AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Are you talking about me?” I asked, not sure I wanted the answer.
“I think you have a heart of gold, and I’m the lucky guy who gets to see it.”
“Who says I’ve shown it to you?” I teased.
A smile spread over his face. “Oh, I’ve seen it.”
I should have been scrambling to protect myself, to shore up my walls so he couldn’t see through, but I was enjoying this time we were spending together, and it was better now that I was more at ease with him.
Then he sobered. “You can trust me with your truth, Gia. I won’t hurt you.”
I scoffed. “No one can promise that.”
He paused, his knife pressed flat against the cutting board. “Let’s put it this way. I don’twantto hurt you.”
My heart beat a steady rhythm under my rib cage. “You might not intend to, but it’s still possible.”
Silas shook his head, lifting his gaze to meet mine. “Anything’s possible, but that’s not the way to live your life—so afraid of the worst-case scenarios that you can’t live your life to the fullest.”
“And you think my being here and spending time with you is living my life to the fullest?”
He smirked and said, “Something like that.”
“I’ll admit I had fun today.”
He finished chopping tomatoes and scraped them from the board into a serving bowl. Then he rounded the corner and stood in front of me. “That’s a start.” Then he placed a featherlight kiss on my lips and dropped his forehead to mine.
Something passed between us then, heavy and meaningful, and before I could analyze it fully, he’d moved away to check the boiling water and add the pasta to the pan.
“You need more wine?”
I pushed the empty glass toward him, wondering what I’d gotten myself into. I worried about what would happen tomorrow. Would everything go back to normal? Would we be able to work together after everything we’d shared?
“Can you stop worrying about the what-ifs and enjoy our time together?” Silas asked as he poured wine into my glass.
“How do you know I’m doing that?” I asked as I reached for the now-full glass and sipped it.
“You get this pensive look on your face.”
“Mmm.” He read me like no one else could, or it was more likely that he took the time to get to know me. I was able to push everyone else away. I was usually so strong that no one worried about me. Not even my family.
They assumed I had everything handled, and while that was nice, it was better to have someone who saw underneath. Who read between the lines and knew what I needed before I did.
He poured a second glass for himself. “This will pair well with dinner.”
“Do you ever take those boats on the water?” I asked, pointing to a kayak and canoe I noticed lying along the shore.
“I love going early in the morning or at dusk. It’s quiet and peaceful.”
“I’d love to go with you sometime.” I wasn’t sure where that came from or if it was a good idea, but how he described it was too enticing to ignore.
Silas flashed me a smile. “I’d love that.”
The warmth that had filled my chest all day expanded to the rest of my body. I watched while he finished dinner and then helped him get the food onto plates before we carried them onto the porch to eat at the large table there.
He kept the lights low so we could see the water as we ate. I was starving, and we ate quickly. Afterward, Silas left the plates and asked, “Would you like to see the water up close?”
I nodded eagerly. “Yes.”
