Page 34 of When You Are Mine

Her eyes begged him to conspire with her; to pretend his heart didn’t swell up in his chest every time he was near her.

“Yeah, we can forget it.”

He lied. He’d never forget. She had brushed up against his soul in that hospital room and exposed newly discovered nerves and emotions.

“And you won’t…tell?” Kerris’s words were only for him to hear. “You won’t say anything to Cam?”

He couldn’t help but tease her. She was so adorable.

“I’m sorry.” He cupped one ear to hear her better. “I didn’t make out that last part. You said I won’t tell who?”

“Will you stop it?” She loaded her look with censure. “This is serious.”

“It doesn’t have to be.” The brief humor drained from him like a fast tire leak. He returned his hand to her back. “I won’t mention it.”

“Thank you.” He felt her release a breath of relief, a false, forced smile like a stain on her pretty face. “Let’s talk about something else.”

“Like what?” he asked, deliberately uncooperative.

“How about your trip to Kenya. How was that?”

“Hard.”

She pressed on like he wasn’t being an ass.

“I’m sure everyone is grieving for Iyani.”

Her sweetness was chipping away at the hardness he wanted to hold on to.

“Yeah. She was something else.”

“She was.”

“You did so much to make the last few months of her life fun.” He stroked the hand he held as they danced.

“No, you did that.”

“Okay, we did that.”

“We did that.”

She rested her hand on his chest for a moment before pulling away. He trapped her hand under his against his chest. He wasn’t ready to lose her. Wasn’t ready to give up the rare moments alone.

“Now what should we talk about?” he asked into the silence that had lost the hardness and tightness of before.

“Cam said you went to New York before you came back. How was that?”

“It was work.” He pulled shutters down over his face.

“What’s that look?”

“What look?”

“Your face. You look…kind of mean.”

“Oh, that. Work. My dad.” He made a conscious effort to relax his facial muscles. “He brings out the worst in me because I have to belikehim to deal with him.”

“And how’s that?”

---