Page 26 of A Heart to Find
She crossed the street and started down a wooded path, lit by the moon and lanterns on posts. She had roamed this way before, and appreciated the quiet reprieve from the bustling Main Street.
“You sure you want to walk that way with those heels on?”
“Of course I am. The walkway has been treated just the same as the sidewalks.”
They walked in silence, the only soundtrack the crunching of snow and sand underfoot and the occasional hoot of a woodland creature.
“Keira, you might want to stop for a second…”
“I’ll stop when we get to the hotel.”
“Uh, don’t freak out, but there’s a skunk over there, and I’m pretty sure you don’t want to startle it.”
She stopped in her tracks and then backed up right into Jared’s warm chest. He steadied her with a strong hand on each of her arms. Frozen in place, her mind told her to pull away and stand on her own.
But his breath was warm on the top of her head, and his hands so reliably in control.
For the life of her, she couldn’t will herself to pull away.
“I thought skunks hibernated?”
“Shhh…” he whispered over the top of her head.
Her belly flip-flopped, and her legs numbed. The lingering scent of garlic marinara sauce combined with the sweetness of the lava cake he had consumed washed over her, creating a gnawing in her belly that had nothing to do with food. There was something else there, too. Something familiar. Something that transported her back in time to when breathing in his scent was the most natural thing in the world. When she had belonged in his arms.
When she had thought she’d always be welcome there.
She cleared her throat and shifted away, encouraging him to drop his hold on her. The skunk scurried off into the woods, leaving them alone and with no reason to remain still.
“They don’t exactly hibernate,” he said, shifting back to her question. “And February is prime mating time for them.”
Her throat tightened and her body stiffened. She nodded to acknowledge his response to her question.
“Keira, I know you’re angry with me.”
“I’m not angry.”
“Can we please clear the air?”
Keira inhaled deeply, turning her gaze to the canopy of leafless trees over their heads.
“The air is clear. Intoxicatingly so. Don’t you think?”
“You know what I mean.”
“Jared, there’s no need. Whatever happened between us was eons ago. We were kids. Of course it wasn’t meant to be. You don’t meet your soul mate in a small town high school. I realized that after you left.”
She glanced at his face to see if she had convinced him, but his shattered look nearly destroyed the façade she tried so hard to maintain.
“That’s what I thought at the time,” he admitted.
His long lashes cast a shadow over his cheeks. He looked vulnerable. Boyish. And all she wanted to do was touch his cheek and tell him everything was okay.
Tears filled her eyes, and she frantically blinked them away.
“Let’s get back to the hotel before it gets any colder.”
She wasn’t cold. The night was mild and almost warm by New England standards, and being near him generated heat in her that she wished she could deny. But it had been the first excuse she could come up with, so she’d stick with it.
