Over the years his features had matured. He no longer had the look of the cute boy she’d fallen in love with so many years ago. His eyes appeared to have darkened somewhat but were perfect for his brown skin tone. His high cheekbones had always been his most captivating asset. They still were. Even with that dimple in his chin that couldn’t be ignored. The dimple became even more defined whenever he smiled, which was rare when he saw her. She had a tendency to elicit his frowns.

She would be the first to admit that a younger Kaegan Chambray had been a heartthrob, but the older version of that heartthrob was now just too breathtaking for words. Whether she liked him or not, she had to give him that. Deciding she’d both scowled at him and lusted after him long enough, she glanced around.

Two years ago, Kaegan had torn down the house he and his parents had lived in to build this one. She knew the painful memories within the walls of his childhood home. His father had been an alcoholic. Most of the time, he managed to stay sober during the week to run his business. But on the weekends he would drink himself into a stupor.

It was during those times Kaegan would use the small boat he kept hidden away in the underbrush of the bayou and escape through the swamps to a place he considered his hideaway, a deserted, uninhabitable island called Eagle Bend Inlet. Bryce had feared for his safety, worrying that one of those huge alligators was going to eat him alive.

She continued to study his home. She’d never been given a grand tour, like a number of others, but she liked the parts she’d seen. It was right on the bayou, on land that had been in the Chambray family for generations. She could imagine waking up here every morning to such a gorgeous view. According to Vashti, due to the risk of hurricanes, Kaegan had built a home that could withstand up to four-hundred-mile-an-hour winds. And the tilt of the foundation, which wasn’t even noticeable, was a deterrence to flooding.

She thought the place was huge for just one man but he’d always said that one day he would grow up and build a mansion...for them. Well, he had certainly built a monstrosity of a house, but it hadn’t been with her in mind. When he’d returned to town it had been quite obvious he hadn’t wanted her in his life any more than she wanted him in hers.

“Here you are.”

She turned to greet Vashti. “Yes, here I am on a Friday night. I could be somewhere else, you know, and would be if I thought for one minute that I wouldn’t hear about it from you tomorrow. One day you’re going to realize that no matter what you think, Vash, all Kaegan and I feel for each other now is contempt. Total dislike.”

Vashti rolled her eyes. “If you say so. By the way, did you see Ashley? She looks great pregnant. Ray wasn’t messing around. Who comes back from their honeymoon pregnant?”