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Noah looked at me and went to talk, but shut his mouth quickly. As I made my way to the front door, I pulled out the house key. As I slid it in, Jade began talking. “Wow, you’re still looking hot as ever.”
Squeezing my eyes shut, I pushed the door open and turned to face Noah. He was staring directly at me, trying to get a read on what I was thinking. His face was blank, like he was just as taken off guard by this woman showing up on our doorstep as I was.
Shutting the door, I leaned my forehead against it and let out the breath I’d been holding in.
Turning, I propped myself against the door and slowly slid to the floor as I looked at the engagement ring on my finger.
Dropping my head back, I whispered, “Please don’t let this all be too good to be true. Please.”
Noah
Standing there, I stared at the door. I could see it written all over Grace’s face. Panic. Fear. Uncertainty as to why the one and only other girl I’d ever been with was standing on our front porch. Jeff’s words filled my head.
“I swear to God, if you hurt my daughter, I’m going to hurt you.”
Jade had written me a few letters over the years, but after I met Grace, I threw them out. I never even read one after Grace came into my life. Jade was my past and as far as I was concerned, Grace was my future. Even when she pushed me away, my heart belonged to Grace.
Clearing my throat, I glanced over to Jade and said, “So are you going to tell me why you’re here, Jade?”
Frowning, Jade shook her head and said, “Is that any way to treat your ex-fiancé? Does she know about us?”
Pushing both hands threw my hair; I scrubbed them down my face and let out a frustrated moan. “Jade, there is no us, there hasn’t been for years and we were never engaged.”
“That’s a lie, Noah. You asked me that one night we were at the beach.”
Letting out a laugh, I couldn’t believe she was holding on to something like this. “Jade, I was drunk for Christ’s sake and it was on a dare. I told you that the next morning. That’s when we decided to go our separate ways.”
Pointing to me, Jade’s eyes grew dark. “No. That’s when you decided to go your own way and you left me heartbroken.”
“For fucks sake, Jade. All we ever did was fight; you cheated on me! Do you remember that?”
“Mistake. It was a mistake, Noah.”
“Nothing was a mistake. It was all done with the knowledge of what the consequences would be, Jade.”
Jade took another step closer to me as she let a smile play across her face. “Noah, if you didn’t care about me, why did you send me a letter?”
Shaking my head, I couldn’t believe what was happening. “Because no matter what happened between us, we were still together for five years, Jade. My mother liked you and you liked my mother. I was only doing the polite thing by sending you the letter to let you know my mother passed away. I sent them to a few people, not just you.”
Jade’s face filled with disappointment. “Did you read any of the letters I sent?”
Looking away, I softly spoke, “No.”
“Not one, Noah. Not one single letter? Why?”
Blowing air out forcefully from my mouth, I looked back at Jade. “I don’t want to hurt you again, Jade. But you showing up here and doing all of this, you leave me no choice. I didn’t read the letters because there was nothing there for me to read. No matter what you had said in them, it wouldn’t have changed my mind. Once I met Grace, everything changed. She’s my entire world. When I think of my future, I only see Grace.”
Jade stood a little taller and titled her head some as she stared at me. “I see. Well, this was all just a waste of time. I guess I’ll be getting married this Saturday knowing there will never be an us again.”
This Saturday she’s getting married? Wow. That poor bastard had no idea what he was getting into.
“You’re getting married this weekend and you’re standing here asking about us?”
Jade smiled. “Noah, we were together a long time. You can’t deny we didn’t have some wild and crazy times. I miss you. I had given up hope of us ever getting back together until you sent me that letter. It took courage to seek you out and when I did, the house had been sold and you were gone. I had to find you.”
Shaking my head, I looked into Jade’s eyes. “Jade, we were young. There isn’t anything there between us. There hasn’t been in a very long time. Maybe you’re just nervous about the idea of getting married.”
Throwing her head back, Jade laughed. “Trust me . . . I’m going to be set for life, Noah.” Jade took a few steps closer to me as she licked her lips.
