He picked up her discarded fortune and placed it next to his on the table. “Trust that things happen for a reason. The future is yours to take.” He looked up and met her gaze. “See, when they’re read together it’s a pretty good fortune.”
“I suppose, but still, wouldn’t it be nice if one of them said, the bad guys are going to get caught. Or you will come into money, go buy a lottery ticket.”
He chuckled, and scooped up the remnants of his broken cookie and placed them on his plate. “Can’t deny they would be good ones, but you know they really don’t tell you your future.” No sooner had he uttered the words, he didn’t believe them. He really liked what the two fortunes said when combined. After so many years of having to always look over his shoulder, watch what he had to say, make sure he didn’t anger the wrong people, he wanted to believe that something good was waiting for him, even if he’d done so many bad things during his life.
So much about his reconnection with Marie could be put down to things happening for a reason. He’d been at the right place at the right time to stop her from being taken. That action had triggered a whole list of other things which was leading them to this moment. Where she was now sitting at his table in his house. Sleeping in a room two doors down from him.
Not once did he believe that he deserved a future with someone as good as Marie. He’d seen the nasty side of life. Had participated in it. His soul wasn’t pure. It was stained, but he also knew that under all that stain he was good. He’d always fought for the good people, he’d just had to be part of the bad to ensure the good succeeded.
“You seem to be thinking awfully hard. Is everything okay?”
Isaac shook off the thoughts. “Yeah, everything’s good. You want a hot chocolate or tea or something?”
“I’m good for the moment, but a refill of my water won’t go astray.”
“I can do that. Why don’t you go sit in the living room? I’ll bring it there and then we can talk.”
“Sure, but what about this?” She pointed to the array of takeout containers on the table.
“I’ll have it cleaned up in no time. Now go sit, put your feet up, you deserve it after working hard.”
He pierced her with adon’t arguelook when it looked like she was going to do just that.
“Fine,” she held up her hands in surrender and stood. “I know when to take a hint.”
Her smile was sweet, and desire flamed to life and he couldn’t resist it.
“Before you go,” he reached out and took hold ofher hand, tugging her flush against him. “I need to do this.”
He closed the distance between them and kissed her. His mouth caressing hers, letting her know that she was damn special to him. He broke the kiss before it became impossible to stop and he’d be dragging her to his bedroom where he’d show her how much he wanted her.
But it was too soon for that—no matter how much his body craved to be naked against hers.
He’d promised her he would tell her about him and Cass and their past, and that was what he would do. No way could he take their relationship to the next level without her knowing exactly who he was and what he’d done.
“I’ll be in shortly.”
“Okay,” she said and gave him a quick peck on the cheek before she disappeared out of the kitchen.
How could a simple kiss on the cheek, a gesture that so many people did, fill him with such joy?
Was it because it was something he wasn’t used to experiencing?
In the grand scheme of things the whys and wherefores didn’t matter. All that mattered was that Marie felt comfortable enough with him to show affection freely.
Isaac packed up the remains of theirdinner, putting the boxes into the fridge and wiping down the table. He filled her glass and grabbed a bottle of beer for himself. He wasn’t a big drinker, and he didn’t really feel like the beverage, he just wanted something in his hand, and the bitterness of the ale would remind him that life wasn’t all sweetness and light, that it could be stale and dark.
“Here you go.” He placed her glass on the coffee table, liking the way she was curled up in the corner of the couch, looking as if she’d spent hours in that place.
“Thanks.”
He sat in the opposite corner to her, knowing that if he put himself next to her, he’d haul her close and continue what he’d started in the kitchen. Which wasn’t the purpose of the evening.
“You don’t have to do this, Isaac.”
God, this woman always seemed to give him an out. He wouldn’t take it though. “No, I said I would and I will, it’s just.” He picked at the label on the bottle. “It’s not pretty and there are some things I can’t go into.”
“I understand, and I’ve told you that nothing you say will make me change how I feel about you.”
