Page 48 of At First Flight
I run my hand along the back of my neck, feeling the strain in my muscles. “Yeah, it’s fine. Has your ex tried to contact you anymore?” She’d let it slip that he’d been messaging and calling her nonstop, even after she’d blocked his number. I finally got her a new phone, but with his family’s connections, I know it won’t take long for him to track her down. I was still curious as to why he hadn’t shown up in town yet.
“Just in my email. The one I stopped using. Not to the phone.”
“Good. You let me know if that changes.”
Lila stares up at me, her big blue eyes searching mine as she bites her lip.
“Why?”
“Because I’m worried about your safety,” I explain, stepping closer to her. The room closes around us, and only the small sconces on the wall provide a yellow glow.
“You know I’d never let anything happen to the kids.”
While I know Lila would protect them with her life, I wonder if she would protect her own. She has to know that my biggest fear after the call is Prescott hurting her in some way—my beautiful ghost girl.
“Lila, I’m not only worried about the kids. I’m worried about you.”
Her breath hitches as I lean closer, my hand brushing against the back of hers. The pull to draw her against me is stronger than ever before. She bites down on her lower lip at the moment of contact, and I can’t tear my eyes away from her mouth and those luscious lips I yearn to taste.
“Why?” she whispers as if she truly can’t comprehend that I want so much more from her.
The best parts of my day used to be when I would work on the projects I was passionate about or visit my best friend and his wife. But now? Now, it’s getting back from a run to find Lila and the kids sitting at the breakfast table in the kitchen, munching on whatever delectable food she’s prepared. Now, it’s the end of the night, watching her treat my niece and nephew with the same kind of love as a mother. Now, it’s the special smiles I get from her when I catch her eye. Now, it’s the way my smallest finger traces the edge of hers.
“Because you’re going to marry me one day,” I say with an intensity that surprises even me.
Her breath hitches before she replies, “You keep saying that like if you repeat it enough, it will inevitably happen.”
“It’s called manifesting, sweetheart.”
“You believe in that?”
“I believe in whatever I need to that gets me you.”
“Dean, I…”
My name on her lips nearly knocks the breath from my chest. Soft and tentative, like she’s tasting it, testing what it means now. What I might mean to her.
She steps toward me, her movement slow and uncertain, but something is determined in her gaze. And then her hand is on my chest, warm and open, pressing against my heart like she’s grounding herself in me.
Her small palm is delicate, but its weight feels like everything. Like the moment before a storm breaks or the second before a kiss you know will change everything.
My heart stumbles in its rhythm, beating hard against her touch. She looks up at me, and I swear to God, I almost fall to my knees. Those big blue eyes… damn, I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything more beautiful. They’re shining with something soft and fierce all at once, like she’s lit from the inside. Not with fear or pain but with something that feels a hell of a lot like want.
The connection between us intensifies, and I watch, fascinated, as Lila breaks our connection and glances down at my lips.
Fuck.I want nothing more than to kiss her right now, to feel the soft pillows of her lips against mine.
“Mommy!” A frantic cry rings out from one of the kids’ rooms. Lila and I jump apart like teenagers caught by their parents.
“Do you want me to…?” she asks, hand on my arm offering comfort.
“No, no. I have it. You should go relax.”
As the whimpers start pulling at the chain directly connected to my heart, I dash off to Evelyn’s room without glancing backward at Lila.
I find the preschooler curled up in the center of her tiny bed, clutching her stuffed animal and crying in a way I’ve never witnessed. She inhales large gasps of air between each of her sobs.
“Oh, sweet girl.” I pull her into my arms and vacate the spot where she just was.
