It’s how you look at your soulmate and the person you can’t stop yourself from falling for.
The last sentence was a whisper in my ear, a murmur barely audible like it had whispered in on the wind and was meant to be said aloud, but he was too scared to say it.
It wasn’t true. Itcouldn’tbe true.
He reached up to push a stray hair from my eyes, his gaze traveling over my face. “And it’s how I’ll never stop looking at you,” he said softly.
I couldn’t breathe.
Gavin leaned in, and every muscle in my body stiffened. His lips hit my cheek and then my jaw, and he squeezed my wrist as he pulled away. Hunger clouded his dilated eyes, making my heart constrict.
“See you soon, Chloe,” he whispered.
“Goodnight, Gavin,” was all I could manage before forcing my hand to twist the doorknob, knowing that if I didn’t, I would stand there and exchange ‘goodnights’ with him until one of us gave in to the pull between us.
The door clicked behind me, and I finally exhaled the breath that had staggered in my lungs. I stood with my back to the door, relaxing there and gathering my wits. My eyes closed, and all the laughs and smiles from that night replayed in my head.
I was giddy and edgy all at once. My insides were a tangle of nerves and happiness and outright nausea. Heat beat on my cheeks. My heart was an erratic mess. I couldn’t stop smiling, couldn’t stop shaking from all the emotion moving through me. It burned the back of my eyes and pricked my skin.
I didn’t realize I was sliding to the floor until I felt the cold hardwood under my ass.
Shit.
Shit. Shit. Shit.
I lunged for the couch, grabbed a pillow, held it to my face, and screamed into its padding. All I could see was his eyes on me. All I could feel was his lips lingering on my cheek and jaw.
After a few minutes, I forced my body to move, deciding that I needed an icy shower to bring myself back to reality.
My ring remained forgotten on the kitchen bar.
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT - GAVIN
EVERY DAY, I grew more and more restless over her.
The feelings were growing, not only that ache for who I knew she was but just for her. I was falling in love with her all over again, and the thought of her not eventually leaving her fiancé was beginning to wear me down.
I had to fight.
I knew she felt what I did. When she thought I wasn’t looking, I could see it in her eyes. I could feel it every time I touched her, and it was written in that cute little smile she gave me when she thought I was being ridiculous. Fuck, that look was burned in my memory. All of her was burned on my skin. Whenever I thought of being with her, my heart yearned painfully.
If this was what it felt like to fall in love with her, I didn’t know that I wanted to feel the pain I’d forgotten upon losing her—the pain I knew I would feel again if I was an idiot. Just the thought of it sent me to my knees.
Her fiancé was gone for two weeks, and I knew that was how long I had left before she was lost forever.
A text came through as I sat outside on my balcony by my infinity pool, taking in the morning sun and sipping my coffee. The noise of the ocean waves filled my ears, along with the joyous sounds of the surfers catching waves. Morning entertainment, I liked to call it.
My heart skipped at the name on the screen as I looked at my phone.
I think I need to get an orange safety vest to walk from my car to my office, Chloe texted me.
I smiled, loving that she had texted me something out of the blue, especially after we left things last night. I had been nervous saying those things, even scared she would tell me to vacate her life.
She needed to know that was how she deserved to be looked at, that any first-time phases of butterflies and flirting would never fade with us. She deserved to be loved and truly feel it every day, and I would do that.
Why’s that?I asked.
Third time in two weeks that I’ve nearly been taken out by either a skateboarder or cyclist, she replied.
