The heat on my face spreads up to my hair’s roots.Wife.
“But if you insist on doing so, how about you do it up close?” He pats the seat beside him.
I clear my throat, tucking my hair behind my ear, and slowly step out.
His grin slips, replaced with a sharp intake of breath, and his mouth falls open.
Our quiet breaths fill the silence. I find it hard to look at him, so I stare at the rug, following its whorls. A full minute passes before he says, “Salama.”
His voice is breathless, and it sends shivers along my spine. I hug myself, and he stands, crossing over to me until he’s a whisper away. His lemon scent takes over the tiny space and he lifts my chin to stare into my eyes. My heart is hotter than the sun, its fiery tendrils spreading along my vascular system.
“Beautiful,” he murmurs. There’s reverence and awe in his tone. In his touch. In his eyes. “So beautiful.”
I let out a nervous laugh. “You don’t have to humor me.”
He looks confused. “I’m not.” He reaches up to thread his fingers through my curls, and my eyelashes flutter. “I wish you could see yourself the way I see you.”
He holds up a lock of my hair. “Your hair is beautiful.”
His fingers skim my cheeks. “Your face is beautiful.”
He presses a hand against my chest, over my wedding ring. “Your heart is beautiful.”
My knees tremble and I stumble back until my spine hits the wall. He moves with me, holding my waist.
“But I can get specific if you want,” he whispers.
“I don’t mind,” I stutter.
Amusement glitters in his jade-green eyes and he presses a kiss to my forehead. “I like your forehead.”
That makes me laugh and it eases the nerves crackling through me.
“I like your laugh.” He grins. “No, scratch that. Iloveyour laugh.”
With a soft sigh, I absently clasp my hands on his shoulders, pulling him closer. Pleased, he kisses my nose. “I love your nose.” Then my cheeks. “I love your cheeks.” Then atop the pulse in my throat. “I love your neck.”
My lips tingle when he hovers over them, and I count down the seconds until they touch, but he stills.
“What else do you love?” I finally whisper, my eyes half closed.
Kenan smiles. “Your lips.”
And he kisses me. It’s a soft, tentative kiss that coaxes a kaleidoscope of colors to twirl behind my eyelids. I cup his face and his stubble pricks my palms, but I hardly feel it with the heady effect his kiss has on me. I exist in this canopy where time stands still and washes away all my worries.
All but one.
Regret snatches me away from the moment and I push my hands against his chest.
Kenan stops, letting go immediately, concern clouding his eyes. He holds up hands. “I’m sorry. I took it too far.”
I shake my head, heartbeat thundering. “You didn’t.” I shudder in a shaky breath, trying to regulate my pulmonary activity. I can’t keep the secret about Samar inside me for one more second. It’ll continue to creep up on every happy moment.
“I have to tell you something,” I say and move to sit on the couch.
He sits beside me, cracking his knuckles nervously.
“You said I’m strong. That I have a beautiful heart.” I focus on my hands, which were pressed against his skin seconds ago. “But I’m not. I did… something. It was a rash decision, and I regret it so much.”
