position. She sat beside him but turned around to face him and stretched out across his lap. Even with a fire in the fireplace, the cabin was still too cool for comfort. He spread the blanket from the backrest over them. The hunger in her gaze had grown more intense, possibly matching his own. As he drew her into his embrace, his body stirred with anticipation. The fire logs crackled, and orange flames licked the air. Wind howled eerily around the cabin, hard gusts pelting the windows with bursts of snow. Stephen tugged the blanket tighter around them and soaked up her warmth. Audrey snuggled closer and pressed her lips to his, but only for one brief moment.
Stephen grasped her fingers and brought her left hand between them for both to see. “This is killing me, Audrey. What are you doing?”
“I’m not cheating, if that’s what you’re asking.”
“You’ve made a promise to another man, but you’re driving me out of my mind, making me want you. That’s cheating.”
“Trust me, it’s not.” She gazed at the solitaire on her finger. “Nothing is set in stone.”
Her words made no sense. An engagement was just about as set in stone as a relationship could get. Either Audrey’s definition of a relationship ran completely contrary to his or something had gone so terribly wrong between her and her fiancé that arousing another man didn’t qualify as cheating. Nothing short of a breakup could account for that, except—maybe the guy had cheated first and she was taking revenge on him to even the score before they got married. “Do you want to clarify that?”
“It means the situation is fluid, in dynamic motion, not permanent.”
“Yeah, I was asking for details specific to you.”
“I know you were.”
“You have to give me something, Audrey. Am I even in the running?”
She jerked her hand from his grasp and sat up, glaring at him. “Okay—okay, you’re right. I guess I owe you an explanation.” She hesitated for a moment longer as the irritation on her face gave way to resignation. “Do you believe in the idea of soul mates, that everyone has a perfect partner who is an exact match only for them?”
Stephen flopped his head onto the backrest and gazed at the flickering fire. “It’s a romantic notion I’d like to believe in, but I know too many people who are in bad relationships with someone they thought was a soul mate.”
She fished around under the blanket until she found his hand and grasped it tightly. “I think most people never find their perfect partner and settle for someone convenient, but I also believe that sometimes fate brings people together who have to be together. Sometimes it’s for a higher purpose, like having a child who will change the world, and sometimes it’s just to increase the quantity of love in the universe.”
Stephen shifted his position to get more comfortable. He brought her hand to his lips and kissed her knuckles, then let her go. “That’s a beautiful idea, Audrey, and I’d like to believe it. If you’re trying to tell me that this pertains to us, somehow, just come out and say it. I’m not the type of guy who is easily frightened. I mean, you showed up on my doorstep out of the blue, for God’s sake and you’re...” He couldn’t tell her she was a dead ringer for his dream girl, not so soon anyway. “Sorry, finish explaining. I want to hear this.”
Audrey rubbed a finger over her solitaire, gazing intently at it. “There’s a man, and the moment I met him, I was sure he was the one I’d spend the rest of my life with. The trouble is, I thought I was in love with another man before him, but things went wrong that nearly ruined my life. So, no matter how I feel about this man in my heart, I’m terrified that something will go wrong again. I need to know for sure that he’s the one for me before I make our relationship permanent. I think you’re a really nice guy, Stephen, and I need you to help me figure out if I should follow my
Stephen grasped her fingers and brought her left hand between them for both to see. “This is killing me, Audrey. What are you doing?”
“I’m not cheating, if that’s what you’re asking.”
“You’ve made a promise to another man, but you’re driving me out of my mind, making me want you. That’s cheating.”
“Trust me, it’s not.” She gazed at the solitaire on her finger. “Nothing is set in stone.”
Her words made no sense. An engagement was just about as set in stone as a relationship could get. Either Audrey’s definition of a relationship ran completely contrary to his or something had gone so terribly wrong between her and her fiancé that arousing another man didn’t qualify as cheating. Nothing short of a breakup could account for that, except—maybe the guy had cheated first and she was taking revenge on him to even the score before they got married. “Do you want to clarify that?”
“It means the situation is fluid, in dynamic motion, not permanent.”
“Yeah, I was asking for details specific to you.”
“I know you were.”
“You have to give me something, Audrey. Am I even in the running?”
She jerked her hand from his grasp and sat up, glaring at him. “Okay—okay, you’re right. I guess I owe you an explanation.” She hesitated for a moment longer as the irritation on her face gave way to resignation. “Do you believe in the idea of soul mates, that everyone has a perfect partner who is an exact match only for them?”
Stephen flopped his head onto the backrest and gazed at the flickering fire. “It’s a romantic notion I’d like to believe in, but I know too many people who are in bad relationships with someone they thought was a soul mate.”
She fished around under the blanket until she found his hand and grasped it tightly. “I think most people never find their perfect partner and settle for someone convenient, but I also believe that sometimes fate brings people together who have to be together. Sometimes it’s for a higher purpose, like having a child who will change the world, and sometimes it’s just to increase the quantity of love in the universe.”
Stephen shifted his position to get more comfortable. He brought her hand to his lips and kissed her knuckles, then let her go. “That’s a beautiful idea, Audrey, and I’d like to believe it. If you’re trying to tell me that this pertains to us, somehow, just come out and say it. I’m not the type of guy who is easily frightened. I mean, you showed up on my doorstep out of the blue, for God’s sake and you’re...” He couldn’t tell her she was a dead ringer for his dream girl, not so soon anyway. “Sorry, finish explaining. I want to hear this.”
Audrey rubbed a finger over her solitaire, gazing intently at it. “There’s a man, and the moment I met him, I was sure he was the one I’d spend the rest of my life with. The trouble is, I thought I was in love with another man before him, but things went wrong that nearly ruined my life. So, no matter how I feel about this man in my heart, I’m terrified that something will go wrong again. I need to know for sure that he’s the one for me before I make our relationship permanent. I think you’re a really nice guy, Stephen, and I need you to help me figure out if I should follow my
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