Page 45 of Tangling Hearts

“Why is a skull on your sofa?”

I exhale deeply and walk to pick it up. “This is Jaco. He’s Mayan. Found him at a garage sale.”

“Ah. I am not surprised you would buy him.” He smiles. “I know you. But why on the sofa?”

“It’s more comfortable than shelves,” I shrug, thinking of Brendan’s joke, a sharp pain twisting inside me as I walk to the shelves and set Jaco next to a picture of my mother, which would normally make me smile, because she’d hate it. “But I’ll put him back now that I have company.” I turn to find Christiano looking at me with love.

There is still a part of my heart with his name on it. I can’t deny it. He was everything to me, he can’t be nothing to me now. It’s not possible; the heart doesn’t work like that. But if he thinks he’s going to make love to me right now, I can’t. I look to the floor, to my bare feet where I wiggle my toes in awkward silence.

Understanding perfectly, he says, “How about you get dressed and I take you out for lunch?”

I glance up, looking at him from underneath my eyelashes. “That’d be nice.” I walk to lay my hand on his chest, look at one of the buttons on his shirt and finger it lightly for a second, so torn. I’m dying for another hug to ease the pain.

His arms slip around me, his thumb stroking my back in a gentle rhythm. I feel him grow against my hip. “Bella,” he says in a hoarse whisper.

“Don’t. Please,” I beg. I try to pull away. “It’s so confusing seeing you after all these months! It’s just I’ve missed you. I’m sorry, I’m being selfish. It’s just I’m used to touching you, but I can’t right now. I just can’t.”

He tries to make me look at him, but I can’t meet his eyes. The floor is so much safer. “Because of him?! It is because of him?”

“Not now…please…I need some time…to adjust to the surprise of seeing you, and of…” I stop myself from saying losing him. “Let me get dressed and we’ll talk about everything.”

With a short, determined nod, he releases me and watches me walk to the bedroom. I throw a self-conscious glance over my shoulder. I’ve never closed the door on him to get dressed before, but things are different now. He frowns until I can’t see him anymore.

Click.

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