Hole Hearted (A Songbird Novel) by Melissa Pearl

Author:Melissa Pearl [Pearl, Melissa]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: UNKNOWN
Published: 2016-11-15T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twenty-Four

Troy

I didn’t just drive her back to Felix. I stuck around, helped her dig out the first aid kit from the trunk of her car. I couldn’t leave her with blood trailing down her shin.

She let me touch her.

Sure, she was tense and stiff, but she didn’t flinch or shy away when I placed my hand beneath her calf muscle and gently cleaned up her knees—one at a time.

Damn, she had the sexiest legs I’d ever seen. They were slender and strong, the muscles beautifully defined from years of running.

I took my time, hoping she wouldn’t notice how slowly I worked. Felix was doing me huge favors, hovering beside us and asking Cassie all about her injuries. The conversation then veered toward running with music, and I was all but forgotten as playlists dominated. Distracted by her nephew, Cassie relaxed, and I had that fleeting, unbidden thought that I could do this for the rest of my life—stand there looking after a pretty girl while she chatted to “our” kid. It felt so natural, normal…so nothing that I’d ever thought of before in my life.

I never wanted kids. I’d spent my childhood raising one; I didn’t want to do it all over again. But that moment made it seem like something I could try.

And I had to be honest—the idea took me way off guard.

Smoothing the Band-Aid over Cassie’s knee, I cleared my throat and lowered her leg.

She glanced up, squinting against the sunlight, and smiled at me. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” My voice was husky. I had to get out of there. I had plans to implement, wistful thinking to avoid.

Cassie loved my idea about the guitar. She actually looked excited, an emotion I hadn’t seen on her before. It was pretty.

“Well, I gotta split.” I raised my hand. “Things to do.”

Cassie’s eyes shot to mine, and she gave me a very subtle wink. Again, not what I was expecting. I was the winker, but there she was, blowing my mind and showing me a hidden part of herself that I never wanted her to lock away again.

My heart did a weird double-beat, and I couldn’t help smiling once again before reluctantly walking to my car. It was a bizarre dichotomy: I wanted to stay and spend the day with those two, but I also couldn’t get away fast enough.

I wasn’t used to my heart doing anything more than feeling compassion or sympathy…sometimes a little lust. But this thing it did around Cassie was strong and only growing more powerful, especially when she showed me a slice of something new.

If I could fall in crush with uptight Cassie, unguarded Cassie would knock me clean off my feet. I had to get her talking. I had to help her break those chains and open up even more. Because I wanted her to find a place for me in her life.

But it wasn’t my job to do that.

It wasn’t about me.

It was about helping her and Felix find their way. Although Cassie loosening up would only help Felix too.

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