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hated doing that to him. The way he missed you broke my heart.”
    But that was the only thing that had broken Hayes’s heart. Losing her certainly hadn’t.
    â€œHe’s never forgiven me, I don’t think.” Hayes turned his gaze to hers. “And neither have you.”
    Alice stared at him, her mouth dry, her heart fast. “No,” she whispered. “I guess I haven’t.”
    Without another word, she turned and walked away.
    Hayes watched Alice go, his chest heavy and aching. He wanted to call her back, wanted to so badly her name formed on the tip of his tongue, begging to jump off. He opened his mouth, then closed it. What more did they have to say to each other? He’d already hurt her too much.
    He curved his fingers into fists, remembering her expression of moments ago. The way her eyes had welled with tears, the way her mouth had trembled. Remembering her question, Is that why you ended our relationship? Because Jeff loved me? Because he needed me?
    She did think him a coldhearted bastard. Just as Jeff did.
    But isn’t that what he’d wanted? To push her away? To keep her and the whole damn world at arm’s length?
    But she’d gotten close anyway. Even after he’d struck out at her with every weapon in his verbal arsenal. She’d always had that ability. Had always been able to stand up to him.
    He admired that in her, admired her pluck.
    Hayes swore. If only his feelings stopped with admiration. They didn’t. She’d always been able to stir his emotions. And senses. He breathed deeply through his nose. The scent of her perfume, something at once quixotic and mysterious, lingered, and his senses swam with it.
    Whatever irrational chemistry had existed between them twelve years ago existed between them still. At least for him. As she’d faced him only moments before, he’d wanted to hold her, to touch her— even though they’d both been blazingly angry, even though he knew they were wrong for each other.
    She’d been gone minutes already, yet the want pulled at him still. He swore again. Twelve years ago he’d given in to the pull, and in the process had almost ruined all their lives.
    Jeff.
    Hayes turned and strode into the house, not stopping until he reached the back deck. He frowned. He was losing Jeff. He saw it, he felt it, and yet he had no idea how to stop the deterioration of their relationship. He’d worked on them being together, scheduling plenty of father-and-son time, thinking that if they spent more time together they would grow closer. Instead the opposite had happened.
    The deck overlooked the golf course’s third hole, and as he watched, a golfer approached the tee and prepared to swing. The man wheeled back and hit the ball, with obvious force but no finesse. The ball sliced badly to the right and into the rough. The golfer teed up and did the same thing again, probably believing that if he flailed at the ball enough times it would finally bend to his will.
    But it never would, Hayes thought. That golfer could flail at the ball a thousand times, and never get it right.
    Would he ever get it right with Jeff? Or would he spend the rest of his life doing it all wrong, missing the mark every time?
    Swearing, Hayes stooped and picked up a pine cone from the deck and flung it toward the golf course. He could walk into a courtroom, present a series of arguments and sway a jury or convince a judge. It was easy; he rarely lost.
    But in personal relationships, he always lost. He always felt lost.
    Thoughts of his wife, of his disastrous marriage, flooded his mind before he could stop them, before he could prepare himself. When he’d met her she’d been an outgoing and ambitious law student. They’d had similar backgrounds, similar goals. She’d seemed the perfect choice of life mate.
    But their union had been a disaster. She’d been too emotional, he too cold. She’d needed something from