head or my heart.”
Stephen covered his eyes with his hands and leaned his head backward over the sofa, not wanting to believe what he was hearing. “So basically, you ran into me and decided that I’d be a good test dummy to help you sort out your feelings for your fiancé?”
“Jesus, Stephen, you’re making me sound like a heartless bitch. I’m not like that. I knew it was a mistake to try and explain my situation. If you knew all the details of what I just said, you’d understand that I’m a good person and you’d help me.”
“Then give me the details, Audrey. I want to understand.”
She frowned deeply and shook her head. “All I can do is ask that you please trust me. If you’re willing to do that, then hold me close and don’t question my morals.”
He grasped her ring and began sliding it toward the tip of her finger, but she closed her fist before he got it off. “ Dammit , Audrey.”
Her eyes began to glisten. “I can’t, Stephen, I’m sorry.”
The disappointment in her voice told him what her words didn’t say. Of all the times for him to screw up, this was probably the worst. She was offering him the opportunity to convince her that her fiancé wasn’t her soul mate, but he had blown everything with two words. All the wounds from his recent breakup had begun to heal because of this stranger who appeared out of nowhere, and he had hurt her at the first opportunity. Stephen left her sitting on the sofa, slogged into one of the bedrooms, and closed the door.
He trudged over to the bed and flopped lengthwise across it, letting his head hang down toward the floor. A paperback novel lay covered in dust between the leg of the headboard and the wall. Stephen fished it out and dusted it off. The title read: Two Studs for Ms. Tart. He tossed both pillows together, sat back against them, and began to read.
***
The gentle click of the bedroom door closing sent a chill crawling up Audrey’s spine. It had a finality about it that a violent slam wouldn’t have had. If Stephen had been pissed and needed to cool off for a while, there was a chance he would be back to talk things over. But calmly walking away could only mean that he wasn’t passionate enough about her to get angry that she’d denied him. It was just as well. If things had kept going in the direction they were heading, her vow would have been totally shattered. And what good is a person who can’t keep her word? As it stood, she had danced all over the line but still not crossed it completely.
I’m a total friggin’ saint. She had used Stephen’s body, played with his emotions, intentionally misled him, and all she wanted to do was rush into the bedroom with him and spill her guts about everything. He was kind and warm and funny and gorgeous to boot. And he was passionate about her. She could hear it in the way he swore when she kept him from taking her ring off. He just wasn’t the type of guy to throw an angry fit when he didn’t get his way.
There was nothing but his own sense of morality to stop him from taking what he wanted. She had pushed him beyond the point where some guys wouldn’t have accepted no for an answer, but she knew in her heart that he’d never do anything she didn’t let him do.
She desperately needed to tell him the truth, but that meant taking a risk she wasn’t willing to take. That meant trusting him to be the man that she believed he was. She had known him for less than one day, not nearly long enough to put so much trust in any man. As she had discovered, six years wasn’t long enough to know one man well enough to trust him.
And yet, she couldn’t help but feel that something bigger than herself was happening. Fate had intervened in her life, and no matter how bad she hurt, how confused she felt, or how terrified she was about being wrong, she had to go where it wanted to take her. Stephen was there for a reason. Mere coincidence couldn’t account for his presence or the sequence of
Stephen covered his eyes with his hands and leaned his head backward over the sofa, not wanting to believe what he was hearing. “So basically, you ran into me and decided that I’d be a good test dummy to help you sort out your feelings for your fiancé?”
“Jesus, Stephen, you’re making me sound like a heartless bitch. I’m not like that. I knew it was a mistake to try and explain my situation. If you knew all the details of what I just said, you’d understand that I’m a good person and you’d help me.”
“Then give me the details, Audrey. I want to understand.”
She frowned deeply and shook her head. “All I can do is ask that you please trust me. If you’re willing to do that, then hold me close and don’t question my morals.”
He grasped her ring and began sliding it toward the tip of her finger, but she closed her fist before he got it off. “ Dammit , Audrey.”
Her eyes began to glisten. “I can’t, Stephen, I’m sorry.”
The disappointment in her voice told him what her words didn’t say. Of all the times for him to screw up, this was probably the worst. She was offering him the opportunity to convince her that her fiancé wasn’t her soul mate, but he had blown everything with two words. All the wounds from his recent breakup had begun to heal because of this stranger who appeared out of nowhere, and he had hurt her at the first opportunity. Stephen left her sitting on the sofa, slogged into one of the bedrooms, and closed the door.
He trudged over to the bed and flopped lengthwise across it, letting his head hang down toward the floor. A paperback novel lay covered in dust between the leg of the headboard and the wall. Stephen fished it out and dusted it off. The title read: Two Studs for Ms. Tart. He tossed both pillows together, sat back against them, and began to read.
***
The gentle click of the bedroom door closing sent a chill crawling up Audrey’s spine. It had a finality about it that a violent slam wouldn’t have had. If Stephen had been pissed and needed to cool off for a while, there was a chance he would be back to talk things over. But calmly walking away could only mean that he wasn’t passionate enough about her to get angry that she’d denied him. It was just as well. If things had kept going in the direction they were heading, her vow would have been totally shattered. And what good is a person who can’t keep her word? As it stood, she had danced all over the line but still not crossed it completely.
I’m a total friggin’ saint. She had used Stephen’s body, played with his emotions, intentionally misled him, and all she wanted to do was rush into the bedroom with him and spill her guts about everything. He was kind and warm and funny and gorgeous to boot. And he was passionate about her. She could hear it in the way he swore when she kept him from taking her ring off. He just wasn’t the type of guy to throw an angry fit when he didn’t get his way.
There was nothing but his own sense of morality to stop him from taking what he wanted. She had pushed him beyond the point where some guys wouldn’t have accepted no for an answer, but she knew in her heart that he’d never do anything she didn’t let him do.
She desperately needed to tell him the truth, but that meant taking a risk she wasn’t willing to take. That meant trusting him to be the man that she believed he was. She had known him for less than one day, not nearly long enough to put so much trust in any man. As she had discovered, six years wasn’t long enough to know one man well enough to trust him.
And yet, she couldn’t help but feel that something bigger than herself was happening. Fate had intervened in her life, and no matter how bad she hurt, how confused she felt, or how terrified she was about being wrong, she had to go where it wanted to take her. Stephen was there for a reason. Mere coincidence couldn’t account for his presence or the sequence of
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