Chapter One — The Man I Never Wanted To See Again

I was wiping down a cracked Formica counter, lost in the sound of the diner’s humming refrigerator, when the bell above the door rang.

“Seat yourself,” I said automatically, not even glancing up.

Then I heard steps, the kind of steps that don't ask for attention but commands it.

My spine stiffened and something deep in my chest twisted tight. I lifted my head.

And there he was.

Cruz Maddox.

The rag slipped from my hand and hit the floor, I stopped breathing and I couldn’t even blink.

Four years and he still looked like the same beautiful, brutal storm I’d barely survived. 

“What the hell…” I whispered, but the words came out breathless.

He didn’t smile, he just stared and then started walking straight toward me.

“Nova.”

He said.

That voice, God 

It was like a punch to my stomach and a hand around my throat all at once.

I stepped back. “You shouldn’t be here.”

He kept coming. “You’ve been hiding, sweetheart.”

“I’m not your—” I choked on the word. “Don’t call me that.”

Cruz stopped on the other side of the counter.

There was nothing between us now but fake laminate and years of pain that still burned like it was yesterday. 

“You left without a word,” he said, with a low voice. “Four fucking years. You thought I wouldn’t find you?”

“I hoped you wouldn’t.”

For a bit, he just stared at me like he was hunting for something buried deep.

“You look the same,” he muttered.

“I can’t say the same for you though, “I said, “You look worse.”

That earned me a smirk, “You always did know how to twist a knife.”

I pressed my palms to the counter to keep them from trembling. “What do you want, Cruz?”

He leaned in, eyes locked on mine. “Closure”

“You don’t get to ask for that.”

“You stole it,” he growled. “The night you vanished.”

“I had no choice,” I whispered.

His jaw flexed. “That’s the thing about you, Nova. You always think running is a choice.”

I straightened. “Well, you always think everything belongs to you.”

The air between us crackled, years of unfinished business pressing in then, he said it casually like we were just some old friends.

“Are you gonna get my coffee, or are we going to keep dancing around the past?”

“Get it yourself,” I snapped, turning my back.

Big mistake.

He was around the counter before I could move.

“Hey!” I stepped back fast, with my heart pounding.

He caged me in against the coffee machine, one hand on the wall beside my head and the other hand barely inches from my face,

“What are you doing?” My voice trembled 

“You still shake when I’m close,” he said softly.

I hated that he was right.

“I’m not afraid of you,” I lied.

“You should be.”

I slapped him hard that it echoed but he didn’t retaliate, he just slowly looked back at me and smiled 

“There she is.”

“I’m not that girl anymore”

“You’re right,” he said, stepping back. “The girl I knew wouldn’t hide in some shitty town wearing aprons and lies.”

I froze. “What did you say?”

He looked at me again slowly. “You’ve got secrets, Nova and I can smell ‘em.”

My throat went dry and I clenched my hands. “You have no idea what you’re talking about.”

Cruz looked over his shoulder as the door opened and another customer walked in.

 “I’ll be back tomorrow. Don’t run again.”

“Why not?”

“Because next time,” he said, walking backward toward the door, “I’ll burn the whole damn town down to find you.”

And just like that he was gone.

And I just realized I’d been holding my breath the entire time.

I pressed a hand to my chest and hurried to the back, I knelt down, trembling.

“Mommy?” a soft voice said from behind 

Hazel eyes stared up at me. 

“I had a bad dream,” she whispered.

My voice cracked. “Me too, baby.”

I wrapped her in my arms and pulled her close.

Cruz didn’t know about her.

But now that he is back?

He’d never let me go.