The Barista's Beloved by Rebecca Norinne & Jamaila Brinkley

Author:Rebecca Norinne & Jamaila Brinkley [Norinne, Rebecca]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780998225258
Publisher: Rebecca Norinne

12

Ben and Maeve sat in his car outside of her small ranch-style home on the edge of town, neither of them saying a word. Next to him, she wrung her hands.

“Hey,” he said, reaching across the dark cabin to lay a comforting hand on her shoulder. “You didn’t know.”

She turned her face to him and huffed. “Story of my life.”

“No,” he said, his hand slipping forward to rest against the exposed skin at the base of her neck. He’d seen her hair tossed into carefree ponytails countless times, but for her date, she’d worn it up an elaborate mix of twisted coils and braids. Small tendrils were escaping from their confinement, and he resisted the urge to twine them around his fingers. Instead, he let his thumb brush back and forth over her nape. “The story of your life is that you’re the kindest, most trusting person I’ve ever known.”

Maeve’s eyes filled with unshed tears. “Which translates to being the most naive person you’ve ever known. Just once, I wish … ” She sighed and turned her head to stare out the window. “Never mind. It doesn’t matter.”

She sounded so bleak, so utterly lost. It was a feeling he knew all too well. He’d been there himself a time or two over the last year. And as cliche as it may have sounded, talking about it had helped. He wanted to be the shoulder she leaned on now the way Max had been his.

“What do you wish?” he asked, his tone gentle, yet probing.

Her shoulders slumped forward. “Let’s pretend I never said that.”

Ben stared at her for a beat, but when she didn’t continue, he reluctantly drew away and busied his hands with knobs on the dash. If he didn’t keep them occupied, he was liable to reach out and draw her into his arms instead. She was hurting, and he wanted to comfort her. Yeah, comfort. That’s all this overwhelming desire to hold her close and never let go was.

It had absolutely nothing to do with seeing her with another man earlier. Nope, not a thing. His lips twisted as he recognized denial. Ben wasn’t a jealous man, but watching Maeve laugh with Steve Smith had pulled at some primal urge he’d never felt before, triggering some deep-seated need to claim her. To call her his own. To protect her.

But Maeve didn’t need his protection. She was strong and capable, regardless what their mutual friends seemed to think. So what if she’d made a mistake by trusting someone she shouldn’t have? While he’d never really trusted anyone outside of Max (and now Maeve, he conceded), her ability to open herself up to possibility was one of the things he lo—.

No. He shook his head. He didn’t love her. He couldn’t. You didn’t fall in love with a woman you’d never even kissed.

Shit. He gripped the steering wheel tight. He was losing his fucking mind over her. The air in the car felt suddenly stifling, and he couldn’t seem to pull enough of it into his lungs to breathe properly.

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.