The Heart - Kate Stewart Page 0,59

tired in young bones, and wary of anything else that could taint the girl I once was.

Was she still in there? The girl full of love’s ambition, full of life, and never-ending hope of a future filled with moments to latch on to and relive? I’d had those moments. I’d had them. I’d been so lucky.

Had she fled from me to a place where nothing else could hurt her or was she still in there? I missed her.

“What’s going on in that beautiful head of yours, woman? And why exactly are you hiding?”

I smiled at the clouds.

Cajun.

I didn’t bother looking his way as he made himself comfortable on my quilt, his head next to mine.

“I was thinking about how much life I have left to live and how old I feel.”

“That deep, huh?”

God, I loved the way he spoke. It was as intoxicating as his smell. Though I resisted looking at him, I saw the tip of his black boots out of the corner of my eye and assumed he was in his typical uniform of a perfectly fitted t-shirt and jeans. Though I’d come out to my spot in hopes of staying hidden, I loved the fact that he found me.

“Yeah, that deep,” I whispered as I kept my eyes glued to the sky. “I can’t stop thinking about how the future might swallow me if I’m not careful. I’ve already spent so much time on my career, my whole life, actually. I need to have days like this to remind me to just live, you know?”

“I do,” he said, taking my hand in his. “And I think this might be my fault. I’m sorry.”

“You are so agreeable,” I said with a smile.

“I am,” he said in amusement.

“It would be hell to try to start an argument with you,” I noted.

“You can give it your best shot,” he fired back. “But, yeah, I’d have to agree with that, too.”

Finally unable to resist his pull, I turned on my side and propped myself on an elbow. He looked over at me, his smile devastating. His eyes more blue than gray today, matching his dark blue t-shirt. I instantly wanted to press my lips to his.

“Why are you so easy going? I mean, not that there’s anything wrong with it, but is there anything that gets you riled up?”

He cocked his brow suggestively, and I rolled my eyes. “Anything other than sex?”

“I wasn’t always so laid back. I’ve had my moments, lots of them. I used to get into a lot of fights when I was younger. I was small so I lost a lot of them.”

“Oh,” I said as he grabbed my free hand and laid it on his chest. Comfortable and moved by the gesture, I stroked him lightly over his t-shirt, and he leaned in close.

“Kids can be assholes,” he said, giving me a quick smile. I walked my fingers up to his lip and stroked it gently, knowing it was the cause of a few of those fights.

“They can,” I said as he lightly kissed my finger and I continued to trace his scar.

“You’d be amazed at what they came up with,” he said without prejudice. It didn’t seem to bother him at all now, but I was sure at one point in time, the beautiful man lying beside me went home heartbroken because of a birth defect he couldn’t help. My heart cracked for him at that moment, and I leaned down without thought and kissed it with reverence.

“How old were you?”

“Too old. And it took too many surgeries to correct. When I was old enough, I started fighting having them, which delayed them even longer. My parents felt guilty, but I wasn’t strong enough health wise as a baby to start young. I was born premature, and they had to get other things under control before they could worry about it. It wasn’t their fault. No one is to blame. It’s just the way it happened.”

He lay still and let me trace the faint scar with my lips, and as I pulled away, I told him what I truly thought of it. “I think it’s beautiful, though I’m sorry for the pain it’s caused you.”

The look in his eyes was a mix of need and gratitude as he reached up and cupped my face, keeping me from fully retreating away from him.

“Those lips and the words that come out of them,” he rasped out. Gently stroking my face, he pulled me close with his next