Page 11 of Siren Wishes
She leaned forward and hugged him softly and feeling her face press against his bare chest made him hold in a groan.
Fin cleared his throat, “Uh, I don’t think we caught your name.”
She looked over at his brother and let go of him, making him have to clench his hands to not reach out and haul her back into his arms.
“Oh, I apologize. My name is Soraya Vanne. But my mother calls me Sora.”
“Soraya. It’s beautiful.”
Her cheeks went pink and it matched her hair, “Thank you.”
“You already met us, but I’m Cruiz Conway and that’s Fin. We're brothers and own this rehabilitation center.”
Her eyebrows fell, “What does rehabilfaction mean?”
Cruiz bit back a laugh, “Rehabilitation. Fin and I find injured sea animals and help them recover. If they cannot go back to the sea, then they stay here or we find them new homes in other places that will care for their needs.”
She bit her lip, “You help animals of the sea? Truly?”
They both nodded and she went on, “Do you know anything about dolphins and their calves?”
Cruiz nodded again, and she let out a breath of relief, “I found a small calf that was abandoned by its mother.”
Cruiz raised his eyebrow, “You do? Where is it?”
“It is safe for now. I'll take you to it in the morning.”
Cruiz gave a small smile still unsure of what she meant with everything and how she made him feel, and she smiled back, “Thank you for helping me learn to walk.”
“You're welcome. Can I help you get to your house safely?”
She shook her head slowly, “It's quite a distance. Thank you for offering though.”
“I'll drive you wherever you need to go.”
She shook her head again, “I don't need to drive. I'll be safe, I swear.”
Fin stepped in, “Cruiz, you shouldn’t be driving. Not with your head wound.”
He sighed, “Fine, at least let me walk you.”
She shook her head again, “I will come back in the morning with the calf.”
Then she turned and walked slowly from the room, getting lost a few times trying to leave the house.
Fin snickered and Cruiz elbowed him in the ribs, making him suck in a breath.
When she opened the door, she looked back just once and then was gone.
He took a step forward, but Fin caught his arm, “You can’t chase after her. Not like this. She said she'll be back, you have to believe she will be.”
Cruiz rubbed his chest, feeling the separation between him and Soraya as sharp as a knife.
He had no idea why she was so important to him, but he hated that she was gone.
“Fin, she's mine. I don’t know how I know that, but that woman is going to be my wife.”
Fin raised his eyebrows, “Seriously? Cruiz, you haven’t even given a woman the time of day before and now the first girl you talk to for more than ten minutes, is yours? That’s not how it works. You don’t decide something like that off a whim.”
