Page 1 of Until August

CHAPTERONE

August

I poundedmy fist against the solid oak again.

Still no answer.

Flipping my ball cap backward, I looked directly into the security camera. I was five years older with bigger muscles and more lines around my eyes than the last time she saw me, but I still looked the same.

If she was home, she knew damn well that I was standing on her doorstep with my fucking heart in my hand.

My gaze darted to the horizontal windows about five feet off the ground. I stepped away from the door and stood in front of the nearest one. Cupping my hands around my face, I peered inside. My eyes locked on the woman standing in the middle of the room, staring at her phone screen. No doubt it showed my exact location.

Sasha lifted her head and startled, dropping her phone. I caught a flash of white-blonde hair as she moved to the door and stepped in front of it as it opened.

Just a crack.

“What are you doing here?”

What the fuck did she think I was doing here?

“Hey Sash, miss me?” I laughed like I found this whole situation amusing. “Stupid question. You didn’t waste any time moving on, did you?”

“It’s been five years,” she hissed.

As if I needed a reminder. I skipped the small talk and cut right to the chase. “Is Sage home?”

She shook her head. Disappointment punched me in the gut. But maybe it was for the best. Sasha and I had unfinished business. “Open the door. We need to talk.”

“You shouldn’t even be here. There’s nothing to talk about.” Despite her words, she opened the door wider but held up her hand when I made a move to step inside. “This isn’t an invitation. You can’t just show up on our doorstep like this. I asked you to stay away.”

My jaw clenched. I pinched the bridge of my nose and took a few deep breaths, trying to calm the anger simmering just below the surface. When I’d gotten Sasha’s letter, the last one she ever sent, I busted two knuckles and fractured my wrist from punching a wall.

Needless to say, it hadn’t changed a damn thing.

Sasha used to look at me like I’d put the moon and stars in the sky.

Now, though, she looked at me like I was just another asshole she wanted to kick to the curb. “That letter damn near killed me, Sasha. Ilovedyou. I fucking loved you.” My voice cracked on the words.

How could you desert me like that?

Her eyes closed briefly. “Don’t do this to me,” she whispered. “Please don’t do this.”

My gaze dipped to the rock on her left hand. A fucking beacon that nearly blinded me. It was partnered with a diamond wedding band.

A dozen questions battered my mind, but she spoke before I could ask them.

“How did you find me?”

I leaned my shoulder against the doorframe and crossed my booted feet. “Called in a favor.”

She laughed harshly. “Of course you did. Because you know all the right people, don’t you?” Her gaze swept over me, taking in the worn biker boots, faded denim, and black t-shirt that fit more snugly around the biceps than it used to. “You don’t belong here.”

So she’d said. More than once.

My gaze roamed over her suntanned legs and loose cotton dress that matched her sky-blue eyes. Sasha had the face of an angel, a halo of blonde hair, and a body that porn stars would envy. But this sleek modern house in a gated community had never been her scene.

She loved flea markets and secondhand shops and was always dragging home furniture that needed to be repaired, sanded, and painted. Nine times out of ten, they were missing a leg or drawer handles. She did the same with pets. We’d adopted a three-legged dog and a blind cat at one point.