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“Brynne?”
His voice was softer than I’d ever heard it. Yet still hard, at the same time.
“Yes?”
“I’ve missed you too.”
His hands cupped my cheeks, his fingers ever so gently tracing the delicate surface of my skin. Santiago’s eyelids fluttered open, his long lashes framing a pair of warm, whiskey-brown eyes that melted me on the spot.
“Much, much more than you know.”
He bent a little, then buried his face in my chest. He began nuzzling my breasts, working his way between the mounds. His lips grazed my skin as he savored the warmth of my flesh against his face.
I pulled him even tighter, holding him close. Stroking his hair with one hand, while pinning him against me with the other.
God, I love this,I thought to myself.
In time Santiago’s breathing grew slower, more regular. I could feel his whole body relaxing against me.
No, it’s more than that,I slowly realized.I lovehim.
And not just him, either.
Before I knew it, he’d fallen asleep in my arms. It was beautiful. Adorable. Totally amazing.
It was the depth of my feelings that was utterly frightening.
Forty-Three
BRYNNE
All throughout my life, the wee hours of the morning had always been my time. It was always so quiet, and easy to focus. There were no distractions. I got shit done.
“You can tell me,” she said again, with the voice of an angel. Her fingertips lightly grazed my forehead, absently moving pieces of hair around. “But only if you want to.”
I was wide awake of course, but so was she. At three-thirty in the morning it was just the two of us. We’d been whispering in darkness, talking about life in general. About anything and everything except the damned Lozanos.
And then we were talking aboutotherthings I could no longer avoid.
“I had a family,” I managed to say. “And then…”
After sleeping for a few hours we’d woken together, strangely enough. Staring into each other’s eyes, it was like we’d both blinked awake at the exact same time.
“I had a family and then suddenly I didn’t.”
Somehow I was lying here, telling her. Coming clean. Discussing the one thing I never discussed… and with a complete stranger, to boot.
No. Don’t say that.
I was angrier at myself for belittling her presence than I actually was at opening up. But for some reason, opening up had seemed so natural. This was no stranger at all.
“What happened?” Brynne was asking softly.
The memories loomed as they always did, so horrific and tremendous they threatened to wash away all joy. For the first time in what seemed like forever, I was forced to bear their weight. But it seemed more important than ever that I did.
“There was a fire,” I said sullenly. “A very bad one.”
I waited for the inevitable gasps, the wails of pity. When they didn’t come, I continued.
