drink.
“See you later.” Adam moved towards the front desk, stopping abruptly and staring at Mitch. An expression of surprise crossed his face, but it went away quickly, changing to a slight scowl. “What are you doing here?”
“Hi.” Relief shot through Mitch. He’d halfway expected outrage or some kind of negative greeting. So far, so good . “I hoped we could talk. Do you have a lunch break coming soon?”
Adam shook his head. “I just got here a while ago. I could take ten minutes, I suppose.”
Mitch nodded. Ten minutes is better than nothing . “Sure. Can we go someplace?”
“Outside.” Adam nodded towards the door. To the girl at the reception desk, he said,
“I’ll be back in a few minutes.”
Adam walked out, and Mitch followed, watching his ass in tight gym shorts. Damn, he looks good . Fit, healthy, lightly tanned and still sexy as hell.
“This way.” Adam walked down the sidewalk, hesitating when they reached Mitch’s truck. “You still driving that old hunk of junk? I’m surprised it even runs.”
“They don’t make ‘em like this beauty, anymore.” Mitch touched the green hood.
NEVER SAY NEVER
Jenna Byrnes
41
“Good thing,” Adam muttered. He kept walking to the end of the building and around the corner before he stopped to face Mitch. “When did you get back?”
“A couple of weeks ago. I, uh, thought about calling or stopping by sooner. I wasn’t sure how you’d react.”
Adam’s face reddened. With one hand, he rubbed his neck absently as he spoke. “How am I supposed to react? What are you doing, passing by between rodeos? No, it doesn’t matter. I don’t want to know. We really don’t have anything to say to one another, Mitch.”
Mitch’s heart lurched. Adam was obviously still stinging from the last time they’d talked. Fought was a more accurate description. It had been an awful, painful argument with plenty of harsh words on both sides. “We have a lot to say, and it does matter. It matters very much.”
He took a breath and continued before Adam could interrupt. “I made a huge mistake leaving like I did. The rodeo thing didn’t work out. I was thinking—”
“Wait.” Adam raised a hand then returned it to his neck, rubbing out of apparent nervousness. “It’s a little late for this, don’t you think? You could have come back a month after you left. Or a few months, even. But a year after the fact seems almost absurd, doesn’t it? Did you expect to find me sitting here waiting for you to come crawling back?”
Mitch bristled. “Of course I didn’t. And I’m not ‘crawling’ back. I know you’ve probably moved on with your life.” He glanced down at the sidewalk then back up into Adam’s eyes. “I accept that. I just needed to apologise.”
And find out if you’re serious about someone new. If you’re not, I might have a fighting chance.
Adam stared at him suspiciously. “Why now?”
Mitch shrugged. “I don’t know. It’s just something I wanted to do. Felt like I had to do.”
Adam’s wary expression didn’t go away. He gazed at Mitch a moment then nodded.
“Okay, whatever. Apology accepted. You can go on with your life and stop feeling guilty.
That’s what this is about, isn’t it? Repentance?”
“No!” Mitch wanted to drag the stubborn man into his arms and kiss the frown right off his face. He hadn’t expected Adam to welcome him with open arms or accept his apology at their first meeting. But I’d hoped he would to make life easier for me . Apparently, Adam wasn’t in the mood to make things easy for Mitch anymore. “I’m really sorry for the way things worked out, Adam. I just wanted—”
NEVER SAY NEVER
Jenna Byrnes
42
“I’m seeing someone,” Adam interrupted. “He’s a great guy. We’re very happy together.”
The admission struck like a punch to the gut. Mitch had known it was a very real possibility, but once again had let his hopes get in the way. “Great,” he repeated,
“See you later.” Adam moved towards the front desk, stopping abruptly and staring at Mitch. An expression of surprise crossed his face, but it went away quickly, changing to a slight scowl. “What are you doing here?”
“Hi.” Relief shot through Mitch. He’d halfway expected outrage or some kind of negative greeting. So far, so good . “I hoped we could talk. Do you have a lunch break coming soon?”
Adam shook his head. “I just got here a while ago. I could take ten minutes, I suppose.”
Mitch nodded. Ten minutes is better than nothing . “Sure. Can we go someplace?”
“Outside.” Adam nodded towards the door. To the girl at the reception desk, he said,
“I’ll be back in a few minutes.”
Adam walked out, and Mitch followed, watching his ass in tight gym shorts. Damn, he looks good . Fit, healthy, lightly tanned and still sexy as hell.
“This way.” Adam walked down the sidewalk, hesitating when they reached Mitch’s truck. “You still driving that old hunk of junk? I’m surprised it even runs.”
“They don’t make ‘em like this beauty, anymore.” Mitch touched the green hood.
NEVER SAY NEVER
Jenna Byrnes
41
“Good thing,” Adam muttered. He kept walking to the end of the building and around the corner before he stopped to face Mitch. “When did you get back?”
“A couple of weeks ago. I, uh, thought about calling or stopping by sooner. I wasn’t sure how you’d react.”
Adam’s face reddened. With one hand, he rubbed his neck absently as he spoke. “How am I supposed to react? What are you doing, passing by between rodeos? No, it doesn’t matter. I don’t want to know. We really don’t have anything to say to one another, Mitch.”
Mitch’s heart lurched. Adam was obviously still stinging from the last time they’d talked. Fought was a more accurate description. It had been an awful, painful argument with plenty of harsh words on both sides. “We have a lot to say, and it does matter. It matters very much.”
He took a breath and continued before Adam could interrupt. “I made a huge mistake leaving like I did. The rodeo thing didn’t work out. I was thinking—”
“Wait.” Adam raised a hand then returned it to his neck, rubbing out of apparent nervousness. “It’s a little late for this, don’t you think? You could have come back a month after you left. Or a few months, even. But a year after the fact seems almost absurd, doesn’t it? Did you expect to find me sitting here waiting for you to come crawling back?”
Mitch bristled. “Of course I didn’t. And I’m not ‘crawling’ back. I know you’ve probably moved on with your life.” He glanced down at the sidewalk then back up into Adam’s eyes. “I accept that. I just needed to apologise.”
And find out if you’re serious about someone new. If you’re not, I might have a fighting chance.
Adam stared at him suspiciously. “Why now?”
Mitch shrugged. “I don’t know. It’s just something I wanted to do. Felt like I had to do.”
Adam’s wary expression didn’t go away. He gazed at Mitch a moment then nodded.
“Okay, whatever. Apology accepted. You can go on with your life and stop feeling guilty.
That’s what this is about, isn’t it? Repentance?”
“No!” Mitch wanted to drag the stubborn man into his arms and kiss the frown right off his face. He hadn’t expected Adam to welcome him with open arms or accept his apology at their first meeting. But I’d hoped he would to make life easier for me . Apparently, Adam wasn’t in the mood to make things easy for Mitch anymore. “I’m really sorry for the way things worked out, Adam. I just wanted—”
NEVER SAY NEVER
Jenna Byrnes
42
“I’m seeing someone,” Adam interrupted. “He’s a great guy. We’re very happy together.”
The admission struck like a punch to the gut. Mitch had known it was a very real possibility, but once again had let his hopes get in the way. “Great,” he repeated,
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