Page 78 of When Hearts Ignite

The heaviness I’ve been carrying in my chest lightens a fraction and I realize life is all about perspectives. I was so afraid others would be disappointed in me or look down on me, but it turns out they don’t care. Perhaps I have been wearing the biggest lens of prejudice, oblivious to how it’s been affecting my life.

I did what I needed to do for my family and it’s something I should be proud of.

I look at the girls, finding their eyes warm and kind, still the very girls I’d take a bullet for. Maybe I’ve been living life all wrong.

Taylor swallows and lets out a shaky sigh. “Not all men are the devil, either. I know it’s hard for us to open our hearts to men and shit when everyone we’ve known is a disappointment, but from what Millie tells me, Steven seems to be one of the good ones out there. Why don’t you give him a chance?”

My lips twitch from the emotional sentiments of my curse words-loving sister. She has a soft, beautiful soul underneath the black polish and grunge makeup.

Millie nods resolutely. “I’m not saying this because he’s my brother-in-law. I know he may be a workaholic and a cold hard ass sometimes, but he has a warm heart inside those suits and he treats his sisters well, including me. I’ve never seen him get so worked up over anything or anyone before. I don’t know what’s going on with the two of you, but if you’re miserable and he’s miserable, don’t you think it’s worth giving each other a chance?”

Suddenly, the door to the dressing room flies open and Camille bursts in, a cloud of bright energy and sizzling excitement. She pants heavily, like she ran up a flight of steps in high heels. “Genevieve. You need to come.”

“What’s going on?” I stand up, my phone in my hand, the girls still on the screen.

“Your man showed up an hour ago, and Sofia turned him away just like you asked. Well, he didn’t take the hint, and…” She heaves in another large inhale, a few strands of blond hair sticking to her sweat misted skin.

My breath lodges in my throat as I hold my phone in a death grip. “And what? Spit it out, Camille.”

Silence permeates the room except for Camille’s soft panting and the faint sounds of the wind howling and the rain splattering against the glass from the outside.

Camille’s eyes widen and she says, “He’s outside in the rain, yelling for you.”

I’m officially insane. Certifiable.

Because nothing else can explain why I’m standing in one of the private courtyards on one of the top floors at The Orchid, drenched in the pouring rain as the storm rages around me. Thoughts of routines and orders have long been cast to the wayside, the urge to see her overpowering everything else.

Violent winds lash against the trees in anger, the water from the skies its weapon. Dark branches swing wildly in the air, a desperate ploy to escape the onslaught. Young spring blooms of muted colors lay scattered on the ground, the swirling waters carrying away the petals.

Another stormy day. Befitting my mood.

I could blame my lapse of sanity on my prolonged lack of sleep or stresses at work, but that would be a lie.

And there’s one thing Steven Kingsley isn’t…a liar.

I’m starving for her in my love-sick soul, desperate for anything she could give me. Grace. My star in the skies. The moon illuminating the night or the sun shining during the day. The calm in my rough waters.

My mind isn’t thinking clearly anymore as desperation swirls around me with each of our interactions, every rejection from her another deep carving into my newly beating heart.

And so, I’m standing, drenched head-to-toe in icy rain, rivulets streaming down my face, soaking every inch of my bespoke Italian suit as I’m standing under a window which opens to a backroom at Trésor, angling to get her attention because she refuses to see me. And if this is the only way I can get her attention, so be it.

This space, one of the many courtyards interspersed on the fifty floors of the building, is the best location I could find after she banned me from visiting her at Trésor again.

I know she’s scared, and that’s why she keeps sending me away. Something terrible must have forced her into this situation. And perhaps, when I delivered the news about the job offer, I became another man who has disappointed her in the past.

But never again.

I’ll knock down those tattered walls and wrap my arms around her, building us a fortress, so she’ll always feel safe. She’ll know she can tell me anything and that won’t ever change my feelings for her.

We’re a team and we can solve this.

“Grace Peyton, I know you’re in there! I’m going to stand out here until you come and talk to me!” I holler again, my voice raw and hoarse from yelling the past twenty minutes.

Curious heads have gathered at the window of Trésor and other onlookers are loitering at the balconies from other parts of The Orchid, a low murmuring joining the chaos from nature.

I barely notice them. My pulse pounds a loud rhythm in my ears, my heart taking on a frantic, desperate beat.

“Grace! Come out. I’m not going anywhere!” A heavier torrent of rain lashes across my face, and I swipe at the wetness to no avail, my eyes only glued to the lone open window, hoping to see the woman who has occupied my thoughts for all these months.

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