A Glorious Christmas by Sara Arden

Author:Sara Arden
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HQN Books
Published: 2014-10-14T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER FIVE

JOHNNY HADN’T MEANT for this to happen.

There was no doubt he wanted it, almost more than anything, but for as good as it was between them, it still tore open old scars and made them bleed anew.

Her soft breath on his chest, the way she curled into him so perfectly and the spill of her hair over his shoulder were all tattooed into his memory. He could have had this with her every night.

He was surprised she’d let him touch her—both now and then. Why she wanted him...it wasn’t something he’d ever understand.

Suddenly, all that was unsaid between them hung heavy in the air—sour.

“I should go.”

She pulled away from him and he let her, even though for a moment, he was tempted to ask her to stay. Just one night. But he knew he didn’t have that right.

Johnny found himself speaking anyway. “You could stay.”

Damn, why had he said that? Madelyn turned to look at him, the blue comforter pulled up over her breasts. “You left your cream cake down in the garage”

She said that as though it answered his question. “I don’t give a damn about the cake.”

“After your mom sent it for you?”

“We both know she was just trying to put us in the same space. If she’d been serious, she’d have sent me double that portion.”

A slight smile ghosted over her lips. “If I stay, we’ll have to talk. Neither of us are the type to let it lie, Johnny. And this was beautiful.” She touched his arm and brushed her mouth against his cheek. “It was perfect and I don’t want to spoil it.”

She pulled back, her eyes sad. “But I guess I’ll have to, won’t I? I can’t leave and not ask you. I thought I could, but I can’t.”

“You don’t have to ask.” He pushed his fingers through her hair and she relaxed back into his embrace. Johnny was grateful for that. He was prepared to look her in the eye and own his actions, but the expression on her face, it sliced into him over and over again. “I’m sorry.”

Madelyn tightened her arms around him. “I know you loved me, Johnny. I didn’t imagine it.”

“No, you didn’t imagine it.” Then or now. “I was a coward. I couldn’t face you, I couldn’t hear your voice. If I did, I wouldn’t have done the right thing.”

She sat up, eyes wide and tremulous. “The right thing?” Her lips thinned. “The right thing would have been to, I don’t know, maybe show up when you said you would?”

“No, what I did was the right thing. I know you got into all the colleges you applied to, Madelyn.”

“Because my mother told you. My mother told me that she went to see you. That she paid you. That’s what I can’t wrap my head around, Johnny.”

“I did take the money.” He nodded, feeling like the lowest piece of scum. “But I paid back every cent.”

“It doesn’t matter that you paid it back. All that matters is that you took it.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.