His Long-Lost Family. Brenda Harlen

settle for comfort and companionship. On the other hand, it might explain why her marriage had failed.

      “I think you’re romanticizing the memory,” he told her.

      “Maybe,” she allowed. “But it wasn’t my first kiss. And you weren’t my first lover—but you’re the one I’ve never forgotten.”

      Even if what she was saying was true, he wouldn’t let it matter. Because rekindling a romantic relationship with Kelly wasn’t an option. Getting involved with a woman who was also his brother’s best friend could only lead to a whole lot of grief, not to mention the fact that she had a kid to think about.

      So instead of admitting that he’d never forgotten her either, he only said, “Is there a purpose to this reminiscence?”

      “I wanted you to know that I had some concerns about coming back to Pinehurst now.”

      “Because of what happened between us so many years ago?” he asked skeptically.

      Her smile was sad. “Is that so unbelievable?”

      “Yes,” he said.

      “Did you never think of me after that weekend?”

      “Sure,” he said easily. “But I didn’t think that one weekend changed anything.”

      “It changed everything—at least for me,” she told him. “But when I called, you were already back together with Sara.”

      “It’s not like you called a few days later,” he felt compelled to point out in his own defense. “It was more like a few months.”

      Actually, two months, three weeks and five days, and during that time, not a single day had gone by in which he hadn’t picked up the phone to call her. But he’d never actually dialed her number, because he knew it would be a mistake. Because after only three days with her, he’d known that he could fall fast and hard for Kelly Cooper, and that was a complication neither of them needed at that point in their lives.

      She nodded in acknowledgment. “I know.”

      “And Sara and I had a history together,” he continued. “So when she said she’d made a mistake in ending our engagement, I agreed that we should try to work things out.”

      “Because you loved her,” she said softly. “And I was just the girl who helped you forget—for a few days—that she’d broken your heart.”

      He heard the vulnerability in her tone and he knew that, even after so many years, his reconciliation had hurt her. But the truth was, he’d never thought about Sara—not once—throughout the weekend that he was with Kelly. So instead of nodding and letting her believe it was true, he said, “I wanted you to believe that.”

      She frowned at his admission. “Why?”

      “Because we’d both agreed, at the end of the weekend that we’d spent together, that it couldn’t ever happen again. And then you called, and I could hear in your voice that you’d changed your mind, that you wanted more.” And in that moment, as much as he’d wanted her, he knew there could be no future for them together. Not at that time and definitely not in light of the conversation he’d had with his brother.

      “And you didn’t want more,” she guessed. “Not with me.”

      “What I wanted didn’t matter,” he told her. “You were still in school and barely twenty-one years old.”

      “You’re right—I was twenty-one years old.” She paused to draw in a deep breath before looking up at him. “And I was pregnant.”