Page 82 of A Heart to Find
And she could pretend the blanket could keep her anchored to her spot rather than running to him like she wanted to.
“Keira, please open the door. I need to see you.”
Too late.
He lost his chance.
“Keira, please.”
The desperation in his voice had her swinging her feet to the floor. When she didn’t hear another knock, she tiptoed over. Why? She had no idea. She could no better explain why she wanted to peek through the peephole than she could explain why her heart thudded to the beat of, “Jar-ed. Jar-ed. Jar-ed.”
A thunk sounded against the door, and then the distinct sound of a body sliding down its length.
“I’m going to sit here and wait for you to be ready to talk to me.”
She reached for the handle, but pulled away.
“Keira, I didn’t mean to mess up tonight.”
He never meant to. But he always managed to.
“If it helps for you to know, I was helping to move a fallen tree out of the road so hotel staff could get through. It was too cold to leave them stranded out there.”
Her ears perked up. Had she judged him prematurely? Had he been doing an act of service, of kindness?
“I couldn’t pick up a signal on my phone. I’m sorry.”
She dropped her forehead to the door, feeling a connection to him through the intricately carved wood.
Would anything ever give her the strength to turn him away?
She didn’t want to know.
He was here now. That’s what mattered.
She had known she wanted to be with him, and her pain had been caused by her own irrational assumptions about him based on the child he used to be. She didn’t want him to think she was the same child she had been way back when, so why was she so quick to assign that blame to him?
He knocked softly on the door once again.
“I brought carbs for you…”
She unlocked the deadbolt and slowly opened the door. He leapt to his feet before she swung the door fully open.
“Keira.”
His eyes, moist with emotion, connected directly to her soul. So much to say, but she couldn’t form a single word.
He held out the plate toward her. Cheese and bread piled high, some dropping off the side as his hand shook.
“Thank you.” She took the plate and set it down on the table by the door. “Have you eaten?”
He shook his head. “I can’t eat until you hear me out.”
“A hunger strike? Never thought you’d be the type.” Her attempt at a joke fell flat, but then merriment rose in his cheeks and his eyes sparkled a little beneath the heavy weight of emotion he held there.
“You know me, Keira. I’m all about the risk. Doing whatever it takes to achieve a goal.” He leaned against the doorframe. A small group of people shuffled by in the hall, apologizing as they passed. “This is the biggest risk I’ve ever taken, because I care so much about the outcome. I want you, Keira. I’m all in. One hundred percent of the way. For one hundred percent of my life.”
A shiver ran up her spine and left her trembling.
