Page 26 of When Forever Stays

I ask, “And what is it that you want?”

Rhett’s gaze drops to my mouth. “Not something I want to say in front of an audience.” My breath catches. Okay, never mind, I can’t play this game.

The subject needs to be changed—pronto.

“How about the house brew?” I ask.

A wolfish grin spreads across his lips. “That will do…” Again, his eyes drop to my mouth. “For now.”

Good gravy, Miss Macy. I can’t handle this man. I need to remind myself that he was sweet and flirty before he ghosted me too. Rhett once made me feel like I was the most important person in his life. As if we could have something amazing. But when I finally let him in, he vanished. Once his memories return, he could remember why he left and leave me in the dust again. I’m not sure my heart could handle his abandonment a second time.

After I give him his drink, he makes his way over to his table and starts reading his Bible again. Good, hopefully, he finds the verses about not tempting a fellow believer.

“You know, for a guy with no memories, Rhett seems to be completely smitten with you.” Lindsay nudges my shoulder with hers.

“It’s probably similar to how certain baby birds get attached to the thing they see right after hatching.”

Her gaze slides to something behind me, and she tries to fight a laugh.

I mouth, “He’s right behind me, isn’t he?”

She nods.

Rhett’s deep voice still manages to startle me. “Did you just compare me to a freshly hatched baby bird?”

I turn slowly around, feeling my face heat. Pinching my lips closed, I neither confirm nor deny what I said.

He leans across the counter, pressing his hands against the countertop. The scent of his body wash invades my senses. “I can assure you, Little Siren, my attraction for you is not because you were the first person I saw after waking up on the shore. These feelings run deeper than surface level.” Suddenly, he goes silent. Something flickers in his eyes, and he goes perfectly still. The chime over the door jingles as another patron enters, but it doesn’t break him from what I assume is a reverie.

Lindsay gives me a look that tells me to stay where I am, then shuffles down the counter to wait on the customer while I stare expectantly at Rhett. He shakes his head, then focuses back on me, his eyes penetrating mine.

“You’re not a fling for me, Dana Swann.” His next words come out gravelly. “You never were and never could be.”

I swallow hard. “You remember?”

His hand slides forward and his pinky brushes mine. “Can you take a quick break?” I can tell that something has shifted with Rhett. Something big. The something I’ve been simultaneously dreading and hoping for.

“Yes, she can,” Lindsay chimes in after handing the customer her change. “Dana, take as long as you need.”

After I hang up my apron and send up a silent prayer for guidance, I go out the front door, Rhett following behind me. We’re silent as we make our way through the town square and pass the fountain. Rhett reaches for my hand, and despite my better judgment, I let him take it. He immediately laces our fingers together.

“I still don’t remember everything. But I remember our date.”

Swallowing the lump in my throat, I ask, “Do you remember what happened afterward?”

He’s slow to answer. “That part is blurry.”

Something tells me he’s lying. But I don’t call him out on it. Not yet. Getting these memories back is a big deal. I need to give him time to work through what he remembers.

“What I do know is that you were never a fling for me. I meant what I said that night.” He comes to stand in front of me, his fingers still locked with mine. “You were always more than that." He searches my eyes. “In those few short days, you became…” He pauses and closes his eyes as if trying to find the right words. When his eyes open and he stares into mine, the intensity makes my knees weak. “Everything to me.”

I can’t hold back anymore. I wanted to give him space until all his memories returned, but with how sincere he looks saying all these pretty words to me, I have to know.

Shaking my hand free, I ask, “Then how did you—?” I throw my hands up and reword what I really want to ask. “Why did you leave me?” My voice cracks, and I hate that I’m opening myselfup to more heartache. But I can’t help myself. I need to know. Maybe it’s the not knowing that has prevented me from moving on.

He grits his jaw, and I’m confident he knows the answer, especially with how he shifts his stance as the silence stretches. Mustering all the courage and armor I can manage, I ask the question I’ve been afraid of hearing the answer to since the moment I got the message that broke my heart.

“Is it because I wasn’t enough for you?”

---