Page 40 of Read With Your Heart

My heart hammers in my chest. “Did she say what he did?”

“No, she wouldn’t tell us, and Lena laughed at her. Told Tricia she didn’t know any mean people here, but I think Tricia does.”

“Are people mean to her at school?” I don’t like the direction of this conversation.

“Ms. Carter?”

I nod.

“No. Everyone likes her. She’s a favorite.”

“So who would be mean to her?”

“She said her husband was not a nice man.”

Lys watches me as I stand to my full height and stare out the front window.

“Okay. Okay, Lys, thank you for telling me. You sure you didn’t see anything else?”

She shakes her head.

“Okay,” I whisper and head for the kitchen where Tricia stands with her hands spread on the counter. Her head rests against the upper cabinets. The only light on is the one above the stove.

“Incoming,” I warn, hoping she’ll turn, which she does, and I step up to her, pulling her to me. One arm wraps around her back, my hand splaying across the space between her shoulders while my other hand palms the back of her head. Her arms fall to her sides for a minute, but I squeeze her tighter. Cautiously, her hands come to my waist. Her fingers are freezing against my bare skin, and I realize too late I’m holding her against my naked chest because I’m still only dressed in a damp towel. I hug her tighter as if I can mold her to me, imprint her on my skin, because she’s slowly seeping under it. I can’t get her close enough.

“He will not get you.”

“Who?” she mutters. She held my wrist in an alley. She let me kiss her in a bar. We both know who I’m referring to.

“He will not get to you. Not with me here.”

“You can’t promise that,” she whispers.

“I can. This is my promise to you. He will not hurt you, baby.”

“A promise is like a vow, and you said they were full of air.” Her mouth heats my skin when she speaks, and her statement coils around my heart. That isn’t exactly what I said, but I smile to myself when I remember the text I sent her the day we played ball. Shakespeare knew where it was at, but he doesn’t know me. My promises are solid.

“This is a real one, baby. You’ll see.”

I might live to regret making such a vow, but as I stand here, holding her in my arms—even if she isn’t holding me back—I know this woman with trouble written all over her is someone I will make promises to over and over again, and I will work like hell to keep every one of them.

+ + +

Tricia and I stay up until midnight, blindly watching the television. I can’t even tell you what is on the screen. Lys had gone to her room when the movie they were originally watching ended. Tricia sits a mile away from me, head balanced on her raised hand, propped up by her elbow on the armrest. At one point, her arm collapses, and she almost knocked herself out but caught herself just before her temple hits the edge of the couch.

“Come here,” I mutter, holding out an arm and wiggling my fingers at her. I’d taken the fastest shower of my life, washing the bar’s scent off me and returning to the living room in loose sweats and a faded T-shirt. I tip my head, encouraging a skeptical Tricia to move closer to me.

“Come on,” I tease, and Tricia peers at me over her shoulder. She’d changed into her robe, and I’m curious what’s underneath, but I fight back the urge to question her about it. She shifts, and I pat my thigh. She’s hardly spoken since the hug in her kitchen and she doesn’t say a thing as she folds to her side on the nasty couch cushions and places her head on my upper leg. Without thinking, my fingers comb through her hair, brushing the long locks behind her ear and then stroking down the length. Her hair is silky and straight and soft, just as I’d thought it would be. While I’m trying to soothe her, I find it calms me to spread my fingers through the fine locks and stroke to the ends. Her lids eventually close, and she relaxes against me.

I can’t remember the last time a woman did this with me.

I can’t recall if I’ve ever been in this position.

It feels a bit domestic. Waiting for my sister. Woman sleeping on my thigh. It’s almost . . . peaceful, if I don’t think about the fact that Tricia is against my leg because her ex was on the porch, most likely realizing she has people living with her, especially me, a man he doesn’t know.

Does he understand we’re only roommates?

Then again, he saw me kiss her, throwing out a challenge. It’s been weeks since that happened, and I promised myself it wouldn’t happen again. I’ve kept that promise. Then she kissed me the other night, and I’ve been ornery ever since. I said I wouldn’t get involved, yet here I am, combing her hair, liking how it feels, and wishing I could carry her up to my bed.