White by Aria Cole Page A

I’d kept of the accident.
    The memories choked my throat and left my heart throbbing like it hadn’t already broken. Her little pink teddy bear lying in the dirt in one corner of a grainy picture. Little Eve White had been in the car. Only she and I had escaped with our lives that night. My best friend and her parents had paid the ultimate price.  
    My life had changed irrevocably, but I’d still not paid nearly half the price Eve had. And maybe she was right, maybe the sense of guilt had been fooling me all along. In college, I’d searched the local high school for her name, yearbooks and sports teams, too, but to no avail. And when I’d been able to afford it, I’d found a private investigator to look into the case. He’d finally tracked down the address of her foster home just two months ago, and I’d been a man on a mission ever since.
    I poured another cup of coffee and trailed back to my office, wishing I could call in on Monday and avoid the office, but then I thought some alone time for each of us may be better. She could use the time to process everything. Just then I caught a glimpse of her quiet form, slipping down the steps barefoot and walking slowly back to the lake, to the willow, to the place we’d made love for the first time just last night.  
    Her head hung low. She wandered to the tree and drifted her fingertips along the weeping leaves, before sitting on the bench, curling herself up into a small ball. Like she wanted to disappear.  
    Damn, if I hadn’t ruined her. I’d made all of this worse when I’d only meant to make it better. I swallowed the angry lump of pain in my throat, thinking all I’d really had was a weekend with her, thinking I’d let it all slip through my fingers by not being upfront with her in the first place.  
    My instincts had been off, just like they’d been that other horrific night in my life when I’d ruined hers so greatly. My heart throbbed with pain for the poor little broken girl I’d managed to hurt again.

seventeen
    Eve
    I returned to the house later in the morning after soaking in the sun as I lay underneath the big willow. A long, solid sleep had brought me to some startling realizations. I’d only needed the morning to be sure. Heading back upstairs, I returned to my room to find a neatly folded letter placed at the pillow on my bed.  
    My heart leapt hopefully when I identified Asher’s tight chicken scratch. My name was written across the front. I pulled the paper into my hands and found my ID inside. He’d returned it, just as he’d said he would, along with a wad of cash. A few hundred at least, maybe more.
    My eyes found the handwritten text, and I began to read.  

    I'm so sorry for last night. I’m sorry for the terrible place I’ve held in your life. I wish I could say I’m sorry I loved you, I’m sorry I fell in love with you, but I can’t. My feelings are real and pure, just like the way you look at me first thing in the morning. My heart sprouts wings when I see that look in your eyes. I like to think of you as younger, happier, before heartache and loss had touched your heart. Maybe then I could love you like you need to be loved.  
    I hope you can forgive me for the mistakes I have made, but the only thing I know I’ve done right in my life is loving you. Every decision I’ve made the last twelve years has been about you. I hope someday you’ll let me explain.  
    Forever yours, Asher x

    I swallowed the lump of anger forming in my throat, thinking the only person I wanted to see right now was Julian. This was too much—the pressure, the emotion, the commitment. I needed Julian to talk me through it. He’d been my white knight all these years, and just because Asher fancied himself mine didn’t make it true.  
    I needed my boys.  
    I flipped the ID in my hand as a plan came together. The only chance I had at seeing Julian, even for a few minutes, was when he left the house for his nightly run.  
    I chewed on my