Free Remembering Everly (Lost & Found #2) by J. L. Berg

“This is what you’re looking for, August!”
    I shook my head as it fell into my palms.
    There was a time when I’d wanted nothing more than to have every minute of my life back—to swim in the stream of my own consciousness.
    But now that it was a reality, that old saying about the grass being greener was definitely starting to bite me in the ass. My head was constantly swirling. I never knew when a memory would come and when one did, half the time it didn’t make sense. One day I’d have a flashback from childhood—something random like a trip to the grocery store with my mom. Two days later, I’d remember opening my locker in high school or going to lunch with Everly.
    It was as if my life was an endless roll of film, and someone had come along, spliced it all up and tossed it to the floor. Now every film cell, or memory, was out of order. I didn’t understand how they all fit and I was beginning to fear I might never put them all back together again.
    I needed answers. I needed everything lined up in a nice neat row so I could see the timeline of my life and understand the barrage of memories that kept assailing me. Nothing made sense. Hell, I still barely understood the job I went to on a daily basis. A few memories of a financing class would be helpful.
    Part of me still held out hope that if I could just shuffle through the right memories and find the clues I needed to somehow get out from under Trent’s tight grasp, everything could go back to the way it was.
    Everly could be mine again.
    But she wasn’t.
    She’d chosen someone else, and there wasn’t a damn thing I could do about that.
    *  *  *
    I was over an hour late when I pulled out of my driveway in a rush and headed for Magnolia’s high-rise apartment downtown.
    She’d already left two voicemails and several text messages. I hadn’t responded to either.
    This level of groveling needed to be done in person.
    She’d invited me over for a casual night at her place tonight. With the promise of a cooked meal and a movie, she’d reinforced that her five-date rule was back in full force and we were definitely starting over from the very beginning.
    I’d happily smiled and told her that was absolutely fine with me. I was in no rush.
    She thought I was being a gentleman, but honestly the idea of moving on beyond Everly seemed unimaginable. The mere thought of taking another woman to bed had me nearly nauseous.
    I knew eventually it would happen. I wasn’t planning on joining a monastery any time soon, but I just had this romantic notion that if I held on to that last night with Everly for as long as possible, a part of her would always belong to me—only me.
    Knowing her lips had been the last I’d tasted, and her body had been the last I’d touched? It centered me. Grounded me. Realizing that could soon come to an end was like drilling the final nail in my coffin.
    Parking in the garage below, I took the elevator up to Magnolia’s apartment and walked down the lavish hallway until I reached her door. Knocking gently, I waited for her to answer.
    The look on her face was anything but happy when the door slowly creaked open.
    “You’re late,” she said, the look of disappointment written clear across her perfect complexion.
    “I’m sorry,” I said, feeling like the worst kind of asshole on the planet. She quietly studied my features, clearly weighing the sincerity of my apology. After a moment or two, the door opened, an obvious invitation that I was now welcome inside.
    I followed her as she turned, letting the door shut behind us. She was dressed down, something I’d never seen before. Every other time we’d seen each other, she’d always been in smart dresses and heels, or something equally impressive. Tonight, she was in simple jeans and a cute t-shirt. Her hair and makeup were much less grand as well, but she was still beautiful. Just different—more vulnerable looking.
    I glanced over and noticed her small dining table set for