Million-Dollar Amnesia Scandal by Rachel Bailey Page B

night.”
    As she turned to look at him, the picture before her of his masculine beauty against the majestic night sky backdrop was so perfect it almost hurt her eyes. She looked away. “What did you wish for?”
    â€œThe usual. A bike or new baseball glove. That my mother wouldn’t cry when my father visited his other family.” His voice turned hard, betraying an age of pain, and her heart cracked open for the little boy he’d been.
    â€œShe did that in front of you?” she asked in a rough whisper.
    A smile that didn’t reach his eyes slid across his face, as if to downplay the effects of his childhood. “She’d probably be horrified if she realized I’d known. Jesse was oblivious, but I always knew. It was a good lesson, though. One I’ll never forget.”
    â€œLesson?” She had to stop herself from drawing back, almost afraid to hear the answer.
    His gaze remained on the stars as he spoke. “Nothing good ever comes from love or commitment.”
    She studied his tense profile. Such a cold worldview. Then one thought leapt out at her—Seth had never been someone’s first choice. His father had chosen Ryder to be the publicly acknowledged son. His mother had chosen to wait around for his father over finding a more emotionally secure environment for her sons. How had that damaged him deep down?
    â€œSurely,” she gently challenged, “sometimes, love and commitment can work?”
    â€œIt doesn’t make people happy.” His voice was flat, almost as if this was a mantra he’d said to himself before. “It doesn’t add anything to their lives. I’ve always wondered why people are so desperate for it.”
    She swallowed the gasp back before it escaped her throat. “You really believe that?”
    â€œI’ve never seen any evidence to prove otherwise.”
    Not knowing what else to say or do to ease the pain of the child still living in his heart, she scooted a bit closer. “Show me which star.”
    He pointed again and she followed the direction. “That’s Vega,” she said.
    Eyes trained on her face, he rolled on his side, bringing him within inches. “You know that?”
    â€œYes. I’m not sure how, but yes, I do know.” A thrill of discovery raced through her bloodstream and she pointed to another one. “And that’s Altair, and Deneb over there. They form a triangle with Vega.” Her heart lifted, began to sing at finding another part of herself.
    Ignoring the path her finger traced over the constellation, he watched her—she knew it by the gooseflesh that erupted across her skin.
    â€œWhich other stars do you know?” he asked, voice deep.
    â€œThat’s Venus over there,” she rushed to say, pretending it was only the revelations of her memory that were heating her skin. “Which, of course, isn’t a star, but it’s sometimes been called the evening star, or morning star, depending on where it’s at in its cycle.”
    Strands of hair that had escaped her braid danced around her face and he smoothed them back and tucked them behind her ear. “What else, star girl?”
    Cheek still tingling from the touch of his hand, she looked up into his eyes, sparkling and intense, and so much more beautiful than stars in the sky. “I don’t know any others,” she lied.
    His eyes darkened; his voice became rough. “Tell me something else then. Something you do know.”
    The slow burn she’d been trying to forget flared to life, demanding her attention and threatening to engulf her. “I know how I feel when you look at me that way.”
    â€œHow?” He was closer, his breath grazing her skin, his scent surrounding her, keeping her spellbound.
    Throat parched, she swallowed hard before she could speak. “Like the world has melted away, and the only thing that’s important is that you keep looking at