Page 38 of Reaching Hearts

Chapter Twenty-One

Annie

Staring: at a wall. Yay.

The door opens and I look over to see Brendan, his arrival stunning me completely. He’s followed by a Samoan-looking nurse pushing his IV on clunky wheels into my room.

I throw my feet off the bed, legs and IV tube dangling. “Well, look at you!”

“Not bad, huh?” He winces as he turns to look at the nurse. “I’ve got it, Oscar. Thanks.”

“Hi!” I throw a small, happy wave at the man called Oscar. He waves back with his free hand as he positions Brendan’s IV close to my bed. He ducks out of the room with a knowing smile as I pat the bed next to me.

Brendan’s concentrating so hard as he carefully sits down.

Anyone would find him handsome, sure. How could they not? It’s undeniable that he is a very good looking man. But it’s more than that for me, and I feel it every time he’s near. Something on the inside draws me to him. I feel whole when he’s with me. He is comfortable in his own skin as a man. He’s always been like that, but now that he’s grown up, it’s even more palpable. It’s striking, especially compared with a lot of people who aren’t that way at all. He doesn’t suck the energy out of the room. He calms it. And he calms me.

Brendan looks over from the corner of his eyes, pleased with himself for the journey he just made. I think he’s going to bring up what happened with Rebecca earlier, but he doesn’t. “I’ve been thinking about how to get people into your bar.”

I reach up and touch a thick lock of hair by his temple. “Yeah?”

He stares at me, eyes flitting in the direction of my fingers, then resting on my face as thoughts gather behind his eyes.

Take your time. I could watch you think, forever.

I lower my hand to rest on his. They are on the bed between our bodies as we sit facing the door, our legs hanging over the side.

“Um… yeah.” He smiles, distracted by my touch. “I think appealing to the neighborhood is the way to go, so I want to bring them into the restoration project.” He picks up my hand and we both watch as he weaves his fingers slowly with mine, caressing them by dipping in and out a few times.

“That’s a great idea,” I murmur, staring at the size difference in our hands and at his skin tone, pale since the accident. “Laura and Taryn made T-shirt decals to give out.” My voice sounds distant. Le Barré is the farthest thing from mine.

He’s staring at our hands, too. The conversation is just to have something to say. All we really want to do is get naked and be alone. “That’s a great idea. Are they your friends?”

I nod. “Employees, too. You haven’t met them, yet.”

He brings my hand to his lips. Onto each one of my fingertips he kisses tiny promises. Mesmerized, I watch him finish on my last pinkie then turn my hand over to kiss the soft curve of my palm, closing his eyes as he does. When he opens them, his eyelashes rise up like they’re in water.

He asks in a voice I’ve never heard him use, “What is it about you, Annie?”

Lightheaded I gaze at him. “What do you mean?”

He blinks once. We’re locked in a visual embrace. The room no longer exists as it did. The cords are gone. The florescent lights, warmed. The cold hard surfaces around us are now rounded, blurry. They live in another universe we aren’t a part of.

“I feel something when I’m around you. I can’t figure it out.”

On a smile, I lean in to bring both my hands up and cup his face as I look at him with love. I’ll wait for you, Brendan, just as I always have. I’ll wait until you figure it out. His brow furrows like he’s in pain as he stares at me. I lean in closer and brush my lips against his.

His voice is low and hoarse as he whispers, “I’m having a hard time letting go.”

“Of figuring it out?” I whisper back.

“Yeah.”

I kiss him completely and his mouth moves with mine. There is nothing else but this kiss. Nothing else. Until the door opens.

“Oh!” Maria almost closes it again but stops halfway in and halfway out. Brendan and I pull apart, but he grabs my hand and holds it. I feel weightless as I look at her, struggling to understand what she’s saying, who she is, and why she’s even here.

“Sorry. They got your results back. You’re going home.”