Read Online Forgetting August (Lost & Found) by J. L. Berg - Free Book Online Page B

from the many visions I’d had of him over the years, and yet I still froze like a statue.
    I couldn’t breathe. I tried, taking quick sips of air through my lips and swallowing them in an attempt to force the air down, but it just felt like gravel against my throat.
    He couldn’t be here. Not here with my coworkers, who had no idea of the life I’d once had. Snapping back into reality, I moved. Pure survival instinct flowed through my veins now. I needed him away from here—out of my life.
    “I’m taking my lunch!” I hollered, grabbing my purse from under the cash register as I stepped forward, taking a ragged breath that seared a fiery path down my windpipe.
    “What are you doing here?” I gritted through my teeth.
    His eyes met mine and a brief moment of shock mixed with surprise moved through his features.
    “Everly?” he said, an acknowledgment that almost seemed a confirmation.
    “Yes, who else would it be?” I answered with annoyance, grabbing his arm. I tugged him out of the building.
    I glanced back and tried not to notice the way his eyes could look straight into me, like he had a direct line to my soul. It unnerved me—still.
    He seemed unaware of his effect on me as his gaze darted from me to the street and back toward the building. I let go of his arm, not wishing to hold on to any part of him for longer than necessary, and watched as he pushed his hands into his jeans pockets.
    He was thinner than before, the jeans hanging looser on his body than they once had. But he was still August…still formidable and…
    Look away, Everly. Look away.
    “Is that where you work?” he asked, motioning toward the tan apron I still wore. I looked down and huffed, mad that he’d made me rush out and miss out on my date with my soup.
    “Yes,” I answered, undoing the ties and neatly folding it into my purse. “Isn’t that why you’re here?” I folded my arms across my chest, a clear indication of my less than hospitable attitude.
    His hands flew up in a defensive gesture.
    “No, god no. I’m sorry. This…shit. I’m sorry. I’ll go. I didn’t mean to.” A frustrated huff flew from his lips as his hand ran through his messy hair. One last glance and he turned.
    “August,” I called out, hating myself for getting involved. I was an idiot.
    A moron and a schmuck.
    No doubt, this was exactly what he was hoping for, and I was falling for his scheme beautifully. But as it had always been with all things August-related, I just couldn’t stop myself. “What are you doing here?”
    He stopped and I watched his shoulders fall in defeat as he pivoted back in my direction.
    “I’m lost,” he simply stated.
    “What?”
    “I decided to go for a walk; you know, to clear my head, and before I knew it one block started looking like another and I couldn’t remember my address, and suddenly I was going in circles.” He let out a frustrated breath. “I’ve been walking all morning.”
    “Are you serious?” I asked.
    He just stared.
    “But your house is at least five miles from here,” I stated.
    “You know where I live?” he asked, before he remembered our earlier conversation. “Oh, right.”
    Part of me—the untrusting cynical side that still remembered the August who’d locked me in the house when he went to work during the day—doubted his sincerity.
    That part of me really wanted to believe that this was an elaborate hoax he’d concocted to get me back.
    Because the other part of me—the trusting, loving side—knew I was in big trouble with a brand new August in my life.
    *  *  *
    “You really don’t have to do this,” he said again as I clicked the “unlock” button on my little blue Kia sedan.
    “I know,” I grumbled, hating myself already for deciding to drive him home. “Get in.”
    I’d blame it on my good upbringing, but that certainly wasn’t it. God knows the host of foster parents I’d had over the years hadn’t taught me many values besides eat everything in