Page 7 of Whispers of My Skin

Finally, Joel’s leather chair creeks as he gets up, but I don’t avert my gaze from the view until he comes and perches on the edge of the desk, arms crossed as he studies me.

“I thought you were the prettiest girl I’d ever seen when I first laid eyes on you,” he states matter of factly. “And now you’ve grown into an even more beautiful woman.”

I warm at his compliment, thawing from the inside out, beginning the process of healing a part of me I thought beyond repair. My frozen, broken heart.

He lifts his hand, his knuckles gently caressing my cheek, his gentle touch whispering across my skin.

“Those blue eyes of yours have always spoken far more than your words, Tara. I can see that you’re afraid, but you have nothing to fear from me.”

But I can’t help it, I am afraid of him, or at least of what the future holds for us. And the worst thing is, I’ve nobody to blame but myself, since I was the one who came looking for him.

I close my eyes to try and hide the tears threatening to spill, while his fingertips gently trace my features.

“Joel ...” I whisper, as my tears escape. And when his arms wrap around me, I allow myself to melt into his embrace until I’m not sure where his body ends and mine begins.

Right now, just for this moment, here in his office with the sun setting in front of us, we are together once more.

“Let’s do this right. Let’s get married and work together to get your ranch back on its feet,” he whispers, and my skin tingles when I feel his breath caressing my ear.

In the midst of the sea of emotions that vibrates within my soul, a smile of triumph draws on my face.

I won. I’ve convinced him.

‘Yes!’ a small voice screams inside my head.

But the question is, at what price?

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