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didn’t you call me back? I must’ve tried phoning you a million times but you didn’t even have the decency to return one of my calls. Do you know how many times I sat outside your window silently begging you to pick up your phone? But no, you didn’t even have the guts to tell me to fuck off. That weekend we spent together was the best weekend on my life and I thought that what we had was special, but you obviously didn’t feel the same way, or maybe you did but were too chicken shit to do anything about it.”
    “Brody, I…” Avery watched as he slumped back in the chair, dejected. If someone other than Brody had called her as obsessively as he did, she probably would’ve filed a restraining order. But this was Brody, the man she’d fallen in love with over the course of one all too brief weekend, and she owed him an explanation, now matter how half hearted it may be. “I wanted to call you back, I swear I did, but I was so busy with school. Life was complicated for me back then.”
    “Complicated as in boyfriend complicated?” The question slipped past his lips before he could stop it. Why on earth had he asked the stupid question in the first place knowing full well that he didn’t want to hear the answer?
    “No, nothing like that,” Avery replied, and averted her gaze. It was so long ago. Please just leave it alone, Brody.
    “Why the cold shoulder then? Why didn’t you ever call me back?”
    Before Avery had a chance to respond, a tall, slender woman appeared at Brody’s side, and nervously he once again began to fidget with the ring on his finger.
    Caught off guard for the second time that day, Avery glanced up at the stunning woman who had placed her hand on Brody’s shoulder and was now leaning over to give him an affectionate kiss on the check. Her gaze wandered to his trembling hands and to the wedding band that encircled his finger, and wedding band that perfectly matched the on worn by the brunette standing beside him.
    “Avery, this is Veronica, my wife. Veronica, this is Avery, an old friend of mine.”
    A look of recognition flashed across the woman’s face and she scowled, but politely offered her hand. “It’s a pleasure to finally meet you, Avery.”
    He’s married? Avery searched her mind, trying to recall if Brody had worn a wedding band the last time she saw him, but was drawing a blank. Oh God, did I sleep with a married man? Not wanting to draw attention to her thoughts or to the frustration that was reddening her already flushed cheeks, she shook the woman’s outstretched hand and mumbled, “Pleased to meet you too.”
    “Why don’t I give the two of you time alone to catch up? Meet me inside when you’re done.” Veronica placed a swift and tender kiss to Brody’s lips before retreating to the cool comfort of the coffee shop.
    Tension mounted in his shoulders, causing his muscles to strain even more against his black, cotton t-shirt. “Avery…”
    “Brody, please,” she interrupted, and raised her hand to silence him. Bile rose in the back of her throat. The thought that she may have slept with a married man made her physically ill. “I don’t want to hear it.”
    Brody could visibly see the horror hidden deep in Avery’s eyes and rushed to explain. “Avery, look at me.” Leaning across the table, he gently cupped her face in the palm of his hand and tilted her chin upwards, bringing her eyes to meet his. “I wasn’t married when I met you. Veronica and I have only been married for a little over two years. I waited for you. I prayed that you’d come back to me, but you never did.”
    “Maybe you weren’t married then, but you are now, and considering our past, it’s inappropriate for me to be sitting here talking to you.” Reaching down, Avery picked up the bags that sat at her feet and stood up. “It was nice seeing you again, Brody.”
    “Avery, please don’t go.”
    She wanted desperately to turn around and answer the husky voice that beckoned to