Page 33 of Wounded Hearts

He felt Mara lift her head and looked down into her beautiful eyes that weren’t blue or green but a stunning seafoam colour. “I know you would, Drew. I just wish we’d met sooner, before I was broken. I wish you could’ve been mine then.” Her honesty shocked him but in a good way. It gave him hope they could have a future.

“You are not broken, Mara. We’ve been through things, difficult things, and they’ve changed us, but does that mean we’re no longer worthy of love? I’m broken, both physically and mentally in some ways. Does that mean I deserve to be alone?”

Mara shook her head vehemently. “No, you deserve to find happiness.”

“You make me happy, Mara. Being with you settles my soul in a way I didn’t even know I needed.”

“I feel the same.”

“How about we take each day as it comes and not put limits on what we are to each other? Let it be what is and see what happens.”

“What if I freak out again?”

Mara wet her lips with her tongue and Drew felt his dick stiffen and knew she could feel it too. But instead of jumping away, she flexed her body slightly and her eyes widened. “I guess, you don’t freak as easily as you thought,” he said with a chuckle trying to lighten the mood.

It worked and her face creased into a grin. “You’re incorrigible.”

Drew let her go and stepped back. “I know, but you like it right?” He gave her the cheeky grin that seemed to get him out of most situations with his sister and Lucy, and she laughed as she walked back towards the tiny kitchen.

“Maybe.”

“Everyone knows maybe means yes.”

He watched Mara roll her eyes and was pleased that they’d weathered the storm and done it together.

Later, as they ate a delicious dinner of spicy tomato, prawn, and chicken linguine in front of the TV, he turned to her. “Why do you think my mother loved that box? You never answered my question.”

Mara stopped with her fork halfway to her mouth and studied him, as though looking for the words he wanted to hear. “It’s hard to put into words really. I guess it’s the condition of the box. You can see it was looked after and cherished. It’s truly beautiful and I don’t know but I have a feeling it was important to someone.”

Drew nodded understanding completely. “I have no recollection of it from my childhood, but I feel the same way.”

“Do you want to open it?”

Drew felt his heart rate kick up at Mara’s question. He did, but he was afraid of what he’d find. A man in his mid-twenties afraid of a tiny box. It was ridiculous but that was how he felt.

“I do, will you help me?” he asked wanting her with him for whatever he found, if anything.

Mara placed her plate on the coffee table and rose, holding her hand out to him. “Of course, I will.”

Together they made their way to the kitchen table and sat side by side. “Have you ever done one of these before?” Mara asked.

“Nope, puzzles aren’t my thing.”

“And yet here you are, trying to figure me out.”

Drew heard the humour in her voice and smiled at her. “Yeah, well, you’re much more beautiful than most puzzles.”

“Yeah, well, if I keep eating like I am, I won’t be.” She ran her hand over her flat belly, and he stayed her hand.

“I, for one, fucking loved your curves. Curvy or thin, you’re perfect, so stop with the worrying.”

“So says the Greek god.”

Drew full-on laughed at that. “Yeah, if Greek gods had prosthetic legs.”

“We’re a pair, aren’t we?”

Drew nodded and turned back to the box, the smile still on his face.