“Ryan!” I yelped. My mouth fell open in utter shock.

“Good evening, Nina. I’m afraid I’m gonna have to ask you to step out of the vehicle.”

“Don’t be an ass. It’s raining,” Jared said.

Ryan nodded. “Just accompany me to the cruiser, Ma’am,” he said, sounding very professional and detached.

I nodded, looking to Jared. “It’s okay. I’ll be right back.” I kissed him, and then scrambled to open the door. I tried to be calm, to preserve Jared’s feelings, but Ryan was just a few feet away. I had been so desperate to see him, and waited so long, any false composure at that moment was impossible.

“Nina,” Jared called after me, but the tires sloshing through the wet pavement as cars passed by drowned out the following words.

It was wrong, but in my haste to speak to Ryan again, I ignored Jared and ran to the cruiser at full speed, paying no attention to the rain.

The air was biting, and the rain instantly dampened my clothes. I yanked open the passenger-side door, assuming it would be as cozy as the Escalade.

It wasn’t.

“Cheese and rice!” I said, crossing my arms and bending at the waist. “You could hang meat in here!”

“Sorry,” Ryan said, turning up the heat. “I keep it cool so I can wear my coat. Can’t really waste time putting it on before I make a stop.”

I laughed once. “A cop?”

“Yeah.” He smiled and looked down. “Yeah.”

“I guess this means you’re not coming back to Brown.”

“Looks that way,” he said without humor.

He was thicker than I remembered, but his face was thin. Lean was probably a better word. A hardened expression replaced his sweet smile. He appeared older; a long, weary line of disappointment and horrendous experiences no man should ever have to encounter reflected in his once bright, green eyes.

By his hesitation alone, I could tell the effort to pull me over wasn’t due to the anticipation of a happy reunion.

“You stopped writing.”

“I did,” he admitted. “I used to sit on a dune and watch the sun set, thinking about you…writing half of what I wanted. That was my nightly routine for a long time.”

“My postman has some explaining to do.”

“I only sent a few of them. I was in love with you for a long time, Nina.”

“I’m sorry,” I said, trying the swallow the lump that had formed in my throat. It was pointless to apologize after what I had done to him, but the words fell out of my mouth.