Page 4

A tall blonde stood just over the threshold, hand raised ready to keep knocking at the now-nonexistent door.

“Sorry, I heard a crash and thought....” Her smile pulled wide, exposing brilliant white, straight teeth. “Hi, Bren.”

Should I remember her? Hell, all those buried memories. Maybe she was the someone I'd been attempting to recall. But staring into her empty blue eyes triggered nothing, no flick of emotion or recognition.

I gripped the back of my neck and flexed my fingers to alleviate the tight tension building as I shot her a confused look.

“Right.” She laughed. “It has been a while. It looks like you've kept the place though. Too many good memories to let it go?”

“Sure.”

Her smile dropped, and she took a step closer, putting us toe-to-toe. A strong waft of expensive perfume saturated my nose and caught in my throat. “Sorry about your brother. Guess we all thought Caleb would grow out of it eventually. We still saw each other until... well, you know. It all happened so fast, and I'm just grateful I wasn't in the car with him that night.” Tears welled at her lower lids, but still, I stood unaffected. “I miss him.”

Nope. Not going there. Especially not with a damn stranger.

“Hey listen, I just rolled into town and—”

“Can I come in?”

I should’ve said no, but I'd love a way to blow off steam, and she was pretty enough. I didn't have to guess why she wanted to come in, where her mind was. Between being the wealthiest bachelor in Dallas and the military groupies back in Kentucky, it was always the same.

With a shrug, I opened the door wider and gestured inside the loft.

“Want a drink?” I asked over my shoulder as I headed to the wet bar to make another for myself.

“Vodka. Neat.”

As I poured the drinks, she meandered around the loft, slowing to gaze out the floor-to-ceiling windows on the other side of the room. The click of her heels against the concrete floor drew my attention to her red stilettos. From the shoes, my gaze traveled farther north, up her long legs to lean hips and a nonexistent ass.

When did women buy into the lie that men wanted their women rail thin? What the hell were we supposed to hold on to in bed when there was nothing to grab? Where's the fun when your hand was larger than both ass cheeks?

Glancing over her shoulder, she caught my roaming eye and smiled. With each step closer, her sensual smirk grew. At my side, she flicked her bright blonde hair over her shoulder, drawing my gaze to the low dip of her dress.

“Like what you see?” The twinkle in her eye and soft laugh implied that she was used to men saying yes. After a short sip from her drink, her pink tongue swiped along her bright red lower lip to lap up the excess. “I've waited for you. Do you remember the amazing night we had together? Right here in this loft all those years ago?”

“No.” No lies. It'd been a while since rehab, but pretty sure the last thing a recovering addict needed was to revert back to lying.

“Ah, well it's a bit of a blur for me too, but I remember having fun. Remember you being the best I ever had and waking up the next morning needing more of you.” Her warm palm skimmed up the front of my dress shirt and curved around my neck to haul her body flush against mine.

“Listen....”

“Candice.”

“Right. Listen, Candice, I don't—”

“The rumors are that all the money left in Caleb's trust shifted to you.”

And there it was. Knew she was the type from the second the door opened. Just another socialite who was hunting her own sugar daddy. Little did she know her type wasn't mine. Not anymore.

Maybe it never was.

“Does that matter?” I retorted, then turned to look out the windows she was just admiring. I needed to get away from here. Maybe being at the ranch for a few days would be good, even if it would pull me away from the high-priced therapist I'd already contacted to help with my issue.

The sly smile and smirk she gave in return to my question said it all. “I've loved you since that night. Since all the nights we had together. I've missed you, wanted you to come home, and now you're here. It's fate. We're destined, don't you see that?”

I choked on the laugh threatening to erupt. This woman couldn't be serious.

“Listen, Candy—”