1. Prologue
1
PROLOGUE
ASHLEIGH
“Are you in love with him?” Colin asks.
We’d just walked through the door of my apartment, only long enough for me to sit my bags down and grab a bottle of water from the refrigerator. We were in Vegas because Colin and Bradley had a baseball tournament. Well, that, and to be with my best friend, Gabriella. That’s what I told myself anyway. Deep down, it was because I knew Ryley was going to be there too, fighting. Seeing him again had only awakened what I kept buried inside of me.
I didn’t know what to tell Colin as he stood there looking at me with those bright green eyes of his. The eyes which belonged to a man who was everything I could ever want—smart, loving, caring, and sexy as hell. Not to mention he had a body to die for. Colin was our school’s star pitcher, and on his way to bigger and better things in the MLB.
I still haven’t answered him yet, but if I let the truth come out of my mouth, I won’t be able to take it back. Not even a day ago, I was afraid I was pregnant with Ryley’s child. It was the scariest moment in my life, but what frightened me more was the look in Ryley’s eyes when he thought he was going to be a father. He wasn’t ready . . . hell, I wasn’t ready.
The only problem was, right after I left him for Colin, he went straight back to his old ways with his identical twin. It’s like I was erased from his mind, no longer the girl he fell in love with.
I have too much pride to go back to him, knowing he’ll be w*****g around with other women. Colin’s a good guy and he deserves more than a woman whose heart’s divided. I love him a lot, but I’m in love with someone else.
“Ashleigh, please,” he murmurs, taking my hands. “You’ve avoided me all day. Did something happen while we were in Vegas?”
I was never good at lying, and Colin’s always the first person to know when something’s wrong. Sitting down on the couch, I take a deep breath and close my eyes. My stomach is in knots because I know I’m about to break another guy’s heart. Colin’s my safe place, my guarantee at a normal, functional relationship. I just know that if I stay, I’ll never be fully happy. He doesn’t own my heart, but he shares a part of my soul.
I have to make a choice. Opening my eyes, the warm tears fall down my cheeks. Colin doesn’t speak because in my actions he already has his answer. He lowers his head and slowly lets go of my hands, running them through his hair.
“I don’t think I can let you go, Ashleigh. At least, not without a fight.”
Sighing, I wait for him to lift his head, and when he does I lean in to give him one last kiss. “I’m sorry, Colin, but you don’t have a choice.”
