Page 55 of A Heart to Find
“Barb and Neil,” she said, surprising herself with the strength of her vocalization. “Nice to meet you.”
“I-i-it’s ni-i-i-ice to meet y-y-you, too.” Neil’s stutter garnered instant sympathy from Keira. No wonder he wasn’t feeling confident. But it did nothing to diminish the friendliness in his eyes or the kindness in his smile.
“You should both join us for the scavenger hunt,” Barb offered, bouncing as she spoke the words.
“I love that idea,” Jared answered. “But why don’t you go ahead and start and we’ll catch up. I need to have a few words with my lovely match.”
Barb and Neil nodded in unison. Keira watched as they scurried away, admiring the way they matched the colors they wore and wondering if they went shopping here on the island together or if fate convinced them to pack complimentary clothes without knowing it.
“All right, all right,” she tossed her hands in the air. “You caught me.”
“Mind telling me exactly what I caught you at?”
She rolled her eyes, certain they’d loosen themselves from the sockets after the amount of time she had spent rolling them this evening.
The alcohol may have affected her judgment, but she couldn’t hold back the words her heart wanted her to say.
“You caught me spying on you because I wanted to say I’m sorry but didn’t know how, and then you were having such a grand old time without me, and I wanted to hear what was going on. It was silly, and I’m sorry.”
His stupid, adorable eyebrows arched, and joy seeped from his rotten, delicious pores.
“You wanted to apologize? Please, do go on.”
She sighed dramatically. Where was the waitstaff with those too-yummy-to-exercise-good-judgment drinks?
“Actually, I had no intention of apologizing. I had every intention of ignoring you and going about my evening as if you didn’t exist.”
Were those drinks some kind of truth serum? She couldn’t stop herself from spilling out every bit of her plot.
“But then you were being so nice to everyone, and I liked it. Not because I like you, so don’t get that stuck in your big old head. But because I like kindness, and you were really kind to Barb and Neil. And I liked that.”
He sucked in his cheek as if holding back a laugh. She playfully smacked his arm, and he responded by pulling her closer to him by her hips.
“I want to apologize, too.”
“You do?” She stared up into his eyes, her lashes fluttering.
She admired his Adam’s apple as he swallowed hard before continuing. Thoughts incoherent, she could do nothing but focus on his lips as he bit the side of the bottom one.
“Yes. And make a confession or two.”
She waited, her legs growing restless and her stomach churning.
“I’m sorry I hurt your feelings and made you think I’m not committed to the process. I came here to find my match, and I think you know I was over-the-top thrilled to find that serendipity had led me here to find you. So I don’t like meditating. And sometimes I need to get away from the noise. But I like you, and I like spending time with you. Can’t that be enough?”
Yes. Yes, that was enough.
She wanted to shout it out. She wanted nesting birds to flee at her joyful screeches. She wanted people to come running to find out what crazy thing had happened, all so she could put their budding love on display.
But she wouldn’t do that. Obviously, the alcohol influenced her wild crushing feelings.
What she could do—what she would do—is allow herself to feel gratitude that she had been willing to embarrass herself. She would accept the words he offered. And she would allow herself to believe the whole crazy mess was worthwhile if potential love was on the line.
Realizing her head nodded emphatically, she stood on tiptoes to kiss him on the cheek.
She pulled away quickly, hoping he couldn’t hear the rapid thudding of her heart.
He pulled her back, placing his finger under her chin to force eye contact when she wanted to look away.
