Page 89 of The Love Shack

Regrets. Everyone had them, right? Surely, he wasn’t alone in that. There’d been a time where he and Gordon were buds as well as brothers. “Family was always important to all of us.”

“And your family took some hard blows.” Her gaze tracked over his face, his eyes, his jaw, his mouth—where she lingered a moment—before returning to meet his gaze. “Don’t apologize to him. That’s the wrong road to go down. Even if he isn’t receptive, just tell him you’re wishing him well. Nothing deflates anger faster than someone who doesn’t reciprocate.”

Was that why Lark stayed so happy? To deflect any negativity? “Thanks for the great suggestions. I appreciate it.”

“He’s your brother,” she said. “So if he’s anything like you, he has to be pretty awesome. He’ll come around.”

Talk about reciprocal... “Does that mean you like me?”

Wearing a “get real” expression, she said, “I more than like you, and you know it.”

A lazy smile curled his mouth. “Good to know, because I more than like you, too.” He tugged at a lock of her hair. “Now that we’ve cleared up our interest, will you tell me about your family?”

The heartfelt groan conveyed her feelings on that.

He was disappointed, but said, “If you’d rather not—”

“How about the shortened version?”

“Whatever you’re comfortable sharing.”

Suddenly talking at hyperspeed, she said, “My parents and I love each other, that’s not in doubt, but I went through a miscarriage and we were at odds over the pregnancy, and like you, I came here for some space, for time to work out my feelings.”

The rushed explanation hit him like a sucker punch. Of all the family issues she might have shared, that never factored into his thoughts. “You were pregnant?”

Still avoiding his gaze, she nodded. “My parents were concerned, but we differed on what to do. It...caused a lot of conflicts.”

Emotions bombarded him, concern first, and then a touch of possessiveness. Using two fingers, he stroked along her jaw, then nudged up her chin until she met his gaze.

Worry-filled gray eyes stole a chunk of his heart.

“The guy?”

One shoulder lifted in dismissal. “He was history before I lost the baby.”

“He knew you were pregnant?”

A smirk came and went. “That’s why we split up.”

Meaning it, he said, “I’m sorry.”

“That he took off?”

“No.” Good riddance to him, as far as Oliver was concerned. “I’m sorry that he let you down. That you went through that.” And it sounded like she’d handled it alone. Instinct made him want to gather her close, but they had a small, needy pooch between them.

Memories softened her tone. “It was an unpleasant eye-opener for sure. Until then, I’d been without direction. Just enjoying life day by day, with no thought of the future or what I really wanted.”

“You’re young. No one expects you to have it all figured out.”

Her sunny smile didn’t quite meet her eyes. “Old enough now to know that I want to be with people who matter.” A nudge, shoulder to shoulder, made it clear that she included him in that. “I love my job, I love the people here, and someday I’d love a family.”

If she thought that would scare him off, the opposite was true—it encouraged him. “That day you were upset, after cat yoga, it’s because you saw the kittens?”

Self-conscious about it, she rolled her shoulder again. “The babies dredged up the memory. Someday, with the right guy—”

“With commitment and love.”

They stared at each other, until she continued lightly, “As you said, I’m only twenty-four, so I have time.”

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