Page 4 of Captured Memories
3
This was a terrible plan.
Liv applied cherry red lipstick in her rearview mirror with the precision of experience, her brand of war paint to give her confidence today. By some miracle, a hangover hadn’t chased her into Tuesday, after the amount of whisky they swilled last night. She had needed all the liquid courage possible following her miserable date with Kyle-the-douche and the way the thought of today sent her into freak-out mode.
Still, she smoothed the surface of her navy blue cigarette pants and took a deep inhale. Her Converse might not be as stylish as a pair of pumps, but if she needed to move fast, she’d be able to bolt at a moment’s notice. She might feel safe sitting behind the wheel of her Subaru, but the idea of walking down Bardstown towards this café made her heart step in double time.
She tugged her black leather jacket from the back seat, more a security blanket than any sort of needed warmth since the temperature would climb with the hours. Liv refused to go anywhere without it even though the jacket had accumulated more patches and holes than was worth keeping. Ten years later, and she had never been able to let him go—not completely. He and this jacket remained in her memories as a reminder of a better time, before college had happened and she turned into this jaded mess.
Liv got out of the car.
This time of day on a Saturday, Bardstown Street exploded into full swing with traffic flowing on both sides, engines revving and tires whirring. Crowds mobbed the sidewalks, mostly folks of the bespectacled hipster variety, with which she tended to blend in well. Even though the sun beat down on her with a fiery insistence, she slipped her leather jacket on and made her way towards Cupid’s Café.
Despite the heat, Liv’s insides plummeted to Arctic temperatures with each step she took. The Greek-style columns framing the entrance begged for attention, though she couldn’t help wondering why she’d never given this place much consideration in the past. She’d walked this street a thousand and one times, so unless this was a new place, she classified herself as super inattentive. When she stepped to the front door, the wide windows cast the interior in sunlight, illuminating the dozen or so couples who lounged inside.
Her phone buzzed with a text from Tessa.
Stationed inside and at the ready.
She’d earned herself a cappuccino and one of the tooth-numbingly sweet creations they displayed inside the case. Liv sucked in another shaky breath and opened the door.
The rich scents of cumin and nutmeg floated her way first, the tartness of lemon and the tang of olive, mingling with the rich, earthy tones of roasted coffee. The low chatter inside remained at a pleasant murmur, and despite the first cursory sweep through the place, apart from Tessa with her mug of tea in the corner, she didn’t spot any nightmares from her past. Her throat tightened. Not like that meant she could rest easy. He might not have arrived yet.
She scanned the small round tables for an empty one, though most had filled up at this point with couples or a single person waiting. Sunlight poured in through the huge windows framed by sheer drapes, the elegant, flimsy fabric a tasteful touch. Despite the way her skin prickled and paranoia charged faster than a horse at the races, calm emanated from the café. Hushed, easygoing conversations flowed through this place, the lush notes of amber and coral cast a warm glow, and the click of the overhead fans blowing gentle breezes created a peaceful ambiance.
Liv glanced to the back of the room where a tall guy nearly dwarfed the small round table, his tattooed and tan forearms a stark contrast to the light surface. His dark, tangled hair was pulled into a ponytail, his beard trimmed to precision, all of which accented a firm jaw and a sensuous mouth hinting a smile. It wasn’t until he lifted his head and looked at her straight on that the devastating force of those intense green eyes rammed into her.
She recognized those eyes—she’d remember them anywhere.
Liv’s throat dried, and her mind dizzied. Not with fear. An ache grew inside her, a yearning so strong she almost lost her balance, and she tugged the jacket tighter. She’d expected to come here and confront the monster who destroyed her life, not the man who’d disappeared so long ago, the one whose jacket and the memories that came with it had kept her strong on some of the worst nights.
Based on the way his eyes widened as he met her gaze, he recognized her too.
Her feet carried her towards him before she even realized she moved, until she stood in front of his table. Never in a thousand years did she think he could have been the one who sent the invitation. She had never believed she’d see him again.
“Livs?” his voice came out hoarse, a delicious rough scrape that made her feel like she was sixteen again. She hadn’t been called the nickname in some time, but it snapped her to the present. Liv put her game face on, even though inside she stormed.
“Zane Parata,” she said, settling into the seat opposite him. “I thought you’d gotten swallowed up in a twister and settled among the indigenous people of Oz.” Her voice came out the practiced calm she perfected despite the way her heart sped, galloping away in her chest.
Those wicked brows of his rose, and a smile stole his face. Holy damn, he was still the same sort of gorgeous that turned heads with that Polynesian glow. Liv tried to ignore the heat threatening to rise to her cheeks—with her traitorously pale skin, she couldn’t hide any flush worth a damn.
“Looks like you never lost your sharp tongue either,” he grinned. His eyes traveled over her body with a hungry roam that surprised her. Zane had been her brother’s best friend, and even though they’d shared too many stolen glances to count, she’d been a hell of a lot more innocent then. The one kiss between them had promised to turn into an inferno, but before their fire had a chance to burn, Zane disappeared. To this day, her brother Lex refused to talk about him. Whatever happened back then damaged the friendship for good.
“What brings you around here?” Liv asked, curiosity burning through her.
Zane ran a hand through his tousled hair, giving her an ample glimpse of his biceps and those taut forearms in motion. “Never left,” he admitted, his gaze skating the tabletop, the shadows lingering there giving her hint enough not to push. “Spent some time in a stylish orange jumpsuit on the flip side of town, and I’ve been working in the kitchen at La Rouge ever since.”
Liv tried to keep her jaw from dropping as explanation of his disappearance added up real fast. She hadn’t the slightest idea what trouble Zane got into back in the day, but based on the way her brother zippered tight on the subject, she could assume the story was a whole lot of bad news bears.
“Even still, I’m surprised we haven’t run into one another in town,” she murmured, her voice lowering. “Does Lex know you’re around?”
Zane clenched his jaw and pressed his palms down on the table like he prepped to jet. Liv opened her mouth before she could help herself, some excuse leaping to the forefront, some reason to get him to stay. It had been so long. Too long. And she couldn’t stand the idea of him vanishing again, even if he’d been here under her nose the entire time.
Tessa’s shadow fell across the table as she stepped in front of them. “Is this man harassing you?” she asked in her firm cop tone. She slipped her badge onto the table, and Zane stiffened, his arms tensing and his eyes flashing.
Fuck. No, that’s the last thing she needed, to bring her cop friend around an ex-con. If he didn’t bolt before, he’d be flying like the breeze now.
“Tessa, it’s okay. It’s not him,” Liv lowered her voice and placed a hand over her friend’s. “Different person from a more distant past.”