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The past two days have been an absolute whirlwind and now, knowing I’m here, minutes away from seeing Kane again has every inch of my body wound so tight I can physically feel the tension in my back as the cab slows to a stop on the curb outside of Kane’s apartment building.
I look up at the building and then to the middle aged driver, feeling almost frozen in place.
“You okay, honey?” the driver asks, catching my gaze in the rear view mirror.
“Define okay?” I force a smile, reaching into my bag for my wallet before slipping him some cash. “Thank you,” I quickly add before sliding out of the backseat.
Grabbing my bag, I hitch it onto my shoulder and stand on the sidewalk for another long moment, trying to gather the courage to enter the building. I’m seconds away from chickening out when I hear my name. The instant recognition of the voice washes over me like a bucket of ice water as I turn and meet the gaze of the man I’ve dreamed about seeing again for weeks.
“Elara,” he repeats when I make no attempt to respond, my jaw slack, my feet rooted to the ground beneath me.
“Hi,” I say after what feels like an eternity.
My eyes dart from his face, which is even more handsome than I remember, to his messy hair, to his blue t-shirt and dark jeans, to the grocery bags hanging from his hands.
“I’m sorry, I should have called,” I start, realizing maybe this wasn’t the best idea.
“I’m glad you’re here,” he cuts me off before I can say more. “You want to come inside?” He gestures to the building in front of us.
“Yeah, sure.” I force a smile, taking a deep breath when he passes in front of me, his scent intoxicating all of my senses.
I follow him into the building, my stomach a mass of nerves, my hands trembling so bad you would think there was something medically wrong with me, and my heart hammering so violently against my ribs I swear I can hear it echo through the long hallway as he leads us to his apartment door.
He shifts the bags to one hand to dig his keys out of his front pocket before unlocking the door and letting us inside. If I thought my heart was beating fast before I was wrong because the minute the door closes behind us it starts hammering so rapidly it feels like it’s seconds away from beating straight out of my chest.
Kane doesn’t say a word as he crosses the space, depositing the bags on the kitchen island before turning back to where I’m still standing right inside the front door. My eyes dart around the space and I’m instantly transported to the last time I was here.
The baby. The memory hits me before I can stop it and my stomach twists. I know there’s not a thing I could have done to save that child but that doesn’t mean that thinking about it, remembering what happened, doesn’t hurt like hell.
I shake it off and focus on Kane. On the way his dark eyes watch me as I slowly move across the space toward him.
I open my mouth to speak, to explain, to sayanything, but instantly snap it closed when I catch sight of the thick stack of paper on the island next to Kane, bound together with string to look almost like a book.
My eyes blur before refocusing as I approach. My hand reaches out and touches the title page the moment I reach it. I can feel Kane’s eyes on me, sense his closeness as I stand next to him, staring down at the manuscript on the counter.Mymanuscript.
“Carol sent it to me,” Kane answers my question before I have the chance to ask.
“Carol,” I repeat softly, my gaze still on the bound paper. “Did you read it?” I ask, almost afraid to look at him.
“I did.” His answer sends my eyes straight to his face and I find him watching me hesitantly, like he’s not sure how to proceed just yet. “It’s incredible, Elara.”
“I sold it,” I blurt, not really sure what to say.
“I heard you were pitching toElement Studios.I take it all went well.”
“It did,” I confirm, nodding slowly. “Though I’m not sure I’ve really processed it all. It happened so quickly.”
“It doesn’t surprise me.” He gestures to the manuscript. “This is probably one of the best things I’ve ever read. I had no idea how talented you are.”
“I don’t know if I’d go that far.” I shrug, blowing out a slow breath.
“I would.” He shifts so he’s facing me, his dark eyes boring into mine as his hands come out to cup my face. “Did you mean it?” he asks softly, his gaze going to my lips before finding my eyes again.
“What?” I breathe, my pulse pounding so hard there’s no way he can’t feel it.
“In the story, did you mean what you said about the other brother? The one who brought you back to life?”
“Every word,” I admit.
