Page 147 of Into These Eyes
Crashing his mouth to mine, cool water swirls around us as he moves us back into the shade of the ficus. Once we’re hidden again, we kiss until we can’t breathe. Being in his arms like this, knowing he loves me in all the ways he said, is a truly transcendent experience. One that, just like him, I never thought I’d find.
After a long moment, I lean away enough to see his torn heart again. Touching each piece in turn, I say, “Abandonment … Purpose … Truth … Love.”
He sighs heavily, his eyes locking with mine. “I thought I’d worked through all my crap in prison, but there’s something inherently different about revealing the pain inside my soul … to someone who actually cares, to someone who wants to know every part of me. The light and the dark.”
I cup his jaw, smoothing his short beard beneath my palm. I know what he means. “Did I tell you the last words my mother ever said to me?”
He shakes his head, his eyes never leaving mine.
“She said ‘open your heart’.”
“Sounds like good advice.”
I nod and touch his tattoo again. “Maybe … maybe these tears don’t mean what they once did. Maybe they’re torn so your heart is open. So you can allow love and forgiveness inside. So it can heal. Soyoucan heal.”
Eyes bright with unshed tears, he pulls me into him and buries his face in my neck. His body shudders against mine as I hold him tight. Once he regains control, he trails sweet kisses up my neck and whispers, “Thank you.”
I pull back so I can look into his eyes. “Thankyoufor sharing—”
“Oh, my fucking God!” Anika’s voice rings out. “You two better not be starkers. Looks like there’s been a strip show out here.”
Gavin chuckles as I shout to Anika, “It’s safe.”
A few moments later, she takes the first two steps into the pool, cooling her short-clad legs. Hands on her hips, she rolls her eyes at us.
“There better not be any bodily fluids floating around in here. That rule applies to the backyard, too.”
“Morning, Satan’s little helper,” Gavin says. “Or is it afternoon?”
Anika lets out a snort and smirks at him. “Afternoon, Shawshank.”
“Oh, I like that,” I say, giving him a cheeky grin, thrilled that the two most important people in my life somehow, so quickly, seem to get each other.
“Don’t even think about it,” he grumbles, miserably failing to suppress a smile before he plants a quick kiss on my lips.
Anika makes a retching sound before asking, “So, ready for Mum’s letter?”
Chapter 39
Gavin
After positioning the ladder, I climb up to the manhole and slide the cover aside. Taking another few steps up the rungs, I spot the metal safe to my right. Anika had revealed she’d come home early from school one day to find her father up this very ladder. He’d been shocked to find her home, but had told her he’d finished his final cigarette and was locking the rest away as a symbol of his dedication to quitting.
Their father was one secretive, lying arsehole.
The ladder rattles beneath my feet. I glance down at two sets of expectant, impatient eyes.
“Come on, dickwad,” Anika demands, “get a fucking move-on.”
About the size of a small microwave, I grab the safe, surprised by its substantial weight. Must be one of those fireproof numbers. Straining a little, and trying not to show it, I descend the rungs without the use of my hands. The moment my foot hits the floor, Anika reaches for the safe.
“Forget it,” I tell her, pulling back. Damn thing will rip her arms off. “Where do you want it?”
“The breakfast bar,” Jamie says.
“Look at him,” Anika snickers, “peacocking the shit out of carrying that safe so he can show off his big-boy muscles for you.”
There might be a little truth to her observation, but it’s not like the damn thing doesn’t weigh a fucking tonne. When I set it down on the counter, I shoot her a shit-eating grin. “Seems like you’re the one who noticed.”
