Page 31 of Tender Heart
Knees to my chest, I slide backward until I hit the bed.
What the hell is wrong with me?
Ten
CALLUM
What the hell?
I stand in a cloud of yellow wings as the butterflies flit their startled way around the warm space, hovering like they’re unsure if it’s safe to come back down. Not dissimilar to what I witnessed cross Evie’s expression. Before terror took over her beautiful face, that is. That shakes me from where I stand. I stalk from the greenhouse and into the house. The living room is empty.
Taking the stairs two at a time, I strain to hear what she might be doing, where she might be. Hesitating short of the threshold of the bedroom, I run a hand through my hair when I see her on the opposite side of the bed. Evie sits on the floor, shoulder pressed into the side of the bed, head bent. Her shoulders shake.
Fuck.
I lean on the doorjamb and close my eyes, listening to her ragged, too-quick breaths. Nobody has a reaction to butterflies like that without some kind of trigger. I’m no shrink, but even I get that. What could she possibly associate the tiny insect with?
Her exhales choke out like an old steam train short of coal. Lead sinks in my gut, burning a hole through my chest.
Like that makes any damn sense.
“Evie?” Her name is a low, raw sound.
She hiccups through a rough gasp.
“I-I’m... ” Her head lifts before her hands swipe at her face.
Christ’s sake. “If I’d known . . .”
Head shaking swiftly, she says, “How could you?”
“Yeah, I guess.” I push off the jamb and step into the room. “Need a hug?”
What the hell, Callum?Where in the devil’s diaper did that come from?
But listening to her distress is tearing my insides up something fierce. I’ve developed a soft spot for this sweet little author. Which is, by anyone’s count, a dangerous thing to hold when we are literally isolated on this island for months together. To my surprise, she wobbles to her feet and faces me.
Her face is all blotches and red eyes, and I grind my molars at the sight. Before I know it, my arms open wide and she closes the distance, pressing herself against my body, her head sinking into the crook of my neck. I still at the proximity.
Shit, this wasn’t my brightest move.
I will the blood rushing south to retreat.
She sniffs and her hand lands on my chest, somewhere over my heart, and I can’t help what happens next.
My arms fold around her.
Enveloped in my hold, she softens further. The overwhelming tangle of need and the desperation to keep her from harm play parlor tricks on my mind. Her breathing steadies, and we stand wrapped together like it’s the most natural thing in the whole damn world. The moment burns a little against the memory of the last time I embraced someone I held dear right here.
I release Evie and step back, my breathing now escalated.
“Sorry, I—” I grab the doorjamb, swing through the opening, and plummet down the stairs. A heartbeat later, sunshine hits my face. I suck in air like a drowning sailor with one last hope of survival.
That was way too close. Way too real.
My first plan was the better one. Where I keep my distance. Where she writes her book and goes home.
Where I keep my loner existence. And the rest of the world can keep their grudge.
