life."
Thumping the bottle down on the table, I stubbed out my cigarette and slipped a hand around her waist to pull her into me. Gazes locked, I scraped a knuckle from her jaw to her ear, pushing loose strands of hair behind the lobe and leaned as close as I could without kissing her. "Why do you need to keep talking about the past?"
A twangy folk song pumped through the outside speakers, rolling over us, almost as if we were back in time, on the boat, where she was mine. The small of her back filled my palm, and her hands crept to my shoulders as we swayed. "Because back then… you used to have faith in me."
For the second time tonight, she'd said the same thing. The past was where I trusted her. But what had she left me with? She'd run, hadn't she, taken off without a backward glance. Could I forget what she'd done and trust her again?
Those bright eyes of hers peered up at me from under thick eyelashes and my heart thumped in my ears. Her lips grazed mine, stalling my breath in my throat as they teased me, making me believe I could. Would it always be this way with her? Letting go of my anger let her in more than I was willing to deal with. "I think you should go."
"What?" Her eyes widened as our dance ended.
I cleared my throat. "You need to go."
"But—"
"I'll call you a cab." I snatched my hands to my sides, clenching my fists to keep them from reaching for her, and stalked inside before she could get any further under my skin.
Ten minutes later, I bundled her into the back of a cab and sent her on her way. It was best not to let her in. Hadn't she already caused me enough pain? Shaking my head, I shut off the lights and headed to bed. I wouldn't let her make a fool of me again.
Chapter Sixteen
Leo
You used to have faith in me. Her silken voice filled my ears and circled my mind like a buzzard. You used to have faith in me.
Pushing away from the laptop, I glanced at the time. Another day wasted on thinking about her. But the nostalgia from the night before persisted, lending weight to her words. Even after she disappeared, I'd trusted she'd come back; had waited for her. When had that changed? There’d never been a definitive answer for her disappearance. No theory the private investigator I’d hired could come up with. What if I’d been wrong?
Jumping up, I tossed a few things into my camera bag and hoisted it onto my shoulder. There was only so long I could wait for the girl who was never going to come back to me.
Only she had.
I turned the lights off as I made my way out of the gallery. All she wanted was for me to hear her out. Could I have been wrong? I had to know. If there was any part of our past that wasn’t a lie, I… Could I forgive her? Hell, I didn’t want to let her go. I knew that much for sure.
You used to have faith in me. I rubbed at my ear as if that was going to get the words out of my mind, or the compulsion they created for me to find her, right now, and hear her out.
Stowing my bag in a saddlebag, I climbed on my bike. Taking her home last night hadn't felt as much like a mistake as I'd expected. Dancing in my backyard had been...how it had been before she left.
Her studio was just around the corner. Surely, I could spare a few minutes to hear her out. It didn't have to mean anything. Bright light broke the shadows outside the front window.
Two minutes, just long enough for her to tell me why she ran. That was all. I could do that without losing my temper. There she was, those tiny shorts and sports bra, her blonde hair pulled up in a ponytail that swung against her shoulders. Even in workout clothes, she always looked glamorous, drawing me in effortlessly. Her hands flew in front of her as she talked to someone outside the view the window afforded.
Guiding the bike into a parking spot, I slid off and strode toward them. He stepped into view and I froze. The same guy she'd been with at my brother's engagement party. Tossing his palms to the sky, it was
Thumping the bottle down on the table, I stubbed out my cigarette and slipped a hand around her waist to pull her into me. Gazes locked, I scraped a knuckle from her jaw to her ear, pushing loose strands of hair behind the lobe and leaned as close as I could without kissing her. "Why do you need to keep talking about the past?"
A twangy folk song pumped through the outside speakers, rolling over us, almost as if we were back in time, on the boat, where she was mine. The small of her back filled my palm, and her hands crept to my shoulders as we swayed. "Because back then… you used to have faith in me."
For the second time tonight, she'd said the same thing. The past was where I trusted her. But what had she left me with? She'd run, hadn't she, taken off without a backward glance. Could I forget what she'd done and trust her again?
Those bright eyes of hers peered up at me from under thick eyelashes and my heart thumped in my ears. Her lips grazed mine, stalling my breath in my throat as they teased me, making me believe I could. Would it always be this way with her? Letting go of my anger let her in more than I was willing to deal with. "I think you should go."
"What?" Her eyes widened as our dance ended.
I cleared my throat. "You need to go."
"But—"
"I'll call you a cab." I snatched my hands to my sides, clenching my fists to keep them from reaching for her, and stalked inside before she could get any further under my skin.
Ten minutes later, I bundled her into the back of a cab and sent her on her way. It was best not to let her in. Hadn't she already caused me enough pain? Shaking my head, I shut off the lights and headed to bed. I wouldn't let her make a fool of me again.
Chapter Sixteen
Leo
You used to have faith in me. Her silken voice filled my ears and circled my mind like a buzzard. You used to have faith in me.
Pushing away from the laptop, I glanced at the time. Another day wasted on thinking about her. But the nostalgia from the night before persisted, lending weight to her words. Even after she disappeared, I'd trusted she'd come back; had waited for her. When had that changed? There’d never been a definitive answer for her disappearance. No theory the private investigator I’d hired could come up with. What if I’d been wrong?
Jumping up, I tossed a few things into my camera bag and hoisted it onto my shoulder. There was only so long I could wait for the girl who was never going to come back to me.
Only she had.
I turned the lights off as I made my way out of the gallery. All she wanted was for me to hear her out. Could I have been wrong? I had to know. If there was any part of our past that wasn’t a lie, I… Could I forgive her? Hell, I didn’t want to let her go. I knew that much for sure.
You used to have faith in me. I rubbed at my ear as if that was going to get the words out of my mind, or the compulsion they created for me to find her, right now, and hear her out.
Stowing my bag in a saddlebag, I climbed on my bike. Taking her home last night hadn't felt as much like a mistake as I'd expected. Dancing in my backyard had been...how it had been before she left.
Her studio was just around the corner. Surely, I could spare a few minutes to hear her out. It didn't have to mean anything. Bright light broke the shadows outside the front window.
Two minutes, just long enough for her to tell me why she ran. That was all. I could do that without losing my temper. There she was, those tiny shorts and sports bra, her blonde hair pulled up in a ponytail that swung against her shoulders. Even in workout clothes, she always looked glamorous, drawing me in effortlessly. Her hands flew in front of her as she talked to someone outside the view the window afforded.
Guiding the bike into a parking spot, I slid off and strode toward them. He stepped into view and I froze. The same guy she'd been with at my brother's engagement party. Tossing his palms to the sky, it was
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