What the Heart Knows by Shyla Colt Page B

hadn’t seen him in a mood like this in a long time. Whatever he wanted to tell her was not good news.  A lump settled in her throat as she sat down at the kitchen table . He poured himself a shot glass of whiskey, grabbed a beer from the fridge , and came to sit across from her.  She popped the top o f f the beer he handed her and took a long draw as he tossed back his whiskey and refilled the glass.
    Juni set the brown bottle on the table and spoke.
    “Are you ready to tell me what’s going on?”
    “I know who the spirit is.”
             “What? How? ”
    “I came home today and found your letter—”
    “Wait, what letter?”   She shook her head , lost. His words were running together, and he wasn’t making any sense.
    “The one we sent out to thank your donor.”
    “Why would you get that? Did they mix up the sender ’ s address with the recipient ’ s?”
    “No.”
    Oliver shook his head from side to side and cleared his throat.
    “Hannah was your donor , Juniper.”
    “ Hannah , your wife?”
    He nodded once again, and her draw dropped as her heart began to race.
    “You’re kidding me , right?”
    “I’d never joke about something like this.”
    Logically it all made sense . Of course Hannah would be angry with Oliver and determined to ruin their relationship. God, I fe e l like a fucking thief! She’d taken her heart and her husband. What wom a n wouldn’t turn vengeful after that? Her stomach plummeted as she glanced at Oliver. Was that why they had done everything backwards? The almost sex up against the building the night they met, and the instant kinship? Had Hannah been possessing her even then , or was there some part of Hannah left inside her hear t that remembered her soul mate? Either way made their relationship seemed based on a lie. Her face heated as she recalled the dream about Oliver on the beach. That was a memory!   How deep did Hannah’s interference run? Would their feelings change once they got rid of her? Did Oliver still want her now that he had the option of his wife returning to him?
    Her face heated as questions she didn’t want to ask swirled around in her head.
    “I want to see a picture of her.”
    “What?” he asked.
             “Hannah, I want to see a picture of her.”
    Oliver pushed away from the table and rose, shaking his head as he walked out of the room.  He probably thought she was going off the deep end, but she had to know if this was the woman from her dream. When he returned a few moments later and handed her an 8x10 wedding photo , she gasped.
    “This is the wom an from my dreams.”
             “From what dream?”
    “The one I probably should have let you know about.” 
    He narrowed his eyes at her. Great, he was pissed.
    “W ith everything happening I didn’t want to add my nightmares on top of it. After you told me the truth about the accident I dreamed I was the woman in the passenger seat of the car, and just before I could drown this woman appeared like an angel. She told me she could save me, but she needed my permission to access that portion of my brain because we were in my dream. Jesus! I’m such an idiot. That was probably the opening she’d been looking for.”
    “No, Madeline always said it was linked to your heart, and now that we know who it is we need to see her now.”
    He stunned her when he stood, and held out his hand.
    “ Tonight ?”
    “She’s gotten stronger , Juni. I saw her today as clearly as I see you now, and she cracked my mirror.”
    “How can she do that?”
    “I don’t know, but I sure as hell don’t plan on waiting around to see what else she’s going to pull out of her bag of tricks.”
    She nodded her agreement as they head ed out the door. A tense quiet crept up and she couldn’t help but think Hannah was getting exactly what she wanted. With every minute that ticked by a wedge was being driven between them. How could she compete with a