Page 3

L iving in a hotel sucks. Even if the Bears did put me up in a pretty nice one.

Still, I want to get into a house.

That’s why I’m glad I found a fucking sweet one up in an area called Cave Creek. It’s a big adobe structure with an infinity pool and fantastic views of the surrounding mountains.

I think I’d like living there.

No, I know I would.

There are hiking trails all around the property, which is great. I can go on runs in the mornings and take a few evening walks, just like the ones Claire and I used to take.

Now there’s a blast from the past.

She hasn’t been on my mind in ages.

Though, to be honest, I’ve been thinking about her a lot lately. I guess it’s because I’m back in Arizona, where we shared most of our teen years.

But nah, it’s more than just that. Claire’s twenty-seventh birthday is coming up on September 1.

That’s only a week away.

Fuck, I’ll never forget that date.

The plan was that I was supposed to marry Claire before she hit twenty-seven so she could access her trust fund.

Hell, back then, I would have said yes to marrying her for any reason. She meant that much to me.

If I’m being honest, she still holds a special place in my heart.

She always will.

Too bad we haven’t been in any kind of contact in years.

“How’d we lose touch anyway?” I ask myself as I continue to lie on the sofa, head propped up on a pillow.

The lights are off, and I’m looking out the floor-to-ceiling windows at the Phoenix nighttime skyline.

It’s after 2:00 a.m., but I can’t sleep.

That’s why I came out here to the hotel living room.

I should try to get some rest, though. I have an early appointment tomorrow with a real estate agent named Madison to look at that Cave Creek house.

Fuck it, I’ll just be tired.

Yeah, so why did Claire and I stop talking?

I guess, for me, I just got too busy playing college hockey back in Boston.

And she was here.

I think the boyfriend she had at the time played into it too.

And, man, that distance factor was huge.

Neither of us had any money back then to fly across the country to visit each other.

And when my parents moved to Boston before Christmas our freshman year, I never had a reason to come back.

So, yeah, life got in the way, and we drifted apart.

But damn, if there isn’t a part of me right now that would love to reconnect.

Shit, though. She could be married.

For some reason, I hope the fuck she’s not.

“What are you going to do?” I ask out loud, chuffing. “Marry her like you promised ten years ago?”

Yeah, right.

Then again…

Maybe it’s the late hour, or the fact that I haven’t slept yet, but for some crazy reason, I pick up my phone and look up Claire Weller.

Ahh, so she’s a real estate agent.

And damn, from her business profile photo, she’s still beyond beautiful.

In fact, she may even be prettier.

I should ask this Madison chick tomorrow if she knows Claire.

No, that’d be too weird.

I keep scrolling.

Hmm, it appears she lives in an area not far from Cave Creek.

That house I’m going to check out is looking better and better.

I can’t find anything to indicate if Claire is married or not. Sure, she still uses her maiden name, but that doesn’t mean anything.

The only way to know for sure is to ask her…in person…face-to-face.

Okay, I’m clearly just searching for a reason to go see her.

Maybe so, but who cares?

I’m not attached.

And hopefully she isn’t either.

I type her address into Google Maps, zoom in on the location, and screenshot the results.

There, done.

Tapping my phone to my bare chest, I smile.

Now I feel like I can finally go to sleep.

Tossing my cell over to the coffee table, I roll onto my side and close my eyes, thinking about how, before September 1, I’m going to pay Claire Weller a visit and let her know I’m a man still willing to fulfill a long-ago promise.