This wasn’t good. In fact, if his mother were to see them, she might very well consider it her duty to create a scene and walk out of the restaurant. Worse yet, she might find it necessary to make some loud and slanderous comment about their mother. Staring in their direction was a dead giveaway, but for the life of him, he couldn’t stop. Noelle. The years had matured her beauty. He’d been in love with her as a teenager and she’d become the greatest source of pain in his life. For a long time, he’d convinced himself that he hated her. Eventually he’d realized it wasn’t true. If anything, he was as strongly drawn to her now as he had been back then. More so, and he detested his own weakness. The woman had damn near destroyed him. In spite of that, he couldn’t look away.

“I can seat you now,” the hostess said.

Thom hesitated.

“Thom,” his mother said, nudging him, “we can be seated now.”

“Yes, sorry.” He could only hope it wouldn’t be anywhere close to Noelle.

The hostess escorted them to a table by the window. He pulled out his mother’s chair, making sure her back was to Noelle and Kristen. Unfortunately, that meant he was facing them. Kristen had her back to him, which left him with an excellent view of Noelle. She apparently noticed him for the first time because her fork froze halfway to her mouth. For the longest moment, she stared at him, then caught herself and averted her eyes.

“Do you see someone you know, dear?” his mother asked, scrutinizing the menu.

“Yes…no,” he corrected. He lifted the rather large menu and pretended to read over the offerings. The strategy of entertaining his mother in order to get her mind off the events of that morning was about to backfire.

In the years since Noelle, Thom had been in several relationships, two of which had grown serious. Both times he’d come close to suggesting marriage and then panicked. It was little wonder after what Noelle had done to him, but he couldn’t blame her entirely.

When the moment came to make a commitment, he couldn’t. He simply couldn’t. And he knew why—although the reason baffled and frustrated him. He didn’t love either Caroline or Brenda with the same intensity he’d loved Noelle. Perhaps it was impossible to recapture the emotional passion of that youthful episode; he didn’t know. What he did know was that the feelings he’d had for other women hadn’t been enough. He’d found them attractive, enjoyed their company…but he needed more than that.

He needed what he’d had with Noelle.