Hardly surprising. With a sexy, dimpled smile that turned girls into giggling puddles of goo, Gabe had dated a different cheerleader every week, leaving a trail of broken hearts a mile long.
And her? Well, she’d been the awkward, too-skinny, freckle-faced, flat-chested brainiac with untamable, frizzy, red hair who’d adored him.
So, yeah…suffice it to say, he hadn’t asked her to prom.
And yet it was his name more often than not that had appeared in her journal, circled with little hearts. And when she received a bouquet of wildflowers once from a secret admirer after one particularly disappointing day, she liked to imagine a certain boy with dimples was behind it. She’d been at every one of his football games, cheering him on in the one year of school they’d shared. She’d sat beside her aunt at his graduation ceremony, trying to suppress the heat that rose to her cheeks when they called his name or when she’d given him a congratulatory hug at his open house.
She’d replayed that hug in her mind every night that summer before going to sleep, hating the fact that she was stuck in high school for three more years. And although she’d never admit it to anyone, it was the same dimpled smile on her mind more often than not when she drifted off to sleep now. And wildflowers were still her favorite.
But it was common knowledge that Gabe Dawson was a player. He’d never given her a second thought when they were younger, but he certainly noticed her now that she had curves and could fill out a sweater quite nicely, thank you very much.
He’d been coming onto her mercilessly for the last couple of years, trying to use that same old tired act on her that had worked on everyone else all his life. And normally she could keep her guard up and ignore the way her stomach fluttered every time she saw him, could ignore how her pulse hammered when she heard his voice. She knew better than to give in to her longings, knew that it could only lead to trouble.
But in moments like this one, when he allowed a rare glimpse of vulnerability, she was undone. And all the defenses she’d built up over the years came crumbling down in an instant.
She sent another glance his way, her heart aching for the pain he had to be feeling at the loss of his best friend, pain she knew she’d be feeling as well once she allowed it in. She’d been so caught up in dealing with all the legal aspects of the case, she hadn’t taken a moment to truly grieve for her friend, hadn’t let the horrible truth really sink in yet.
But now her heart constricted painfully and tears choked her, making it impossible for her to ignore the pain any longer. She tried to hold back the tears, but they fell anyway, blurring her vision and making it difficult to see the road. Thankfully, Gabe’s house wasn’t far.
She pulled into the driveway of his modest brick ranch and sat for a moment with her forehead pressed against the steering wheel, letting the sobs overtake her. But after a moment of indulging her sorrow, she abruptly pushed away from the wheel and shook her head.
“No,” she sniffed. “Not now.”
In spite of her declaration, the tears continued to slip to her cheeks as fast as she could swipe them away. Finally, with a sharp curse, she threw open her car door and strode around to open the door for Gabe.
“C’mon,” she murmured, trying to pull him to his feet. He mumbled something incoherent but managed to stand and wrap his arm around her shoulders. When they reached his front door, she asked, “Where are your keys?”
When he didn’t answer, she huffed and slipped her hand into his pocket, imagining the smart-ass remarks he’d be throwing at her at that moment had he been aware of what was going on. But then a throaty groan rumbled up from his chest and her eyes snapped up to his face and caught his grin.
Warmth flooded her cheeks as her fingers closed around his keys and she yanked them out. “Let’s just get you inside, shall we?”
It only took a moment to find his bedroom, but without the lights on, she stumbled and they fell in a tangle onto his bed, his arms going around her and pulling her into the curve of his body as he rolled onto his back, so that she was half on top of him.
Her breath caught on a gasp when she found herself peering down into his eyes, open now and studying her intently. “You’re crying,” he whispered.
She swallowed hard, damning the tenderness in his voice and how it flooded her with warmth. “I’m fine,” she insisted. But when his hand came up to gently caress her cheek and wipe away her tears, her shoulders shook on a sob, proving she was a liar.