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“That’ll be fun for you,” I choke out. “When’s he coming in?”
Another blast of cold, and I know the answer before Devon can say anything. I know it from the way his face lights up. He and Enzo have only seen each other a handful of times since graduating college. Mama DeLuca complains to anyone who asks about her son’s fame that it comes with a price. Although Enzo only lives two hours away from Bridgewater, his visits are infrequent.
“Hey, Devon.” The smooth, deep voice confirms what I already guessed. It’s him.
I don’t dare to turn around, preferring rudeness to the mortification of looking at the man I mooned over for most of my childhood. And early adulthood.
Holy hell.
Enzo DeLuca is here, in this bar. Right behind me.
“Is that Chari?” Enzo says, his voice deeper than I remember.
Nope. Not Chari.
Nothing to see here.
I suppose it’s time to turn around.
3
Enzo
Chari.
Char like charbroiled, andelike theyin baby.
It might have happened years ago, but I still remember the way she told the new kid at school how to properly pronounce her name. I remember everything about Devon’s sister, including the night we helped her celebrate her twenty-first birthday.
She’s a hard woman to forget.
As Devon embraces me, I slap my old friend on the shoulder and wait for her to turn around. Her brown hair is longer than it was the last time I saw her. Admittedly, that was three years ago. Our paths didn’t cross on my last several visits home, and before that, she was still in graduate school. Avoiding her when I have come home worked well until now. I casually asked Devon if she would be here tonight, and he said no. That she tends to stay home on Fridays.
But I’ve seen recent pictures of her. I don’t have any reason to be caught off guard when she finally swivels on her stool. Doesn’t matter—if the twenty-one-year-old Chari was hotter than she should have been for my best friend’s little sister, the twenty-nine-year-old is guaranteed to get me into trouble.
She looks like a young Brooke Shields. Full lips, full brows.
Fuck.
Full breasts.
I force myself to appear completely unaffected. Devon, as always, is on high alert. Protecting his sister is one of his oldest habits, something he appears to have held on to despite the fact that Chari is now very much a woman.
“Hello, Enzo.”
Standing from her stool, she approaches me with a smile. The kind you give an old friend, not someone you’re attracted to. Which is perfect. That’s exactly the response I need to get through this weekend.
“It’s been ages,” she breathes into my ear. As if that isn’t enough to make me rock hard, her breasts press full-on against my chest.
“Too long,” I admit, stepping back as quickly as humanly possible.
“Were your ears ringing? We were just talking about you.”
I don’t even get a chance to say anything else before we’re completely surrounded. I always hope it will be different here, in my hometown, but in some ways it’s worse. Here, the people who come up to me used to treat me like one of them. Now I’mthat guy.
As graciously as possible, I shake hands and answer questions.
“Yes, it’s great to be back home.”
