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to make things right and he wasn't about to blow it. As he stood to face the music, Julia walked through the door. He froze, captivated by the way the wind caught her wheat blond hair.
    If only he'd asked Gran what she meant about Julia, maybe he'd have stayed home and he could have avoided this...

 
     
     
     
     
     
    Chapter Three
     
     
     
     
    "What in the hell was that?" Julia barked as she stormed onto the deck. Micah sank back into the picnic table, preparing himself for what was bound to be a long conversation.
    The playful mood from just a few minutes earlier had evaporated. As much as Micah wasn't ready to bare the depth of his transgressions to playful Julia, he'd sure as hell rather confess to her than to the one standing before him now. "What was what?"
    "All of it. The dance. The game. The dinner," Julia hissed. She didn't stop herself until she was standing directly in front of him with her shins pressed into the seat of the picnic table. "You can't expect things to be just like they used to be. They're not. You made sure of that."
    While he hadn't consciously been trying to fall back into old habits, it was easy to do with Julia. He'd spent thirteen years imagining what it would be like if they had another chance. If he hadn't lied to her. Micah wasn't dumb enough to think he could ever have that chance but that wasn't going to stop him from enjoying a few alcohol-induced moments of happiness.
    He wondered what happened in the minutes he'd been outside that caused her mood shift. "I'm sorry," he whispered, "I shouldn't have bet on dinner like that. Don't worry, I'll pay."
    "Seriously? You think this is about having to buy dinner for Austin and Lizzie?" She pulled the ponytail holder from her hair so she could wring her hands through it. The scent of her mandarin body wash assaulted Micah's senses. That, combined with the way her breasts were pushed up and closer to him when she lifted her arms made his jeans feel a size too small.
    "I don't give a damn about the money. It's the company," she spat.
    It was a dangerous move, but Micah decided to have a little fun with her. It wasn't right, he knew that, but mad Julia was better than no Julia at all. And even though she kind of scared him, angry Julia was sexy. "But I thought you got along with Austin and Lizzie?"
    She threw her hands in the air and growled, "It's not them. It's you. I could go out to dinner with them every night of the damned week. It's you that I don't think I can sit through one meal with."
    "You're right. I'm sorry."
    She wrapped her arms around her middle as she shivered. He slipped off his leather jacket and went to wrap it around her shoulders. He felt her jerk away before reluctantly accepting it. "Thank you," she grumbled.
    They were both silent for a minute before Micah reached for her hand and pulled her next to him on the picnic table. She resisted briefly before her posture relaxed and she joined him.
    Instead, she bumped his shoulder playfully, "I suppose you think I'm being stupid." There was a sadness in her eyes that shattered his heart. It wasn't anger that fueled her outburst, it was pain. Micah's head was spinning with her rapid mood swings.
    Micah sat there for a minute stroking the back of her hand with his thumb. He had built himself up for the explosive fallout their relationship never had. He wasn't prepared for any other emotion. "No, you're not the stupid one. I was. I am." He grabbed an empty beer bottle from behind him and started chipping away the label. "So, you're really back?"
    "Yep. At least for now." The conversation was strained. That wasn't surprising but it hurt to know just how much had changed between them. This was his Jules, the girl he used to talk to for hours that seemed like minutes. The girl who always smiled and laughed.
    Julia's eyes were drawn to Micah's throat as he swallowed hard, "How do we make it so it's not like this?" he pleaded. Realizing how much he missed her friendship. Even when