AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I rise from the couch, give her one last scratch behind the ears, then wander into the kitchen.
“After breakfast, I’ll come pick you up,” I tell her as I rinse my mug and set it in the dishwasher.
She gives a low bark, letting me know she understands.
Pocketing my wallet, keys, and phone, I shrug on my jacket and tug a beanie on my head. I fetch the file from the island, then head for the garage. In the car, I check updates on the dash monitor while I wait for the engine to warm up.
On my drive to Poke the Yolk, I scan the streets and sidewalks with fresh eyes. Most of the town is still asleep, and I use the momentary peace to survey Stone Bay in a new light.
Since early childhood, Stone Bay has maintained the same elusive vibe. Quiet and small, yet prominent and larger than life. We take care of our own, some more than others. We pride ourselves on the community we built and vow to preserve what the seven founding families created.
Stone Bay was founded on dreams. It is the mission of the seven founding families to keep those dreams alive.
I park near the entrance of the restaurant and exhale days of stress. For the first time in days, a smile tugs at the corners of my mouth. Genuine relief floods my veins.
Because she’s here. Kirsten is safe.
I cut the engine, unbuckle my seat belt, and exit the vehicle. Gaze locked on her, I refuse to look away as I scan her features. With each passing second, with each sweep of her face, her smile, the warmth in her cheeks, I prove to my irrational mind Kirsten is alive and well and as beautiful as ever.
Thank fuck.
With a foot in the door, her stormy blues lock onto my ambers and my breath catches in my throat. Her eyes dart between mine, neither of us moving as we assess the other. As if we both need the same reassurances.
Heat blooms in my chest as I close the distance between us. The vicious rhythm of my pulse silencing everything in the room as I stand a foot from her. Hands at my sides, my fingers twitch with the need to reach for her. To touch her. To make sure she is real and whole and unscathed.
But I resist the urge. Swallow past the swell building in my throat. Blink back the sting behind my eyes. Gift her a soft smile that says all the things my voice won’t say. How sorry I am for the way I behaved when I saw her last. How grateful I am to see her smile and know she is safe and well.
“Hey,” she whispers with a shaky breath.
“Hi.” I lick my lips. “Good to see you.”
She nods, a subtle smile softening her expression. “Same.” Tipping her head toward my usual spot at the counter, her eyes brighten a little. “Breakfast?”
My hand brushes hers as I slip past her for the counter, an undeniable buzz simmering under my skin from the contact. I pause and close my eyes momentarily, the whir intensifying when I hear her suck in a sharp breath.
Damn.
I will be the first to admit I am not in the right headspace for an intimate relationship. Years later, the bullshit with Gracie still has me fucked up. She did more than break my heart. She shattered my soul. And though her deceptive actions are not my burden to bear, guilt still gnaws at my psyche.
An imbecile would have spotted the signs long before I did. But I’d been blinded by love.
One day, she whispered words of love in my ear. Told me she couldn’t imagine life without me by her side. Wrapped me tight in her arms and kissed me as if no one else existed. The next day, she confessed her sins and shredded my heart. Looked at me as if I was some schmuck at a seedy bar and not the man she wanted to share a life with.
After four years together, I’d trusted Gracie explicitly. She’d never given me a reason not to. Then she told me about her trip to Florida with a few of her girlfriends. Months after the spring break getaway, she sat me down and admitted to cheating. Not once, but twice on the same trip. Stone-cold sober, she went back to their rooms and betrayed her commitment to me. All because she wanted to “live a little.”
The worst part… not an ounce of remorse filled her chocolate eyes as she tipped my world upside down. If anything, she looked relieved when I screamed at her to get the fuck out.
And since the dreadful end of that relationship, I’ve been a bachelor. The sporadic hookups satiate my primal nature, but I prefer my own company.
No one can hurt me if no one is in the picture.
But Kirsten… she has me seeing the world with fresh eyes.
Life is less daunting when she holds my gaze. The world is more stable every time she is near. For years, she has been a constant light in my life. Someone I look forward to seeing, to speaking with, to spending time with. And over the past several months, she has awakened something inside me I thought died years ago.
Kirsten may only be a flirty friend, a woman I can’t take my eyes off of, but I refuse to deny the part of me she revived. Without effort, Kirsten gives me a reason to smile, to push forward, toliveagain.
She may not be mine, but that doesn’t stop me from wanting more, from wanting her.
