Return to Me (Blue Harbor Book 5) by Olivia Miles (most popular ebook readers .TXT) 📕

center of each round table. Even though she knew that Kyle would be here, she still felt a rush of warmth spread through her when she saw him standing near the concessions stand, his hands in the pockets of his grey slacks, his suit coat buttoned. He turned, slowly, as if feeling her stare, his face breaking out into a grin when he caught her eye.

“My, my,” Gabby said, sliding her a pointed look. “Looks like you might have a date to this prom after all.”

Brooke felt her cheeks flush and knew that there was no sense in hiding it from Gabby. “You know that Kyle and I can’t get back together.”

Gabby scoffed at that. “Why not? People break up and get back together all the time.” She set an arrangement on a nearby table and fluffed a few of the flowers. “I mean, I wouldn’t know from personal experience, but look at Britt and Robbie, and Amelia and Matt.”

“It’s different. Kyle and I are—were—married.” Her heart sped up and she wondered briefly if Gabby had caught on, but her sister was too focused on her flowers to catch the slip or read anything into it.

“In my opinion that just means your bond is even deeper.” Gabby took the arrangement from Brooke’s hand and sauntered away with a knowing smile, leaving Brooke with no choice but to square her shoulders and cross the room.

Kyle grinned as she approached. “Am I allowed to tell you that you look beautiful tonight?”

Brooke looked down at her feet, her pink-painted toenails peeping out of her shoes, and then back up into his eyes. “You clean up pretty well yourself,” she said.

And he did. The last time she’d seen him this dressed up must have been their wedding day, she realized with a start. He’d worn a navy suit, crisp white shirt, and a navy bowtie. It wasn’t like his typical style of jeans and a tee-shirt or sweater, and as she’d walked down the aisle on her father’s arm, she remembered thinking that he’d dressed up for her because this wasn’t just her day, it was their day. Just like her future was supposed to be their future. For so long, everything she did, every plan she made, every dream she had, included him.

It was too easy to get used to that feeling again, to fall into old habits, to pretend that the part of their past that had driven them apart never happened.

“Punch?” Kyle asked, breaking the silence.

Brooke nodded eagerly, even though she wasn’t even thirsty, and her hands were feeling a little shaky, too. “Sure.”

He ladled some of the pink drink into a plastic cup and handed it to her as the band began to play and the kids began to filter in, the girls in long gowns that were all of a sleeker style than the frilly and poufy options Brooke and her friends had gone with all those years ago, the boys looking suitably uncomfortable in their formalwear, tugging at their ties, or skimming the screens of their phones, trying to look otherwise occupied.

Brooke couldn’t help but laugh. “They’re children!”

Kyle grinned as he looked on. “Yep, and we were too once.” He hesitated before giving her a rueful glance. “Remember our senior prom?”

“Ha!” Brooke took a sip of her drink. “You gave me a corsage that was nearly the size of the table centerpieces.”

“The bigger the better.” He shook his head. “I didn’t know what I was doing back then.” After a beat, he sobered, his eyes softened when they met hers. “Maybe I never did.”

Her heart thawed another notch. “It was sweet. And it certainly got a lot of attention. I had the prettiest flowers of every girl at the dance. Though it did make things a little awkward when it came to actually dancing.”

He laughed. “I do remember that.”

She remembered something else, too. How she’d saved it. Tucked it away to dry out and cherish. A keepsake of a magical night.

A night that now felt so long ago, even if the rush of emotions was coming at her as if it were yesterday.

They fell into silence as the crowd filled the room and the kids lined up for punch and cookies, groups of girls who hadn’t attended with dates sat at tables chatting, and already some of the couples were on the dance floor, swaying to the music.

“You’re not wearing a corsage tonight,” Kyle eventually said, motioning to her wrist.

She stared at him, unsure of his implication until she saw the glimmer in his eyes as he jutted his chin toward the dance floor.

“Oh.” She stiffened. “No. I mean, aren’t we supposed to be watching the kids?”

Kyle gave a dismissive shrug. “Look at them. What’s the worst thing that can happen? Someone spikes the punch?”

Brooke blinked. “Well, yes, that.”

He laughed. “Come on, Brooke, have a little fun. For old time’s sake.”

She hesitated, knowing that she would have a hard time fighting him off when he was looking at her like that, his grin mischievous and inviting, his fingers waggling her toward him. He wasn’t going to take no for an answer, but then, when had he ever? When Kyle wanted something, he made it happen.

Which was why it hurt so damn much to think that he hadn’t wanted to stay with her, to come with her to New York, to go through with the plans they had made. Together.

“Just one dance. You did promise me that.”

His arm skimmed hers to take her hand. It felt warm, solid, and achingly familiar. It felt like coming home.

“We promised each other a lot of things,” she said, feeling tense and defensive.

Silence stretched between them as the band tuned their instruments for the next song, and she could feel the rise and fall of her chest as her heart