SEIZED Part 1: New Adult Romantic Suspense (Seize Me Romance Fiction Series) by JC Coulton Read Free Book Online

himself that he’s trying to stay professional. I guess I can respect that. A lot went down back then, but so much water’s under the bridge. There’s nothing I can do now about all those years ago.
    I wonder what he’s been doing for the last ten years.
    “So, what happened?” I ask, “How come you left?”
    I say it evenly, making sure there’s no inflection of hurt in my tone. I figure it was because of his family. It always is when you’re in high school. Teens have no control over anything, no decisions to make and no power.
    “Yeah, my family moved, it was...”
    He looks down, and I know there’s more to it, but it’s not my place to ask. I’m not exactly offering up the details of my life, either.
    Cedar Rapids holds bad memories for me. Everyone I know says high school sucks, but I’m not sure if it actually did for them, the way it was for me. I always felt like a reject. I was too good at schoolwork, and too focused on sports. I had my mind made up so early about journalism, and I’m sure I ran the school paper with an iron fist. I wince a bit, thinking of the cool kids and their sneers. I don’t think of that as a happy time, but I do wonder what would have happened if things had turned out differently that summer after the state try-outs.
    By all accounts, Cedar Rapids was a good town to grow up in. I’ve got to remember that when I’m all down and out about my childhood. And if I didn’t live there, I would never have gotten to know April. So, that’s one redeeming feature about the place. Back then, we were super close. She went to another high school, but we used to hang out most weeknights and every weekend.
    I would constantly gossip away to her about my Blake obsession. Talking through scenarios that didn’t happen and making plans I never carried out. I’m sure I drove her crazy, but the power of his hold on me went beyond logic. He wasn’t the sporty type I usually went for. He wasn’t even nice to me most of the time. There was just something about him.
    It’s so surreal to see him looking back at me right now. I know I must look like a hot, crazy mess, but that shouldn’t even matter. I need to keep reminding myself what’s important.
    “So, what did you do with yourself?”
    I don’t mean to sound nosy, but the Blake who sits in front of me is different than the sixteen-year-old I knew back then.
    “Apart from becoming a cop, you mean?”
    He raises that same eyebrow sardonically and I see his sense of humor is still intact. Physically, though, everything is different about him. The way he stands, the way he walks. His hair is short, and he must be three times bigger than he used to be. He’s honestly turned into a full-blown hottie.
    I couldn’t help myself from looking at his butt when he got up earlier. It’s rock solid under that trim little waist. Not to mention those thick forearms I saw when he rolled up his sleeves. No tattoos that I can see now, but time has done him well. He’s all man now, yummy gold hairs glinting off that same brown skin I used to fret over. God, even his stubble-covered jaw has grown and is in stunning proportion to his gorgeous face and neck.
    There were times when I used to stare at him like a helpless knob. I would shrink and end up nearly hiding in my locker as he walked down the hall. I’m sure I’m flushing now just remembering it. He must have thought I was a complete weirdo. All googley-eyed, and so obviously in love with him. I know I wasn’t the only one, either. At one point, every girl in that town was watching him right along with me. That was before everything happened. I’m nowhere near the little fool I was then. I’ll bet he has no idea who he’s sitting across from. The old Carrie and everything she was back then has completely stopped existing.
    I pull my head back into the present. He’s looking at me, asking something about April’s family, and I wonder why he cares. It’s hardly as if the accident has