Page 24 of 7 Miles High
“Why’s that? Are you a secret hoarder?” he teases.
“No,” I chuckle. “Much worse. I’m a woman who’s been hurt. Bottom line, I’m not sure you’re going to want to stick around long enough to deal with that.”
“Let me come to my own conclusions, Natalie.”
“Fair enough. Just know I’ve got trust issues.”
“I’m sorry someone loved you so badly.”
When he says the words I hear my last five years summed up. I lower my head.
“Is that why you were resistant to getting to know me better?” he says, lifting my chin.
“I’m coming out of a marriage to a man I severely misjudged. I still haven’t figured out how I was so blind,” I say. “Now I don’t trust my own impulses. Do you understand that?”
“I understand the guy who hurt you so deeply must be an idiot.”
His words and the grin accompanying them break my anxious mood and stop the tears.
I look into eyes of quiet confidence and sincerity.
“I don’t think I should pay for another man’s sins,” he says firmly. “That’s not who I am. You and I Natalie, we’re a new thing. Separate. I need you to see it that way too.”
Good answer.
The best one.
I wouldn’t want a man who doesn’t know his own worth.
“But while you’re coming to that conclusion, I’ll be patient,” he says with a gentleness that touches my heart.
“That’s all I’m asking,” I say, squeezing his hand. “One more thing. Just a heads-up. He’s here.”
A line appears between his brows. “Did you come together?”
“No! God no!” I say quickly.
He exhales. “Then I don’t give a damn where he is. He’s a bit player in our story.”
My nod is agreement.
“Now give me a proper hello,” he orders.
He slides a hand in my hair slowly, cupping the back of my head in his palm. His eyes linger on my lips. He’s kissing me once, twice.
