Chapter 2

Micheal was only half listening to the conversation going on around him , He had thought tonight would be okay

The bar was a place he’d never been, so it shouldn’t bring up memories. But the location wasn’t the problem.

Maybe at some other places , it definitely was at times, but tonight, it was the company.

He glanced up at the man sitting to his right. Robert Anderson, his best friend growing up. Robert had changed very little, maybe a bit thicker in the middle, broader in the shoulders. But he still had the same easygoing nature and a dry sense of humour. And he still had Sophia, his beloved wife.

He glanced at Sophia, Robert’s wife for… was it five years already? Sophia looked the same, too. Maybe a little more mature, more refined too.

An image of Sophia and Beverly immediately flashed through in his mind. One brunette, the other was blond, both had ponytails. They’d been as inseparable as he and Robert had once been. As all four of them had been. They’d always assumed they’d stay friends, no matter where their lives took them.

But sometimes it takes just one single event to alter a man’s future. Micheal had ended up in a path far different from anything any of them could have ever imagined.

He hadn't seen either of his friends for over 3 years now until his return to Coden cove. Even when he returned, he avoided seeing any of them.

He had no choice after Robert had called him nearly a dozen times,then  he’d realised he couldn’t avoid them any longer,  so far he remained in Coden cove, a small town, he'd have to face them sooner or later. So they’d gotten together a few times. Even though Micheal quickly realized he still liked his old friends, very much, it had been difficult-so many memories revolved around these two people. Memories of…

“Oh, please sing, Sophia.”

Micheal blinked, pulled out of his thoughts by the pale blonde to his right. Anna was the woman who Robert and Sophia had invited along as his date. Although none of them had said that, exactly.

Sophia shook her head. “No, I'm not singing. Not tonight.”

“That’s what you think,” Robert said, wiggling his eyebrows. A gesture Micheal remembered well.

“What have you done, Robert Andrew Anderson?” Sophia demanded.

“Nothing,” he assured her, his grin in direct opposition to his denial.

“You put in a song request while I was in the ladies’ room, didn’t you?” Sophia drilled her husband with a look that would have crumbled a weaker man.

“Maybe. Maybe not.”

“Did he, Micheal? I know I can get the truth from you.” She gave a pointed look to her husband. “Micheal was always the more upfront one of the two of you.”

Micheal forced himself to swallow the sip of club soda he’d just taken, the carbonation hurting his throat. Upfront? Yeah, that showed how little they knew him now.

Fortunately, he was saved from having to respond by one of the bar employees announcing that Sophia Anderson would be the next to sing.

“You,” Sophia growled at Robert, although there was no real anger in her eyes. Her cheeks did flush a bright red.

Suddenly Micheal was seeing Sophia as she’d looked right before the senior talent show back in their high school days. She’d blushed a bright red just before taking the stage.

Beverly had been nervous, too, although no one would have guessed it. She’d had a way of remaining so calm, so composed. Only Micheal had known, because when he’d held her hand before she took the stage, her fingers had been ice cold and trembling.

Ice cold, trembling. He paused, his memory wandering off for a moment, to a dark place, a place he didn’t want to go. He forced his memories back to that senior show. Beverly had walked up onto that stage with Sophia, looking like she hadn’t a fear in the world. They’d sungEvHeal the world” by Micheal Jackson though they didn't win, they took second place.

And now, that song seemed strangely prophetic.

“Go on,” Robert urged, his voice distant, becoming a part of Micheal’s memory. “You know how I love to hear you sing.”

Micheal recalled how he and Robert had cheered and whistled for Beverly and Sophia that night.

Sophia stood, her movement pulling Micheal’s attention back to the present. Her cheeks were an even brighter shade of pink, but she assented, walking up to the microphone with only a little trepidation in her steps.

Micheal forced a smile and applauded with the rest of the room, but it was only a reflexive reaction. In his head he was back with Beverly, remembering her voice rather than Sophia’s.

“She’s just as good as she always was, isn’t she?” Robert said.

Micheal blinked, again torn from his own memories. He glanced around, for a moment almost confused by where he was.

“Yeah, she is,” he agreed.

Suddenly, the hairs on the back of his neck stood up, his spine straightening. He started to glance over his shoulder, expecting to see Beverly right there behind him. She’d had that effect on him, bringing his body to attention just by walking into a room. But he stopped himself. She wasn’t there. He was obviously reacting to all the memories being dredged up by seeing his old friends and watching Sophia sing. This was why he’d avoided them. The memories were too much for him.

A hint of something spicy, like an exotic mixture of vanilla and cinnamon, wafted around him, growing more and more intense until it was nearly overwhelming. He shot a look at Robert to see if he also smelled the scent, but Robert’s attention was locked on his singing wife.

Micheal then looked at Anna-she also watched Sophia until she noticed him staring at her. She smiled, nothing in the gesture indicating she smelled the heady scent surrounding them.

He was obviously hallucinating. His memories became far too real, far too tangible, although the perfume lacing the air wasn’t something Beverly would have worn. She’d liked light scents, floral scents. This smell was rich and earthy, reminding him again of dark, ground spices. Wild, exotic.

Suddenly Robert and Anna were on their feet, cheering and applauding, and Micheal realised that Sophia had finished singing her song. He rose, too, automatically clapping along with them. Still the scent enveloped him. What was it?

Micheal heard the others compliment Sophia as she returned to the table. He even murmured his own compliment, although he couldn’t have said what his words had actually been. Obviously coming here was a bad idea-he just felt weird tonight.

“This calls for another round of drinks,” Robert said, patting Micheal on the back.

Micheal started at the affectionate tap.

“I don’t know,” he said. “I think maybe I should call it a night.”

“Man, it’s still early,” Robert said. He sounded disappointed. “Hell, we have the babysitter until midnight.”

Another surreal detail why he'd avoided them. Robert and Sophia had children. A Twin, a boy and a girl. They had the perfect family.

Again, Beverly appeared in his mind, as they’d planned to have kids, Beverly had wanted a boy and a girl,” 

“What if we get two boys or two girls?” Micheal had said. “It could happen, you know. I’m not a doctor, but I know about this type of thing.”

Beverly had grinned. “That would be fine, too. But I know we will have one of each.”

“Micheal,” Sophia said, drawing him back to the present. “Please stay. We’ve barely seen you since you moved back to corn cove.”

Micheal’s first instinct was to simply tell them that he had to go. This was too much. He was overwhelmed by memories tonight. He thought he could handle it, but-he just couldn’t. But that might lead to topics he really didn’t want to talk about.

In the brief moments he’d seen his old friend, Robert had made it clear that he thought Micheal needed to move on. But Robert didn’t have all the facts and he never would.

Maybe if Micheal just stayed for one more drink, then he could escape without talking about anything too personal.

“Okay. One more, I'll take one more.”

“Sit,” Robert urged him with a pleased smile. “This one is on me. Are you still sticking with club soda?”

Micheal nodded Yes.

“I’ll go with you,” Sophia said, joining her husband. “Wine-right, Anna?”

“Yes,” the woman at his left answered.

As Robert and Sophia headed to the bar, Micheal again wished he’d just said he was calling it a night. Said he wasn’t feeling well. That wouldn’t be a lie. Instead he was left here with the woman they had hand-selected for him to move on with.

“So, Sophia tells me that you grew up in Coden cove,” Anna said, drawing his attention to her.

He nodded. “Yes.”

Anna smiled. She was a pretty woman with shoulder-length, honey-blond hair, gray-blue eyes. It wasn’t hard to tell why Robert and Sophia had introduced him to her. Blond hair and fresh-faced beauty. Just like Beverly. The type he would be attracted to, except he felt nothing looking at Anna. Not a twinge of attraction.

He’d have to tell Robert that he appreciated his concern, but he wasn’t interested in meeting anyone. No more setups. Period.

“And you are a veterinarian?”

He nodded again Yes.

“Sophia said that you are taking over your grandfather’s business. That he was also a vet.”

“Still is-although he’s getting too old for some of the work. He doesn’t seem to know it, though.”

Anna laughed. A nice laugh, but again he felt nothing at the sound.

He forced a smile, but the strained curve dissolved as he had that sensation again, the feeling someone was watching him. Again, he told himself to ignore it.

“I’m not from around here,” she volunteered, and he realized he probably should have asked her.

“I grew up in Chicago, so this was a big change for me,” she continued. “But I really love it here. The area is so beautiful. 

The strange feeling persisted as he tried to follow Anna’s words. Tingles ran over his body like whispering fingers on his warmed skin. He flicked a look around the room, half expecting to see a pale blonde with wide sky-blue eyes. Instead his gaze landed on a woman seated at the table facing them, his eyes drawn right to her.

Her head was tilted back just slightly, exposing a long, elegant neck and a billow of dark hair. A delicately pointed chin and full lips, the bottom one lusher than the top. Her eyes were closed, and those wide lips parted. For all the world, she looked like a woman right at the point of rapture.

Instantly, his cock hardened, desire coursing through him that matched the look on the woman’s face.

Then her chin lowered and her eyes opened. She met his gaze unerringly as if she’d known he’d been watching her. Their eyes met. Attraction, need tightened his muscles; his penis pressed against the unforgiving material of his jeans. Stunned, he looked away, facing Melanie, not seeing her.

A wave of something akin to nausea joined the desire in his body. What the hell? Here he was, telling himself that he wasn’t interested in meeting anyone. And he wasn’t. His libido had been on hiatus for a long time. But then, in the span of an instant, he was getting rock-hard over a total stranger.