Page 70 of Broken Heart
I watched as she popped the last bite of her s’more into her mouth before she turned slightly on the cushion of her outdoor furniture and reached for her drink. After chewing and swallowing, she took a sip of her drink, and I took the opportunity to do the same with mine.
She shifted her body one more time and turned to face me. She was sitting right beside me, and I desperately wanted to rest my hand on her thigh. But without knowing exactly where this was going to go, I thought it would be best to exercise some restraint. I’d already made it clear to her what I wanted, but I didn’t have any verbal admission from her that she wanted the same. Recognizing how much her body reacted around me was different than having her verbal confirmation.
And that’s when I realized I was nervous. What if what she’d said to me weeks ago about not wanting to get involved in a relationship was where she still stood?
When she took a deep, settling breath, I feared the worst.
“A few days ago, you told me to take my time to consider there being something more than just the fake relationship between us,” she declared, her eyes pinned intensely on mine.
I gave her a nod, but felt compelled to clarify, “I think we’ve already moved past the fake relationship and into a mutual respect and friendship, Skye.”
Nodding, she said, “Fair enough. But the bottom line is that you don’t want us to remain just friends.”
“Correct. I would like for there to be the chance to explore something more.”
She licked her lips, my eyes powerless to avoid dropping to them. “If I’m completely honest with you, I started feeling the same way before we even went to that event.”
Hope surged in my chest, and I felt the surprise wash over me, my brows shooting up. “Are you serious?”
“I am,” she confirmed. “And there’s a part of me that believes I’m insane for feeling that way, but I can’t ignore it. Cooper, I’ve never met anyone like you.”
I lifted my arm and rested it on the back of the cushioned bench we were sitting on and allowed my fingertips to just barely graze the back of Skye’s opposite arm. I’d held myself back from touching her before she started speaking, but now that I had her admission, I could no longer resist. “I want to believe that’s a good thing.”
“It is. There are a lot of things I’ve learned that I like about you,” she shared.
This was getting better and better. One half of my mouth quirked up. “Like what?”
Her eyes roamed over my face, like she was searching for answers to unasked questions. I wondered what was going through her mind, but I refrained from questioning her. And eventually, she revealed, “Well, first of all, you’re unbelievably handsome.”
I chuckled, my fingers now curling around her shoulder.
“When you first stepped inside my store, I was both terrified and attracted to you,” Skye confessed. “There’s nothing quite like believing you’re about to be murdered by the most handsome man you’ve ever seen.”
“I thought you looked a bit terrified that day,” I said.
She shrugged. “Fortunately, you were a great-looking guy who was nice. And I love your voice. I love the way you can sound so confident when you speak with that buttery smoothness to your voice. I might regret admitting this, but I’ve replayed the sound of your voice over and over in my head for weeks now.”
Hearing her admit she’d recalled the sound of my voice did not help me keep myself focused on the discussion we were meant to be having. I envisioned where Skye might have been and what she might have been doing when she had those thoughts about me speaking to her. Most of them led me to naughty places.
“But you’re more than just the way you look and sound,” Skye began again, forcing my mind back to our conversation. “You’re so hardworking and generous. You’re competitive and playful. You listen when I talk, and you care about what I have to say. And with the exception of my parents and grandmother, you treat me better than anyone has ever treated me.”
She took another deep breath, her eyes still focused on mine. Recognizing she wasn’t quite finished saying all that she needed to say, I patiently waited, my fingers continuing to trace random patterns on her shoulder.
“I’d be a fool to meet a man like you and find a way to convince myself I needed to look the other way,” she remarked. “I don’t think it’s possible to walk away from you, Cooper.”
My fingers stopped tracing to squeeze her shoulder. This was exactly what I’d been hoping for. It was just what I wanted to hear. But for some reason, I couldn’t celebrate it the way I’d imagined. There had been something lingering in her tone from the start, which I’d initially assumed was nerves, but now I wasn’t so sure. For several long moments, I simply stared at her, wondering if she was going to give me all the hope she’d just given me, only to rip it away. Finally, I said, “Sweetheart, while I am happy about and humbled by everything you’ve just shared, I can’t help from feeling as though there’s something else lingering here for you.”
She dropped her gaze to her lap and declared, “There’s that, too. You have this uncanny ability to know when something isn’t right with or for me.”
Damn.
Those were the last words I’d wanted to hear. I closed my eyes momentarily, attempting to breathe through the panic I felt.
I could not lose this woman.
Although we were already sitting close to one another, I opened my eyes and shifted myself in her direction, the hold I had on her becoming far less casual. It was just one arm shy of being a full-fledged hug. “Tell me what’s on the other side of this for you, Skye,” I urged her. “Despite all of the good things you’ve just shared, it’s clear something else is eating at you.”
There was an uneasiness lingering in her gaze as she rasped, “I’m scared.”