundred year old wood from the lakefront property. Ms. Bradley is asking that you design and build a custom dining table for the house. It’s going to overlook the lake.”

She paused for a second, stopping in her tracks and grabbing my hand. I had no choice but to meet her gaze as she continued. “I know you’ll say ‘I’m retired.’ But I’ve been looking in these eyes since second grade, and I can read them like a book. And deep down, I know you want another shot.”

I bit the inside of my check as I looked into her blue eyes.

Sarah stepped closer, the smell of her delicate perfume washing over me. “It’s a one time job. You build this one table, and if you hate it, you’ve made enough money to not have towork for a few years and quietly return to your hermit lifestyle.” She flicked her head back toward my cabin.

Letting the trapped air out of my lungs, I tried to avoid her eyes. I knew if I looked at her, I’d have no choice but to confess.

And Sarah seemed to know that too, ducking her head to catch my line of sight.

“It wasn’t just about the money.” I clenched my jaw.

Sarah nodded, lowering her voice to a whisper. “I know that.”

The warmth of our friendship filled the woods around us. I let myself melt into her eyes. “I don’t know…”

Sarah smirked. “Vic has been following your work for years. She’ll just be honored to have something you created.”

Groaning, I started walking again. A part of me hoped that if I got my body moving, my mind would follow.

After a moment of crunching leaves under our feet, I turned to look at Sarah. “How much is it?”

Sarah smirked. “Half a million.”

I nearly retched at the figure. “Are you fucking kidding me?”

“It’s all monopoly money to her.” Sarah giggled, a slight blush flushing her cheeks.

My body tensed at her blush.Is there something going on between them?As far as I knew, Sarah was only interested in men. At least, that was the assumption I had made when she chose Jason despite our palpable chemistry.

Sensing my distance, Sarah looked back at me. “What do you think?”

10

SARAH

Even as webroke through the woods back into the clearing of Bri’s house, all I could get from her was a “maybe.”

She walked me over to my car, jaw still clenched. I couldn’t stop myself from staring at the sharp, muscular line there. She had always been gorgeous, but her masculine era suited her well.

Stopping next to the driver’s side door, I unlocked the car and looked at Bri. “You promise you’ll actually think about it? Because if it’s just a no, that’s totally okay. I just want to know now so I can do something about it.”

As I blabbered on, Bri stepped closer to me. She grabbed my hand from my side and held it tightly. Her voice rumbled out of her chest. “I’llactuallythink about it. But only because it’s you asking.”

“Thank you.” I smiled, fighting down the lump in my throat.

What is that about?I’d known Bri my entire life, and I’d only ever felt at ease with her. But something was different. Maybe it was the smell of her sweat or the comfort of her voice, but I felt myself wanting to be wrapped up in her.

Bri’s gaze flicked from my lips to my eyes. Leaning a little closer, she confessed, “It was really nice to see you. I missed spending time just us.”

I couldn’t stop my chest from rising and falling faster, from watching the way her lips moved as she spoke. My mind scrambled to think of the last time we’d been able to be together like this.Hell, it might have been when I started seeing Jason all those years ago.