Crap.More throat tightening.“I wouldn’tencourageanyone to put up factories. And remember, the law usually requires a notice to go up so that people have a chance to state their piece.”
“Yeah, but those get overridden all the time and it ruins everything. The environment, the air, the view. I mean, have you evenlookedat the stars out here?”
Great. This was the part when he’d discover that Justine was a tree-hugging, bleeding heart who would villainize anyone who dared disrupt a spot of barren land.
He braced himself, already feeling his defenses rise. “You sayherelike they’re different from the stars I’ve seen everywhere else.”
“That’s because they are.”
Burke glanced up to look beyond the string of patio lights and tall heat lamps. May as well indulge her.Yep, there were stars. And if they were so different here, he’d likely know it better than Justine. He’d been all over the world, for crying out loud. He doubted that she could say the same.
“They’re pretty,” he finally said. “They’re nice.”
But Justine shook her head and scooted her chair away from the table. “Come here,” she said, resting her napkin beside her appetizer plate.
Burke glanced over his shoulder. “Where?”
“Just over here so you can get a better look.” She hooked a hand around his forearm and gave it a tug. “Come on,” she urged, moving to the edge of the rooftop. It was darker over there. A lot darker. And suddenly more quiet too. No longer could he hear the hum of the heaters, the distant clank of pots in the restaurant’s kitchen.
“Look up there now,” she said in a whisper.
Burke took a moment to look at her first. The way she tipped her chin to the sky and sucked in a deep, satisfied breath, as if the very atmosphere was feeding her with something magnificent and new.
He turned his gaze to the sky as she suggested.
Whoa. His skepticism took flight as he took in the splendor. The fresh and vibrant flashing of a thousand stars. Hundreds of thousands. Glowing, shimmering, brightening the crisp and raw darkness around them. The contrast was more evident than he’d ever seen it—the light against the dark. In the city, the contrast was weak. Muddied by layers of haze that muted the display, turned them into nothing more than blurred dots.
But here…here itwasdifferent. The brightness of those stars—he wasn’t sure why—but it made him feel closer somehow to those on the other side of that sky. To his mom, and his father too.
At once a wave of peace and warmth settled over the top of his head, moved down his neck, through his arms and chest, then all the way to his toes.
Burke inhaled deeply as his arms went limp. He tipped his chin to the sky, paying homage to the maker of it all. To the source that held his loved ones too.
Thank you,he found himself saying.I see You. I feel You.
“Isn’t it beautiful?” Justine asked in a whisper. She wasn’t facing the view anymore; she was facing him. “You see it, don’t you? The difference.”
He turned to face her as well, wondering if this was how life was for her. How often did she take time to soak up the stars? Or savor her food? Or bury a stray, feral cat? From the looks of that makeshift cemetery, he’d say it was pretty often.
“Yes.” A sudden longing pulsed through him. But a longing for what—more ofthis,or more ofher?
It was then Burke noticed Justine was standing closer than she’d been a minute ago. A lot closer. That strawberry fragrance filled his senses as a cool breeze picked up.
Justine shivered and stepped even closer, the toes of her shoes nudging against his. She folded her arms and shivered again, reminding him that it was colder away from the lamps.
Instinctively then, Burke cupped her elbows and stepped closer to shield her from the breeze, his shoes sandwiching hers now.
“Are you cold?” he asked, his voice raspy.
She did the slightest nod, so subtle he might’ve missed it if she weren’t standing so close. The action caused her soft, fragrant locks to graze the bottom of his chin.
Quickly then, he shrugged out of his suit coat and draped it over her shoulders. He wasted no time closing the distance once he was done, slipping his hands beneath the suit coat to warm the back of her upper arms.
So close. So soft. So…beautiful. He’d seen Justine give herself to several moments now. And this, her pause to move in closer and encourage his touch, was a similar display. Perhaps this was another encounter she would savor. He wanted to do the same.
With that in mind, Burke closed his eyes, ran his palms up the cool surface of her silky arms, then back down, gently warming her skin as he went. The heat of her breath rose in the small space between them, the sensation most evident along his jaw.
Heat roared low in his belly as he took in the closeness. The connection. The magnetic pull that had him longing to cradle her cheek, look into her eyes, and—
