If I Return Read Online Free

wedding party that I can actually think straight. Everyone is getting hammered, and I’m thinking about doing the same thing. Audrey dragged me around, introducing me to everyone. For someone that borders on painfully shy, the alcohol was just not working fast enough for me. So I finally took a moment when Audrey was telling a joke to slip away.
    Settling back into the low couch, I cross one leg over the other and sip at my drink. From my perch, I have a view of the west windows. Even though it’s completely dark outside, the outdoor lighting is strong enough that I can see fluffy snowflakes starting to fall. I sigh inwardly to myself, happy to see some snow. It’s like a miracle to a Florida girl like myself.
    And while I have no desire to go skiing—just the thought positively terrifies me—I think tomorrow I might walk around outside and play in the snow.
    “Those look like some deep thoughts going on in your head.”
    I’m startled out of said thoughts, which weren’t that deep at all, and look up in the eyes of Jack Freeman. “Hi.”
    “Mind if I join you?”
    I shake my head and watch as Jack sits on the couch next to me. Turning my body toward him, I tuck one leg up underneath me. I also take another sip of my drink, needing the liquid fortification if I’m going to have a conversation with this guy.
    “I hate these things,” he says, waving his hand at the party in full progress.
    I smile. “Me too.”
    “I figured, with you sitting here all by yourself.”
    Staring into my glass, because I find it hard to meet his direct gaze, I nod. “Yeah. I’m not big on social crowds.”
    “Well, that makes two of us. I much prefer quiet conversation.”
    I finally gaze up at him and his eyes are the dark gray I imagined they would be on a rainy day. I’m sure it’s just because The Hall is glowing with nothing more than ambient light.
    Taking another sip of my drink, I desperately think of something to say. Anything that won’t make me look like a tool.
    But before I can even process a hint of conversation, Jack breaks the ice. “So what do you do, Hope?”
    That’s easy enough to talk about. “I’m completing my Master’s degree in social work at Florida State.”
    “That’s interesting. Is that where you’re from?”
    “Born and raised in central Florida... Orlando. What about you?”
    “I’m from a small town in Maine called Cutler, but right now I live in Kentucky.”
    “How did you get to Kentucky from Maine?”
    Before he can answer, a waitress comes up and asks Jack if he wants something to drink. “I’ll take a Sam Adams. Would you like another drink, Hope?”
    I nod. “Sure. Gin and tonic.”
    The waitress leaves and Jack grins at me. “You don’t look like a gin and tonic kind of girl.”
    I laugh. “I’m not. Audrey bought me one when we first got here and I just stuck with it. It’s actually pretty awful.”
    Jack jumps up from the couch. “Don’t move. I’ll be right back.”
    I watch as Jack disappears into the crowd, disheartened that our conversation lasted only two minutes. For the life of me, I can’t figure out what I said to make him leave, and although he said he’d be back, I seriously doubt it. I sit in silence, brooding into my glass, and finally take the last swallow. Setting it down on the table beside me, I start to stand up.
    “Here you go,” Jack says and I look up.
    He’s standing there, holding a glass of red wine for me. “I went and stopped the waitress from putting our order in. I got you a glass of Cabernet instead. That seemed more like your type of drink.”
    I take the glass from him and watch as he sits back down. He takes a sip of the beer he’s holding.
    “Thank you. That was incredibly thoughtful. And you’re right... this is actually my favorite wine.”
    He shrugs. “It’s no problem.”
    Taking a sip, I look at him in a new light. Suddenly, he’s not just an overwhelmingly attractive man, he now seems like a genuinely nice guy to