Damn, she was too pretty to be real.
“So, you do recognize me.” The shock on her face turned to inquisitiveness.
“I'd know your eyes anywhere,” he admitted.
Behind her, Jill and Tracy disappeared into the crowd.
Curiosity gnawed at him.
“I'd know your laugh anywhere.” She paused, and the world seemed to disappear until they were the only beings left. Then she launched herself against him and hugged him tighter than he would have thought possible. “I've missed you.”
Those three little words came out on a shaky sigh.
They slayed him.
Against his better judgement, he hugged her back, hands sliding around her back and pulling her close. Holy hell she felt amazing, toned and yet soft in all the right places. And she smelled like a coconut and vanilla dream.
Holy hell.
She pulled back, arms still around his neck and stared up at him as if she couldn't believe her eyes. Chuckling, she hugged him again.
Damn, if it wasn't the most infectious sound, bringing a resounding rumble from his own chest.
“It really is you,” she said, her voice full of awe. “Where have you been? Do you know you're the only person in our class not on Facebook? Why does Jill call you Boomer?”
His lips twitched. She was still something else. And she'd overcome that painful shyness that'd held her back and made her feel removed from everyone.
How had that happened?
Dammit, he didn't need to know that.
“I've wondered that myself,” a voice inserted.
He glanced to his left and saw Celita staring back with the same curiosity that was mirrored on Sabrina's beautiful face.
“Oh...ugh...”
Teo, the saint, saved him. “Boomer, need a refill?”
Boomer shook his head. “Three's my limit.” Teo knew that.
“Right. Dylan and I are gonna get some air. Let us know if you need help changing that tire.” The barb was tossed over Teo's shoulder with a teasing smirk.
“Bite me,” Boomer shot at his friend’s retreating back.
“Tire?” Sabrina quipped.
“Celita, meet Sabrina Duncan. Is it still Duncan?” His brows lifted in question and he held his breath as he awaited her answer. God, why did it matter?
It didn't. She didn't matter.
She'd made it clear all those years ago and he was happy alone.
“Still Duncan,” she said with a laugh. “Nice to meet you, Celita.”
The two women shook hands and Boomer noticed Celita giving Sabrina a thorough once over. The feisty makeup artist seemed as taken with Sabrina as he felt.
“Celita is the makeup artist responsible for my, ugh, costume,” he said waving inanely at his chest. He glanced down and found the green body paint still in place and he was a little disappointed that Sabrina's bear hug hadn't rubbed it off.
“Oh—” Sabrina's jaw dropped again and her chin wobbled once before she snapped it shut and pasted on a smile that would have fooled someone who hadn't spent so much time with her. As it was, the grin didn't make her eyes crinkle. “You're very thorough. Was it hard to get him to hold still?”
The eye crinkle appeared, and she turned her focus to Celita.
“Yup. You know how SEALs are.”
“SEALs?” Sabrina's brows met her hairline.
“Former SEAL,” he murmured. He hated spreading that around. He was damned proud of the work he and his Team had done but he couldn't stand the groupies. Fucking BUD/S bunnies hanging out, hoping to score Uncle Sam's best of the best. “You ready to tackle that tire?” he asked Celita, hoping she'd drop the conversation.
Unfortunately, she waved him off.
“He's too modest,” Celita said. “I hear they can sit still on the battlefield for hours at a time and yet you get them in the make-up chair and they’re totally twitchy.”
“Gimme your keys and I'll go fix it.” At this point, he'd do pretty much anything to get out of the stifling room that smelled like coffee and cheap rubber costumes.
Celita linked her arm through Sabrina's and whatever she said in that quiet tone made Sabrina laugh.
Maybe leaving them alone together wasn't a good idea.
But then again, what the hell did it matter? He'd be done with the job soon and he was never going to see Sabrina again. Right?
Right.
Chance meeting. That was all.
Celita dug into the pocket of her form fitting jeans and then dropped her keyring into his hand. His heart and libido were firmly divided.
Heart said to keep moving. Women were nothing but trouble. Libido was having none of it. Sabrina'd disappeared from his life, leaving a giant hole, and she'd come back a Phoenix. He wanted to bask in her radiance a while longer. All night long.
Down boy.
His brain was on the fence, curious and yet unwilling to rehash the past. He'd learned his lesson, hadn't he?
Boomer pulled open the door and the bells jingled. Celita, the trouble maker, said a quick “thanks” before she and Sabrina stepped outside in front of him. The two women started off down the sidewalk, still arm and arm. When had they gotten so damned chummy? And why did he feel like his worlds were colliding? Old and new. Temporary and forgotten.
“Are you coming?” Celita asked over her shoulder when she was a good thirty feet away. His feet felt glued to the concrete.
What the hell was happening?
He nodded and forced himself to follow them through the crowd of party goers. Sabrina's laughter bounced off the old brick buildings and they made a right turn down a cross street.
They stopped half a dozen spaces down in front of Celita's old Pathfinder. Dozens of bumper stickers clung to the paint job, making the vehicle as colorful as its owner’s personality.
“What was he like as a five-year-old?” Celita was asking.
Sabrina shot him a mirthful smile and turned back to her new pal.
“Shorter. A lot less...green.”
The comment sent Celita into a fit of laughter.
Boomer stared between the two women. One he'd known forever it seemed and yet, he didn't know her at all. And the other, a more recent acquaintance who'd worked her way into his life with the precision of a surgeon's scalpel.
But Sabrina...when had she
