Page 46 of Other Side Of Never
But his happiness?
It trumped everything.
I laughed out loud, pushed up to my tiptoes and raised my arm high, waving back wildly.
Kian shook his head with a wide grin before turning and tugging a beaming Isaiah alongside him.
An hour later, I ran outside and threw open the passenger side door of his truck.
Kian reached out his hand to help me inside.The warm, steady clasp of a strong, male hand around mine warmed me like a healthy shot of Irish whiskey.There were things I missed.Things I’d dreamed about.Things I didn’t think I’d ever get to experience again, not in any real sense.Those little things, the dozens of miniscule acts and gestures unique to every couple.It was the little things in the end that bound two hearts.
I glanced into the back seat to greet Isaiah.My eyebrows flew up in surprise.“Where’s Ace?”
Kian’s hand moved to the gear shift as his eyes dipped to my lap.“Buckle up.”
I rolled my eyes and yanked my seatbelt, then remembering his wife, I spun around in my seat to face him, eyes wide.
“Kian, I’m sorry.That was insensitive of me.”I laid my hand on his corded forearm.“Thank you for looking after me.”
His face softened.“I’ll always look after you, Bridget.”He smiled and jerked his chin up at my lap.“Now, buckle up.”
“Yes, S—” I clamped my mouth shut.
Alone within the intimate confines of his truck, on our way to dinner in romantic Mistlevale, the flirting I considered harmless carried a little more gravity.
He chuckled beside me.“Not so brave when there’s no one else around, are you?”
I laughed and crinkled my nose as embarrassment painted my cheeks pink.“You’ve got my number.”
He slanted me a side-eyed glance.“I do.”He took a deep breath and exhaled with a soft laugh.“Unfortunately for both of us, you’re safe with me.”
I did not miss the deep pang of disappointment but brushed it off.Keeping things platonic was better for both of us.
God knew we could both use an unattached friend.
On the drive to Mistlevale, he smiled easily and laughed freely, treating me to the man I was beginning to see more and more often.
“We’re going to have to find Isaiah a present,” I informed him with a chuckle as we parked.I jumped down from the truck and walked around to his side.
He snorted.“I know.You have any ideas?”
“I haven’t been here in years,” I mused as I took a good look around.I used to love this place, even before Gary.
My lips curved into a smile as I scanned the nearest storefronts.
Mistlevale celebrated Christmas and the jolly elf all year round.They were famous for their extraordinary storefront window displays that evolved with the seasons though the theme was always Christmas.Twinkling lights and evergreen trimmed the eaves all year round, and mistletoe ran rampant.
His eyebrows flew up.“So, it’s not new to you?”
My face heated.“I used to live about an hour from here.”
“You said,” he nodded.“The life you left behind.”
I walked along beside him.
“You know, in certain cultures, that statement would invite a sharing of sorts,” he teased.With his hand firm against the small of my back, he shifted me to the inside of the sidewalk.
I closed my eyes briefly at the sweetness of that gesture.I could not afford to fall in love with this man.And he would make it all too easy.
