3. Jack

3

JACK

S uzie has the same wide eyes and kissable mouth, which is currently popped open in an adorable, shocked look. She never was any good at hiding her emotions. It's one of the things I loved about her. Still love about her, if the way my heart's lurching in my chest is any indication.

"You look good."

It's an understatement. She's filled out since I last saw her. The curves suit her body, perfectly pushing her luscious breasts up and giving her a womanly shape that makes me want to pull her towards me just to feel her curves mold against me.

But I don't act on the impulses that race through my body. I lost all rights to touch Suzie the moment I left her behind with no explanation.

Suzie recovers her shock, and she narrows her eyes at me, going from shock to suspicion in three seconds flat. "What are you doing here?"

Her tone is weary as she briskly grabs a tissue from a box on the desk and wipes the spilled tea off her fingers.

There's no ring, which is a relief. There's no nail polish either. She has tidy, short, practical nails. The nails of a busy woman. I wonder what kind of life she has like I've wondered about her every day for the last three years.

"Hiking the Saddle Peak trail." I choose the name of a trail I read about thirty seconds ago while waiting for her to come into the room.

She raises an eyebrow, not buying it. "What do you want, Jack?"

She's as smart as she was three years ago, just without the huge tomes on history she always had her nose in. I wonder how the ambitious student with a passion for English history ended up working the phone lines for search and rescue on the side of a quiet American mountain.

In all the scenarios I imagined, Suzie was a history professor, an archaeologist, or an academic. This wasn't one of those scenarios.

There's too much distance between us and I stroll toward her, keeping my hands clasped behind my back to stop myself reaching for her. With every pace closer, my heart pounds faster. Not that I show it. I'm a perfectionist at keeping my physiology and my feelings under control. It came with the job.

I keep the charming smile trained on Suzie. It's my default disarming expression that works on most people and worked particularly well on this American student three years ago.

With every step closer, Suzie's pupils dilate a little and her breathing becomes more ragged.

This close, I notice there are lines around her eyes that weren't there before and a wariness in her expression, although that could just be me. My leaving was less than ideal, and I don't blame her if she hates me.

There'll be time to explain that later. My primary objective right now is establishing if the connection that drew me around the globe to find Suzie is still there.

By the way she swallows hard as I approach and the vein that twitches in her neck, I'd say that Suzie is as attracted to me still as I am to her.

"I want to take you to dinner."

Emotions pass across her face like an open book. Excitement and hope, so quick I almost miss them. Then wariness, distrust, and her features finally settle into a grim, cold expression that I don't remember ever seeing during our two beautiful weeks together.

"No."

She folds her arms, and the set of her mouth is so final it almost knocks the grin off my face. Almost. If I hadn't seen that flicker of excitement and hope, I might take her at her word. She's distrustful of me and I don't blame her, but I'm not giving up on Suzie.

"I owe you an explanation." I soften my expression. I knew this wouldn't be easy, but I didn't hunt for her for three years and come halfway around the world to walk away without at least having a chance to explain my appalling behavior.

"You don't owe me anything, Jack. We had a fling a few years ago. You ghosted me. I'm well over it, as the English would say." She gives a casual shrug, but her eyes dart to the left.

Unable to resist being this close and not touching her any longer, I close the gap between us and slide a hand around her waist. Suzie gasps, and the contact almost makes me crumple against her. She's soft and warm, and her long-forgotten scent of citrus body wash and bergamot from the Earl Grey tea she fell in love with washes over me, bringing back memories of our bodies tangled in sheets, her head nestled on my shoulder.

There's something new in her scent, milky and unfamiliar. She's not the same woman I knew. There's a new mystery about her, and that makes her even more appealing.

"I'm not over it, Suzie. I never got over you." My confession rasps out of me as my breath grazes her cheek.

Suzie gasps and her eyes go wide, dropping any pretense of not being affected by me.

My hand grasps her neck and she tilts her head up, breathing hard as her eyes lock on mine. My fingers graze her throat and the soft skin there. "Judging by your racing pulse, you're not over it either."

She stares at me, confusion and desire battling with mistrust. He warm breath skates across my lips, and I tremble with the effort not to kiss her.

Every inch of me wants to claim her, and my dick lengthens as memories of her body entwined with mine fill my brain.

"I left in a shitty way, and I want to explain. I've searched for you ever since I was able to, Suzie. You don't make it easy. You must be the only twenty-something I know who isn't on social media."

Her eyes narrow. "You can talk. I couldn't find you anywhere. I don't know anything about you."

She admitted she searched for me, which means she cares, or she did. But Suzie has a point. I couldn't tell her much about myself then and it frustrated the hell out of me, but I can now. "Ask me anything about myself, and I'll tell you."

She takes a step back, and I release her from my grip. "I didn't know anything then, and I don't want to know anything now. Whatever you think you came here for, Jack, you made a mistake. I don't need an explanation. I just need you to leave me alone. You're just someone I knew for a few short weeks during my time studying at Cambridge."

She spins around, dismissing me. Her hair flicks down her back, sending a wave of fresh scent my way. The words should hurt me, but it's what I was expecting. I left her like an asshole, and it's going to take hard work to get her to trust me again.

Seeing me again has been a shock, and I need to give her time to get used to the idea that I'm here.

But there's something else going on. I can tell by the way she won't look me in the eye as she dismisses me.

Suzie's not telling me something, and I probably don't deserve to know with the way I treated her. But one thing I'm certain of is that I'm not giving up on Suzie. I'll be here every single day until I can prove to her I'm not going anywhere this time.