Desiring an Angel by Lynn Burke

Author:Lynn Burke [Burke, Lynn]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Lynn Burke

26

Skylar

We sat on the couch, both of us half-facing one another, and he sipped his wine in my periphery while I studied my drink.

Ashton and I had planned for me to spend a little time alone with Rhett, and even though I thought I’d hit the jackpot as far as pleasing him with the dinner Ashton had suggested I make, I still felt highly inadequate to hold a conversation with Rhett.

Like Ashton, Rhett was polished, but he also held an air of reserved sternness that seemed more like superiority to me. My backside squirmed beneath his stare.

“Tell me your plans for the future, Skylar. Aspirations, goals…where do you see yourself in five years?”

The question turned my focus inward as a gazillion ideas leapt to life in answer to his question, but I managed to hold my tongue.

Barely.

I couldn’t get my head on straight though.

“Don’t overthink, Skylar. I want to know your thoughts, no matter how messy or fragmented. Just be honest.”

Rhett’s kind words eased the twisting in my stomach, and I chanced a glance at his face. Like that morning, he peered at me with something other than cool reserve.

A little heat, perhaps? That was probably just my fanciful mind dreaming.

My knee bounced as my feet grew itchy. I clutched my wine glass tighter, unable to hold his gaze. One last swallow, and I forced myself to set my empty glass on the coffee table in front of us.

“I desire to be loved for who I am,” I spewed out my number wish while sitting back again. “Quirks and all—unconditionally. But, um…who doesn’t?” I huffed a little laugh and rubbed my palms on my dress, more nerves than anything.

“What else?”

“A house of my own. Children.” I shrugged, expecting the things I wished to pursue wouldn’t have been his choice in a second partner. “I know I’m not smart enough for the corporate world. I barely squeaked by for my high school diploma, and even then only got it because a few of my teachers nudged me toward passing grades when I didn’t deserve them.”

“Did you have ADHD symptoms as a child? That’s when most people with the disorder are diagnosed.”

“I’ve always been absent-minded. Head in the clouds,” I added the sing-song tone to my voice on that last bit. “Hyperactive—but my parents thought I was just looking for attention. I got it, just not the good kind.”

“Now that, I understand entirely.”

I dared another peek. Rhett’s eyes had shuttered down, his emotions behind a bland façade.

“Were you a wild child?” I asked.

“Until I learned at an early age that pushing for acknowledgment and love got me negativity and punishment instead.”

My hand reached over to grasp his forearm without thought as empathy swelled inside me. “I’m sorry.”

Rhett seemed to stop breathing, so I quickly removed my light touch.

“Nora received most of our parent’s attention,” I started to spill to fill the tense silence between us. “I’m her mirror twin except for our ears—hers are pointed like an elf while mine are rounded. I actually got the good gene there.

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