Free The Returning Hero by Soraya Lane Page B

had been nothing more than that, because he’d had a girlfriend, although she’d be lying if she said she hadn’t been thinking about him afterward. That she hadn’t wished he’d been single.
    And then she’d met Sam. Gorgeous, kind, loving Sam, who’d she fallen in love with and married within a year. Leaving Brett as a pleasant memory of what could have been.
    “I told Sam that I’d never found the girl I met at that party, the one I’d talked about nonstop, because when I saw him with you, I knew he’d found the one .” Brett blew out a breath. “I never stopped kicking myself for letting you walk away that night, and I got to see my best friend marry my dream girl. And all these years I just kept my mouth shut and never said anything, because no good could ever have come out of me being honest about my feelings, about what had happened.”
    She couldn’t stop staring at Brett, could hardly believe what he was telling her—the words that were coming out of his mouth. She’d been insanely attracted to him, too, but thinking about what could have been wasn’t something she’d ever really considered, until now. Because she’d been happy with Sam, she’d loved Sam, and Brett had always been his best friend. His best friend who’d loved to flirt with her and make her laugh, who she’d always thought could have been someone more to her at a different time, different place.
    “So what did you come back for this time, Brett?” she asked.
    Brett shrugged. “I told myself I was coming back to look out for you, to stay true to what I promised Sam, but honestly? That’s not the reason I’m still here.”
    Jamie’s hand was shaking slightly as she reached for her glass, clutching the stem to steady it, for something to do to stop herself from staring at him. For the first time in her life, she was absolutely speechless—couldn’t even grasp what he was telling her. She took a sip of wine.
    “So why are you still here?” Her voice was so low she wondered if he’d even heard what she’d said.
    “Because I’ve never forgotten how I felt that night I first met you, and how I felt every time I saw you with Sam over the past six years. Every single goddamn time, Jamie.”
    She’d be lying if she didn’t admit to always liking him, too. Because the truth was, she’d never forgotten how she felt the night they’d met, either. And they’d always been so comfortable with one another, so easy.
    “And how do you feel now?” she asked, feeling brave and needing to know how he honestly felt about her right now.
    He reached for one of her hands, turned it so her palm was facing up and stroked his fingers across her skin before closing his hand over hers. “Honestly?”
    Jamie nodded, needing to know, to hear what he had to say.
    “I wish to hell I didn’t feel so damn guilty, but my feelings for you haven’t changed, and I don’t think they ever will. No matter how many times I tell myself that it’s wrong, all the reasons I have for it to be wrong , I can’t change how I feel.”
    Which meant the ball was in her court. It was up to her to decide where this conversation was going, what would happen next. And just because she wanted something to happen, didn’t mean she was ready for it.
    “I…” Her voice trailed off. “I don’t know what to say.”
    “Then don’t say anything,” he said. “Just don’t say anything, or forget I ever told you, if you need to. I don’t want things to be weird between us, but I couldn’t keep this to myself any longer.”
    “Do you ever think about what might have happened? What could have been if I hadn’t met Sam, if you’d found me before then?” she asked, her voice almost a whisper. “Even the day before I met him, that could have changed everything.”
    “All the time,” he said straight back. “I know things would have been different, but I was too slow to find you. We can’t look back, Jamie. Trust me, I’ve been doing it for years and