Page 56 of A Heart to Find
Who was she kidding? She could stare into his eyes for the rest of the winter.
His eyelids appeared to grow heavy, and his gaze drifted from her eyes to her lips. She wet them with her tongue, suddenly parched and wishing for another drink.
Because she was thirsty or because she required a dose of liquid courage, she didn’t know.
He leaned forward, and if fireworks erupted at that moment, she wouldn’t have known the difference given the amount of sparks jumping between the two of them in such. Close. Proximity.
Every hormone in her body sat up and cheered. He moved ever-so-slowly, which was exactly what she needed to prepare for what was to come.
As his lips prepared to merge with hers, her hands flew up to his chest, stopping him before she allowed something she’d deeply regret.
“Wait, Jared. It’s too soon.”
He nodded and closed his eyes, seemingly needing to get himself under control. She understood. She was in the same boat.
“I need to take things slow. Need to be sure I can truly commit to being over the past. Is that okay with you? I don’t want to complicate things more than they already are.”
He gulped again, but his eyes were warm and compassionate and had her fighting back the urge to throw herself in his arms and beg him to be the man she wanted, needed, and would cherish forever.
“Keira, I’ll do anything to help you feel comfortable. And I will do my very best to never do anything to make you unhappy. But when I inevitably mess up, I’ll fix it. Just please give me the chance to show you how magical we can be together.”
She nodded, not trusting her voice to speak without breaking.
“I want to take you to breakfast tomorrow. A late breakfast if you want to sleep in.”
How did his voice have the magical ability to send shivers over her skin? To bring butterflies to life in her stomach? To make her toes curl in her shoes and her knees wobble like she walked on unsteady ground?
She nodded in agreement and felt herself blushing from her forehead to her ankles.
He stepped back, creating a much-needed draft between them. “We should probably get started on this scavenger hunt. Though maybe it’s not a bad idea to let someone else win for a change.”
“Barb and Neil are probably thinking we ditched them.”
Jared slung an arm over Keira’s shoulder and dug the list out of his pocket.
“Something tells me it won’t take us long to find them.”
And sure enough, the nervous couple remained waiting outside the door.
Chapter 14
“I see you looking at my plate like a wolf who hasn’t caught prey in months and has had to settle for scraps.”
Keira snorted indignantly. “I am not! I have a perfectly wonderful choice right in front of me, thank you very much.”
“Good, glad you feel that way. Because I didn’t want you trying to steal my delicious stack of French toast with the genuine Danton, Vermont-made maple syrup poured so generously over the powdered sugar and butter.”
Salivating but trying to hide it, she sipped her tea before picking up her fork to dive into her spinach omelette and fruit salad.
Why had she decided to go so healthy today?
Oh yeah, because she had way overdone it with the sweets and needed to rein things in so she could fit into her clothes over the next week.
“I feel you watching me intently every time I take a bite.”
“Am not.” Her denial sounded weak even to her.
“Here.” He held out a forkful of fluffy toast dripping with syrup.
