“Because Christine is taking Meghan to Jersey, and if Ican’t have you, there’snothin’ for me here.”
And then, my heart came to an abrupt halt, and my eyesstared forward—unblinking, glazing over.
He would run from me, as I had run from him. A gift in theform of his permanent absence.
A life without Patrick. WithoutPatrickinney.
My tongue scraped between my teeth, biting at the tip. Ifocused on his warm hand wrapped around mine, and the beating of his heartthrough my fingers. In that moment, I felt that I truly held that heart in myhand, and one little word could squeeze the life right out of it.
One little word could keep it pumping, keep it beating myname.
“Okay,” I said on a sigh. “One night.”
That was when he looked up at me, locking his eyes withmine. His heartbeat had quickened, vibrating all the way to my fingertips. Hehadn’t expected to get this far. I saw it in his eyes, and there was thatboyish grin that encompassed the lower half of his face. Two dimples.
“You’re serious?”
I nodded. “Yes.”
“And you’ll stopfightin’ meevery step of the way?”
“You’re really asking a lot of me, but fine.”
“Ah, Kinsey Kinney, I knewyaloved me.”
“No, I don’t.”
Yes, you do.
“You will.”
He started the truck, and he hummed.
CHAPTER 9 |
Peer Pressure & First Dances
“Next stop.”
We pulled up to the River Canyon Park, which wasn’t much ofa park at all. It was really a small landscaped area with a gazebo and a statueof William Fuller, River Canyon’s very own Paul Revere. During the day, thelittle garden buzzed with locals and farm stands. A live-action postcardprintof small town living, where everybody shook hands andasked how the wife was and if the dog’s neutering surgery went well.
But then, in the dark, it was dead quiet. Spooky, even,with the eyes of Willian Fuller following your every move. And on that night,there was no breeze to gently sway the blades of grass or the branches of thewillow trees. A night so still, almost frozen in time. An exact opposite of myheart, beating wildly at the sight of the gazebo, because there was only onereason he would have brought me there.
I accepted help from the truck without protest, and hewalked me to the wooden structure, illuminated by fairy lights. He positionedme in the center, hands on my shoulders, before pulling his phone out of a backpocket. He tapped along the screen until the familiar notes of “Have I Told YouLately” began to play, and after putting the phone down on the railing, he cameto me.
“Dance with me.”
Oh, God, help me.“W-why?”I asked, feigning cluelessness while my heart beat in my throat, knowingexactly why.
“Because,” he said, taking my hand in his and wrapping hisarm firmly around my waist, “I haven’t danced with anybody in fourteen years,and I want to see if I still got it.”
I laughed gently. “I’m not sure you ever reallyhadit.”
“You used to think so. Let’s see if you still do.”
I had officially agreed to his one-night deal, I remindedmyself. So, with nervous jitters traveling through my veins, I succumbed to themusic, the song that wasn’t quite ours. I reached a hand up to grip his sturdyshoulder and I tipped my head forward, resting against his chest.
And somewhere between the moment when he relaxed his chinon the top of my head and the moment I closed my eyes, I was overtaken by thelyrics playing through the tiny speaker, and my mind drifted again …
