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Jeremiah ended the call and pushed the phone into his back pocket. Mara was running late for their date, again. Whatever. It was fine.
He strode into the diner and grabbed a booth with a window seat. When the hostess came by and asked what he wanted to drink, he ordered two waters with lemon and some fries to hold him over while he waited.
A few minutes later the sound of footsteps approaching drew his attention away from the window.
“Belly.”
He hadn’t seen her in over a year, not since the day of their almost-wedding. The day he went dark, and she bought a one-way ticket to Paris to study abroad for a year. She looked older. More mature. Even more beautiful than he remembered. He wouldn't have believed it was possible if she wasn't standing right in front of him making an old-fashioned waitress uniform look sexy as hell. He read her nametag, "Isabel."
“Jeremiah.” Her expression was pleasant. Hopeful. “It’s good to see you.”
“Yeah…you too. I did know you were back. When did you-”
“Last week. I’ve been meaning to call you.
“…”
“My shift ends in 5 minutes. Do you have time to talk? Catch up?” She shifted nervously.
“Um…sorry, I’m here with–”
“Oh, right. Two waters. Here.” Ice cubes rattled against the glass as she put his drink on the table in front of him, almost tipping it over in the process. Jeremiah reached out to catch it, his hand covering hers. Heat spread up his arm to his chest and radiated through his entire body. It occurred to him then that he hadn’t felt that feeling in…well, since the last time they touched actually.
Her brown eyes took him captive and wouldn’t let him go. He couldn't bring himself to pull his hand away. It was one of those moments where time stops, and the rest of the world disappears.
“Jeremiah?” Mara’s voice broke him out of his trance.
Before he even knew what was happening Belly was unloading the rest of her tray and bolting for the kitchen door.
No, no, no, no...
“Who was that?” Mara asked.
“Hm? Um...that was…” Jeremiah tried to catch his breath. Why was it so hard to breathe?
I’m still in love with her
“It was Belly, wasn’t it?”
The pain in her expression tore him in two. He didn’t want to hurt her, but what choice did he have? His heart had always—would always belong to Isabel Conklin. He couldn’t lose her again.
“I’m sorry, Mara. I need to go.”
“What?! Are you serious?!”
He rose to his feet and ran for the kitchen doors hoping it wasn’t too late.