Page 54 of With All My Heart, Joy

All he could hear was the sound of her breathing, soft and shallow. He’d shed his gloves earlier in the conversation as the heat filled the car. Now, his hand bare, he reached across the short distance between them until his knuckles brushed against her cheek with careful tenderness. He just needed tofeelher.

He wasn’t expecting her to lean into his touch. When she did, pleasure expanded within him—until she suddenly jerked away, much as she had in the booth at Fresh Ground.

Were his past indiscretions just one more mark against him, adding to his age and whatever else held her in uncertainty?

She unbuckled and opened the door, then turned her beautiful face to him. Light from the overhead dome light flooded the car. “What you told me about your past is hard for me to picture. I guess that shows how much you’ve changed. Thank you for being honest.”

“I couldn’t be anything other than honest with you.” It hurt to look at what he desperately wanted yet couldn’t have. Before he turned his face away, he saw that her eyes were full of respect. He wanted so much more. But respect was probably the most he could ask from her at this point.

* * * * *

“TJ?” Joy tapped on the trim of TJ’s office. She had never visited him at work before, but she was in dire need of brotherly advice. Since Victor wasn’t picking up—again—TJ had drawn the short straw. Ben sure wouldn’t. Dutch Blitz had softened things between them to a small degree, but Joy didn’t foresee pouring her woes out to that particular brother anytime in the foreseeable future.

“Well, hey, kid.” TJ spun around with a ready wink. “When they buzzed me and said my sister was on her way up, I had to pick my jaw off the floor. I knew it wasn’t Lucy. She never checks in at the desk like she’s supposed to.”

Joy believed it. “Can I come in?”

“Please.”

She sat at the chair on the opposite side of his desk. “Nice office.”

“Thanks. A big step up from the cubicle downstairs.” TJ had been promoted from line editor to junior acquisitions in the spring. He also had one book about to release from a big-name publisher. The contract for the sequel was in the works. “To what do I owe the honor of your coveted presence this morning, Joy?”

She played with her hands, regretting that she’d come. “I’m a virgin.” The words spat themselves out without permission. TJ’s eyebrows shot upward before he leaned forward, a hand cupped around his mouth.

“Me, too.”

Joy ought to be humiliated by this conversation, but she was too preoccupied. She hadn’t slept much last night after Isaac’s story. As if everything else about him didn’t cause enough conflict in her heart, now she had his promiscuous past to consider. It was intimidating. Despite Lucy’s heads up that he had made mistakes, she hadn’t expected it to be so…messy.

“Melody’s not, right?”

A slight grimace gripped TJ’s face as he shook his head. “No.” Her brother’s fiancée had had a steady string of boyfriends over the years while TJ was pining for her. She hadn’t come from a stable home, and Joy wasn’t surprised her relationships hadn’t been healthy. Until TJ.

“See, there’s a guy I know who has a colorful past…sexually. I wasn’t aware of it at first. And I’m trying to sort it out in my head and decide if it’s too much for me. I wondered how you handled it with Mel.”

He lifted one shoulder. “The past is in the past. I forgave her. There’s nothing elsetodo. Does it make me feel a little insecure about our wedding night? Sure.”

Joy wrinkled her nose, grabbed a stray pen off the desk, and tossed it at him. “T.M.I., brother.”

He grinned. “Just keeping it real, sis.”

She stood. “Okay. Well, thanks.”

“That was it?”

“Yep.” She reached into her purse for a plastic goody bag patterned with candy canes. “First time making these gluten-free, so no promises. But a friend grievously violated my he-who-deserves-cookies policy. I had extra ingredients on hand.”

“I’m happy to take his place.” TJ snatched up the bag and sniffed through the twist tie. “Molasses?”

She nodded.

“Boy, am I glad I’m your brother.” He flashed a grin and took a bite. “Not bad for a gluten-free newb.”

Joy edged toward the door. “Enjoy.”

“Wait. Who’s the guy?”

She looked down, toying with the hem of her coat. “I’m not ready to share that. I have some other things to figure out before I know if this is going anywhere.”

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