Fall to Pieces - Shari J. Ryan Page 0,71
wonderful news I’d heard in forever. I’m so happy for you. When do you get to find out more?”
Chance relaxes at my response and smiles, genuinely. He’s beaming and breathing hard. “Today, at one. August, I’m going nuts inside right now. I just—this is what I’m supposed to do in my life, you know?”
“I know,” I whisper. I get it. I get it so much. I’m not sure if it’s irony, the way Chance and I met or if it’s the universe working its magic through magnetic forces of attraction, but I think Chance and I need each other.
“You are going to change that little boy’s life,” I tell him. I know I’ve only known Chance a couple of weeks, but this man has done so much for me, being a stranger at first, and hasn’t given up since. He’s a giver. He’s a rare breed … one who has a heart so big that they want to share it with the world. “Thank you for saying that. Thank you for understanding and being supportive. I needed that.”
He stares down at his half-eaten scone, smiling in thought. “Chance,” I say. His eyes meet mine. “I think I need you in my life.”
“Me?” he questions and seems taken aback by the broad look in his eyes.
“Yeah, you,” I respond, unashamed. “You make me feel different—good. You’re someone I want to be around, and for the right reasons, you know?”
“You’re saying all this after I tell you I’m diving headfirst into this new life I’ve wanted?”
“It’s one of the reasons I’m saying it—hearing everything you’d had to say in the last twenty minutes has made me feel a million different things, and all of them make me feel like we’re supposed to be in each other’s lives.” Maybe I’m too forward, too fast. Perhaps I’ve been this charity case like I thought. I don’t have much of a filter, and my thoughts seem to roll off my tongue lately, but life’s short, and there’s no sense in wasting time being vague. “You know, I kinda thought you hated me after the way you acted last night.”
“I acted like a real idiot the other night.” Chance doesn’t respond right away. I think I definitely might have been too forward. I take a sip of my coffee to break up the silence and stand up from my chair. “I’m just going to use the bathroom real quick.”
There is a sense of stillness and silence. “Yeah, you did act like an idiot last night, but you know, I followed you for a reason, August. Something has come over me, and I care about you.”
His words throw me for a loop. I walk by him but gasp as he tugs my arm backward. I’m spun around, cradled in his lap. He sweeps my hair away from my eye, and his gaze locks on mine. “Maybe you wouldn’t keep hating me if I showed you how much I don’t hate you.” I swallow hard, wondering what he’s thinking, wishing I could hear his thoughts out loud.
I don’t have to wonder anymore when his nose inches toward me and touches the tip of mine. “You’re something special, August Taylor,” he whispers.
My breaths become weak as his lips gently sweep against mine, as if he’s testing the boundaries. The sensation drives me wild, and the sparks inside of me are bouncing around from head to toe. I close my eyes, falling into his embrace. His lips part and claim mine as if I own the breath he’s trying to catch.
This man knows how to kiss.
His lips are firm but plump, and they devour mine with purpose, sending pulsating sensations of electricity through my veins.
I can’t breathe. I don’t want to breathe. I want to feel dizzy and weak—taken by Chance’s strength.
His tongue touches mine, the taste of coffee and blueberries enhance the moment. My heart is pounding, my lips are tingling, and my stomach feels like it’s full of tiny little feathers floating around, leaving the sensation of shivers in its path.
I gasp for air when he pulls away. “I have wanted to kiss you since that night you tried to kiss me, but I needed to wait until the right moment.”
“Until I wasn’t falling to pieces ...” I follow.
“Until the tears dried up on that beautiful face of yours,” he responds.
“I’m sorry for the way we met.” I feel the need to keep explaining that the person sitting in that bar was an imposter—a woman trying to crawl