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He grabbed a stool and pulled it as close to me as possible before taking my face in his strong hands, calloused by the work he had been doing on his house. He peered straight into my eyes and cut right through to my soul. “Yes, you do. But you’re afraid. Guess what? I’m afraid, too. Afraid of losing you.”
Of course I was afraid. “You left me,” I cried.
“I know.” He removed my glasses before leaning his forehead against mine. His thumbs caressed my cheeks. “I’m sorry I hurt you,” he whispered earnestly before his lips brushed my own.
His kiss made me forget for a moment that there was any hurt between us. I pressed my lips against his, and suddenly, I was home. I savored the moment, the pure sweetness I had missed so much. However, Kane was impatient. With an urgency I hadn’t felt in years, Kane parted my lips. His tongue crashed into my mouth, making me gasp. Instantly, the fire I’d been searching years for reignited. I grabbed his shirt and twisted it in my hands, begging him to continue the assault on my mouth. He complied ardently, almost devouring me. When he was done with my mouth, his warm lips trailed down until he landed on the hollow of my neck, where he was rewarded with another gasp. He groaned before pulling away and meeting my eyes. There I saw myself. Always in his view.
“Tell me what you want, Scarlett,” he gently implored.
I had no breath left to speak, but it was obvious what I wanted. My actions spoke louder than any words. But was that the right thing? I opened my mouth to speak and nothing came out. It was as if my heart had gotten stuck in my throat.
“Tell me,” he begged.
When I was too afraid to answer, he turned away, his eyes landing on all my notes and my laptop screen. “Why didn’t you pursue your dreams?” He sounded so defeated.
I closed my laptop lid. Tears forming in my eyes. “You stole them from me when you left. And now you’re going to take the company away from me too.” The lateness of the hour and the never-ending days had finally gotten to me. My emotions spilled out.
Kane brushed back my hair with such a look of adoration. “No, Scarlett; I can’t take the blame for stealing your dreams. You let those go, not me.”
“No.” I jumped off my stool, defiant. “I’m pursuing new dreams.”
Kane stood and scoffed. “Running Armstrong Labs isn’t your dream. It’s your father’s.”
“Of course, it is. I’m his daughter. You have no idea what my father and mother had to give up to make this company succeed,” I raised my voice.
Kane lowered his head and sighed. “So, you can forgive him for giving you up for his company, but you can’t forgive me for trying to do the right thing.”
I gripped the counter, taken aback by the sting of his words. “I didn’t say that,” I whispered. “I just . . . I just don’t know what to do. You don’t know the pressure I’m under,” I pleaded with him to understand.
His shoulders rose and fell with a large exhale. “You’re right.” He leaned in and kissed my forehead, lingering there as if he couldn’t break away.
I wanted to stay in that moment. Just him and me, soaking each other in.
“Scarlett,” he broke the silence, “you’re going to have to choose, darlin’. And you will have every choice available to you. I only hope when it’s all said and done, you choose what you really want.” He pushed away and turned to leave.
“What do you mean?” I stared after him.
He didn’t answer my question. He only waved from behind as he headed toward the mudroom. “Good night, darlin’. I love you.”
Like a puddle of goo, I melted onto the stool, wondering what had just happened. “I love you, too,” I eeked out, knowing he wouldn’t hear me. Then I rested my head back on the counter, not caring if I got macaroni and cheese in my hair. It was the very least of all my worries.
Plot Twist
I dragged myself into the office on Monday, desperately needing another weekend. Between working on my business plan and Kane’s appearance in the middle of the night, my mind was spinning. His words kept playing over and over in my head, not to mention that kiss. Sometimes I used to think my memory had exaggerated how amazing his kisses were, but Saturday night made me realize I hadn’t been giving him enough credit. My spine was still tingling from it. As was my heart he’d pricked with his words. He had this way of putting things into perspective. It was maddening. He also left me with questions. Like, what choices would be available to me? And would I be brave enough to choose them?
