Page 21 of Chasing Amanda

“What was she like?”

“She was sweet.”

He cut a piece of his steak, popped it in his mouth.

“Do you miss her?”

He swallowed. “Uh, no. Not at all. It felt real in high school, but…” He shrugged. “We would never have made it. We’re too different.”

“Is she still in New York?”

“I assume, mostly. I think she travels for work. How about you? Serious boyfriends?”

“Not really. There was one guy in high school. Like you, it seemed serious at the time, but in retrospect…” She let her words trail off. No way was she getting into that with Mark. With anybody.

“I can’t believe any guy was dumb enough to let you go.”

She picked at the fish, flaked it into tiny pieces. “It’s not that shocking.”

He reached across the table and slipped his hand over hers, the feeling warm and comfortable, as if they’d been holding hands forever. He said nothing, just watched her.

And she knew.

All those stories about love at first sight, about how people knew from the very first look—or the first date, anyway—that they were meant to be with someone.

She’d scoffed at those stories, but now… Now, she got it.

She and Mark were together. Somehow, she knew they would be together forever.

Heat filled her cheeks, and she dropped her gaze before he noticed, focusing on their joined hands. What a silly, stupid notion. Thank heavens he couldn’t read her mind. He’d probably think she was nuts.

But even if it was crazy, it felt right. Not that her feelings were any barometer of truth—she’d learned that the hard way. But there was something about Mark that connected with something in her. Or maybe it was everything about him connecting with everything in her.

They were good together. They were meant to be together.

She steeled her courage and looked up.

He held her eye contact, and all her crazy feelings were right there, between them. As if he could read her mind. Or maybe he was having the same thoughts.

And then he blinked. His expression shuttered, and he yanked away and pushed back from the table. “Sorry. I’ll be…”

He fled out the door, leaving her with an icy hand and half-eaten fish tacos, wondering what had just happened.

CHAPTER TWELVE

Mark might as well have run screaming from the restaurant.

He welcomed the stiff wind blowing off the Atlantic. Maybe it would cool things off a little.

This was crazy. How could he fall in love in…what? Twenty-four hours? Thirty-six, if he started counting when he’d first laid eyes on her. Who did that?

It didn’t even make sense, especially not for Mark, who’d sworn since he was eleven years old he would never, ever fall in love. He’d broken that rule once and paid the price. He had no intention of doing it again. No intention of getting married and saddling himself with some woman who’d turn into an angry, bitter shrew.

He had quite enough shrew already in his mother.

And yet, here he was, tumbling through some rabbit hole like Alice-in-flipping-Wonderland. Except Alice had probably been suffering a psychotic break.

Was falling in love all that different, really? He was losing his head, losing his heart, losing his ever-loving mind.