Mending Bridges

Audrey

Jesse slowly came up to the porch, like he thought I might run in the other direction. “You look really pretty,” he said quietly.

“Is that all you came here to say?” I asked tartly.

The lips of his mouth twitched with a grin. “Just the start of it,” he promised me. “Have you already eaten? I was hoping that maybe I could take you to dinner and we could talk.”

I stared at him for a long moment. So now he wanted to talk? I wanted to hear whatever it was that he wanted to say, though. I wanted him, so badly that I ached. I found myself nodding. “Let’s go,” I said, heading toward his truck.

We were both silent on the way to the restaurant that had been our favorite as teens. I should have known that he would take me there. Back to where it all began. There was a part of me that was terrified that I was never going to be able to come back here again after this too-serious conversation that we were about to have.

There was another part of me that soared with hope, wondering if this m