Page 25 of A Heart to Find
“Sounds pretty judgy to me,” Jared teased.
“Do you enjoy watching me lose my temper, or are you just really gifted at eliciting that response from me?”
“I like every intense response from you.”
Keira kicked his shin under the table. Not hard enough to hurt him, but hard enough to get his attention.
Megan continued. “Well, I think it’s romantic. I heard it was filmed, and they’re going to show it at the stargazing night on the beach.”
“Isn’t it a bit cold for a beach night?” Jared asked.
“Not when you have a special someone to snuggle up with!” Megan and Matt stared into each other’s eyes again, lost to anything going on around them.
“There’ll be a bonfire, don’t worry.” Inexplicably hurt by his criticism of an event she thought sounded adventurous and romantic, her words emerged from her throat harsher than she had intended.
Needing to lighten the mood to counter the tension she had inadvertently served to the room, she leaned toward Jared and fell back on the one thing they had agreed on.
“They may be too besotted to see the ridiculousness of an engagement after three days of knowing someone, but at least you and I can agree that instalove is a joke.”
His smile broadened, and he put his napkin on the table next to his plate.
“Oh, I don’t know. I think I get it.”
Taken aback, Keira snapped back in her seat. “You get what? Their engagement makes sense to you?”
“I’m not sure about the engagement, but I can understand the potency of instant love. I fell for you within minutes. I’ve never been the same.”
So he wanted to goad her. Embarrass her. Make a fool of her.
Okay.
“I guess it’s time to head back to the hotel now, huh?” Sweat gathered at her temples and her heart pounded ferociously.
Megan’s voice hit a new high as she squealed her delight at Jared’s lies. “That was the sweetest thing I’ve heard from anyone other than Matty. You guys are adorable.”
Keira smiled, hoping her acting skills were convincing. She pushed away from the table and, after a few minutes of exchanging pleasantries and goodbyes and settling the bill, started for the door.
“Hey, wait up.” Jared’s long stride closed the distance between them in no time. “Are you okay?”
He held the door open for her, and she did her best not to brush against him on her way out.
“I’m fine. Why would you ask?”
“Maybe because you acted like someone set your seat on fire.”
“It was getting hot in there. I wanted some fresh air.”
“Keira…”
She ignored his serious tone and focused on the crunch of the sand and salt under her clackety shoes on the sidewalk.
“Come on. You know how I’ve always felt about you.”
“Do I?” She stopped short, pretending her sudden pause didn’t cause her shoe to slide across a slick spot. “Because I thought I did. I really did. But then you did that whole disappearing thing, and it made me realize that everything I thought was real wasn’t. So forgive me if I don’t believe that you ever actually loved me.” A wry laugh worked its way through her clenched teeth and her purse-lipped smile. “But that’s the past. We don’t need to think about that.”
“I want to think about it. My past with you is important to me. And so is our future.”
“Don’t worry, Jared. I have no expectations of you anymore. This is an unfortunate thing for both of us, but I’m glad we’ve been able to make the best of it so far. Let’s keep that going, okay?”
