As Natalie Briggs looped her name badge around her neck, she casually checked out the remaining badges on the table.
Casually, until she saw the one that read Josh Carlson. Then she had to swallow hard and look away, hoping her panic wasnât obvious. How was this possible?
Her friend Melissa had assured her Josh wouldnât come. Heâd made partner a couple of years ago at the Houston law firm heâd been working for since he got his law degree. That meant he didnât have time for a silly class reunion.
She didnât bear him malice, really. But it would be so awkward seeing him after all these years.
âNatalie!â
She found herself scooped into a bear hug by a five-foot-two tornado. Though Natalie couldnât see the tornadoâs face, she knew it was Melissa Bailey Pelton, the only person in tiny Camden, Texas, sheâd kept in touch with over the last several years.
With her mounds of bright red hairâalways completely out of controlâand mischievous green eyes, Melissa had an eternal youthfulness about her that would probably still be with her when she was a hundred.
âNatalie, you look fabulous! I canât believe you actually came!â
âI told you I was coming, didnât I?â Then she added in a whisper, âBut you told me Josh wouldnât be here. You promised.â
âHe RSVPâd at the last minute,â Melissa said with a shrug. âAnyway, I want to see him. Weâve exchanged a few calls and e-mails over the years, but I havenât actually laid eyes on him since you guys split upâ¦what, twenty years ago?â
âTwenty years ago this month, as a matter of fact.â
âAh, so you keep track.â Before Natalie could comment, Melissa led her to a table, where a few others from their old crowd were sitting drinking beer and noshing on chicken wings. âLook who I found!â
âHey, itâs Stick!â
Shrieks of recognition and lots of hugging followed. Back in high school, theyâd been the brainy group, the ones who actually read the assigned books in English class and enjoyed them. The ones whoâd planned on going to college, though not all of them had.
âLookinâ good, Stick,â said Tommy, the one whoâd dubbed her with her not-very-flattering nickname because sheâd been so skinny.
âNot such a stick anymore,â she said with a grin.
Natalie hugged each of them in turn and met a few spouses as warm memories flooded her. Diane Helms, whoâd played flute in the marching band; Bud Conklin, who read books on theoretical physics just for fun; Tommy Garrett, who loved practical jokes. Though some of them had less hair, more padding and a few more laugh lines, they were all instantly recognizable and seemed exactly the same.
It was too bad sheâd let these friendships slip away. After her mother died, sheâd found no compelling reason to return to her small hometown.
Camden and her old friends had only been a painful reminder of how happy theyâd all beenâhow happy she and Josh had been before the struggles of the real world had taken their toll.
One more person came forward and Natalie found herself nose-to-chin with Josh Carlson.
Her ex-husband.
She stepped back, and every molecule of air in her lungs whooshed out, leaving her unable to speak.
âNatalie.â His voice was warm, sexy, almost provocative. âMelissa said you couldnât come to the reunion.â
Natalie shot her friend a scathing look, but Melissa pretended not to notice.
âI decided at the last minute,â Natalie said when she could find her voice. It came out sounding remarkably normal. Oh, Lord in heaven, why couldnât he have aged like their friendsâ¦like her? Josh Carlson in the flesh was justâ¦an assault on her senses. Heâd filled out some, but he wasnât carrying an ounce of excess weight anywhere she could see, and his hair was as dark and thick as ever, though he wore it quite a bit shorter than she remembered. The slight silvering at the temples didnât detract from his appeal at all.
He was six feet of lean, broad-shouldered, gorgeous male, and Natalieâs knees had suddenly turned to rubber.
âYou look fabulous,â he said. âThe men are going to line up to dance with you like they did in high school.â
Natalie laughed. The comment was such an exaggeration, and for some reason it put her at ease. This was the same Josh, even if he was a fancy lawyer now, and he didnât appear to hate her. Maybe that was what sheâd feared most.
âSit down, you two!â Melissa insisted. âHere, have a beer.â Someone had brought a round of cold bottles from a well-stocked cooler. âHey, this is just like prom except we donât have to sneak the alcohol.â
Natalie felt her face grow warm. Every class at Camden High held their junior-senior prom at the VFW Hall. It was the only place in town that could comfortably hold a few hundred people. Memories of her own first prom were sharp in her mind; that was the night she and Josh made love for the first time, at the end of their junior year.