Remember Love Read Free

Kitty. Evading conflict.
    And yet, she
appeared to have changed in a subtle way. Seeing her so thin and vulnerable
shocked him. He'd imagined her as an older version of the girl he'd known.
Peaceful. Calm, if a little timid. Not this pale wraith of a woman. Pain etched
her features, shadowed her gray eyes, not making her less beautiful, but
changing her nonetheless.
    What had happened
to her?
    Her mother?
Perhaps. The elder Katrina Ross had always been bitter and mean, quick to spite
her only daughter.
    His fingers
tapped the counter. The granite felt cool beneath his fingertips. "Has
your mother owned this place for long?"
    "It’s mine." 
She glanced up from the receipt drawer. "I’ve had it five years."
    He straightened,
focusing on Kitty’s face, noting the new lines and smudged shadows. She owned
it, but that wasn’t enough reason to change his plans. "How's business?"
    She paused
organizing the receipts. What had prompted him to ask that? Afraid to meet his
gaze, she fiddled with the papers. "Business is fine."
    She pushed a
stray curl behind her ear, praying Alec would leave soon. Handsome and broad, he
dwarfed her little bookstore and reminded her of things better left in the
past.
    Like the touch of
his skin against hers, the softness of their first kiss…
    She shoved the
receipts into their respective files with more force than necessary. When she
looked up, he was frowning.
    "You still
live here, in Hicksville." His tone questioned as he stepped closer.
    Katrina was glad
the counter separated them, glad she was not close enough to see the peculiar
gold-flecks in his hazel eyes or to feel the virility he wore like a finely
tailored jacket.
    She swallowed,
hardly able to look at him without wanting to weep. The way his hair hung over
his brow, a bit too long, wild, the slanted shape of his eyes . . . every part
of his face looked like Joey. The knowledge tore through her, ripping at the
ragged edges of a wound not yet healed.
    She gulped a deep
breath, willing the aching sorrow to pass, at least until she could get home to
safety.
    Focus.
    A bit steadier,
she dared to look up.
    He watched her,
eyes narrowed. His shoulders were broader, his voice deeper, but the way he
moved, the scent of his cologne . . . The years melted away and she was
seventeen again.
    Ensnared in a
love gone horribly wrong with a boy everyone had warned her couldn't be trusted.
    "You okay,
Kitty?"
    She backed up a
step, bumping into the wall behind her. "My name is Katrina and I like it
here in Hickstown."
    The corners of
his lips lifted. "Ville."
    "Whatever."
She shoved her trembling hands into the pockets of her faded Levi’s. "I’m
not the same girl you dated in high school. Judging by those lines around your
eyes, I’d guess you’re different too."
    She studied his
leaner features, the cheekbones that seemed more prominent, harder, edgier than
before. "I’ve heard you were in real estate at the right time." She
looked past him, struggling to forget the past, knowing it was impossible. A
shiny motorcycle hugged the curb in front of her store.
    "Nice bike.
Looks expensive." Her tone came out more snide than she’d intended.
Haughty to cover her torturous fear.
    Alec's features
darkened. "It’s worth more than your store."
    "Maybe in
dollars." She pursed her lips. He was still as competitive as ever. Get
him angry and he'd leave. She'd learned that ten years ago. "Your ego’s
the same."
    "And you’re
just as disorganized."
    Offense prickled
through her. "My shop is perfect."
    Alec squinted and
annoyance tugged at the corners of his mouth. Good. He'd always hated to be
contradicted. A tic cramped his eyelid and if she weren't so desperate for his
departure, his stress might make her feel some pity.
    "Your books
don’t appear to be in any type of alphabetical order. They’re shelved randomly.
And look," he picked up a novel and stuck it in her face. "This has
two prices on it." When she rolled her eyes, he smirked. "You’re in
the