Impassioned: A Salvation Society Novel by Lea Coll & Salvation Society

Author:Lea Coll & Salvation Society [Coll, Lea]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Wild Thorns Press
Published: 2021-03-06T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Seventeen

Mia

I like you, Mia. I’d been in a daze since I’d heard those words coming out of Mason’s mouth. I closed my eyes remembering the moment he’d bared his soul to me. Barely breathing, my heart pounding in my ears, while he talked. It was everything I’d wanted to hear from a guy, but from him, it was more than I could have hoped for. I’d refused to act on my attraction to him thinking he was incapable of anything meaningful. I thought if anything, he’d want a fling or a relationship with well-defined rules, one that led to our inevitable end. Instead, he hadn’t limited us in any way. He hadn’t told me the score as so many other guys phrased it.

I worried he’d change his mind. There was bound to be moments he freaked out like he had during our first dinner together. When the act of experiencing his own emotions was overwhelming. But I loved his vulnerability. The way the words fell uncensored like a waterfall, crashing to the rocks below, leaving a roar in their wake. I’d bet he’d never told anyone he liked them.

I felt special. It was a dangerous feeling because I’d felt this way before, reading everything wrong. Was agreeing to this date another misstep in a long list of mistakes or was it the beginning of something amazing, something I’d been searching for?

The longing inside my body pressed on the walls of my chest to expand. I knew if I let my feelings out, it would be like emerging from a dense forest after a long hike to bask in the sun. The dormant pieces inside of me would burst out. But if that happened, I opened myself to be hurt again. My old fears crept in. I told myself I wouldn’t take that leap until I was sure the guy could handle a relationship with the possibility of more.

Mason was untested. He’d married Rebecca because she was pregnant, and it only lasted a year. Was I capable of being cautious? Could I hold pieces of myself back until I was sure it was safe to reveal myself? Or had I already opened myself up by being friends with him? I’d told him my past mistakes with men, how I hoped to change this time. He knew my flaws and wanted me anyway.

A finger snapped in front of my face. “Mia, are you planning on joining us today?”

I looked around at Hannah and Sierra’s faces, at our usual Sunday brunch restaurant, watching me with a mixture of concern and amusement.

“Sorry, I was lost in thought.”

“Obviously, you’ve been in a fog since you walked in. Did something happen?” Hannah asked.

What should I tell them? My friends were all too aware of my shortcomings.

“Did you meet someone?” Sierra asked.

It wasn’t with the excitement she’d say to another friend. It was almost careful, like she didn’t want to hear the answer. She didn’t want to listen to the trials and tribulations of my relationships, the ups and the inevitable lows.

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