habits.
âWhat are you so afraid of?â he asked.
âWho said Iâm afraid?â
âItâs in your eyes every time we start to get too close.â
âThatâs just your imagination.â
âIs it?â he asked skeptically, then challenged,âIn that case, come over here by me.â
Lindsay hesitated just a second or two too long. By the time she met Markâs gaze again, his eyes were twinkling. âI rest my case.â
âJust because I donât want to have a meaningless little fling with you doesnât mean Iâm afraid.â
âIt wouldnât be meaningless between us and you know it.â
Lindsay sighed. âOkay,â she said at last. âMaybe youâre right and maybe that is the problem. I donât want any involvements in my life.â
âWhy? I got the feeling last night that something had happened to make you lock yourself away from the world.â
âIâm not exactly locked away from the world. Iâm traveling all over it.â
âAlone.â
âYes.â
âWhy? Youâre a beautiful woman, easy to be with, intelligent. Why would you choose to be alone? And donât try to dance around that, because I know it has to be by choice. For the last two days Iâve watched you systematically shut me out and I donât think Iâmthe first man youâve done that to. Youâre too good at it.â
âI learned very early that you canât count on other people, even the ones you love the most,â she said matter-of-factly, though there was a growing ache in her heart.
He reached out and captured her hand in his, his gaze warm and tender. âWho hurt you? Who hurt you so badly that you donât trust anyone?â
Lindsay could feel the tears welling up in her eyes as she remembered in precise and horrifying detail the day theyâd come to tell her mother that her father was dead, that the plane heâd been on had crashed into the side of a mountain and there were no survivors. Sheâd blamed him for leaving them. God, how sheâd hated him for that, even though sheâd known she was wrong.
âIt wasnât his fault,â she said shakily now. âHe didnât mean to leave us alone. I know he didnât mean to do it.â
âWho?â
âMy father.â
âHe walked out on you?â
âNo. It was nothing like that. He was killed in a plane crash. He traveled a lot andone time the plane just didnât make it back. I was nine years old, and all of a sudden one of the people I loved the most was gone and it didnât make any sense. It hurt so much.â
âOh, Iâm so sorry,â Mark said, drawing her into his arms and holding her against his chest. Once more, she could feel his strength seeping into her, easing the pain. âThat explains everything. Youâve spent your whole life trying to avoid another loss like that, havenât you?â
Suddenly it was clear to her. That was exactly what sheâd been doing. Sheâd known it subconsciously, but sheâd never before allowed the thoughts to surface so that she could deal with them, just as sheâd forced herself to board plane after plane, each time terrified that she would die as her father had.
âI suppose so,â she admitted, knowing that it was more than mere supposition. It was fact.
âI know exactly how you feel, but you canât live your life in a glass cage to protect yourself against hurt.â
âI donât see why not. Iâm busy. I have friends. I love my job.â
âAnd you spend your nights all alone.â
âI donât need anyone to share my nights,â she said stubbornly.
âI felt that way once, too, but then I realized I wasnât living. I was only existing. Donât let that happen to you, bright eyes. It would be such a waste.â
The intensity of the warning and the warmth
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