Total pages in book: 144
Estimated words: 133531 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 668(@200wpm)___ 534(@250wpm)___ 445(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 133531 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 668(@200wpm)___ 534(@250wpm)___ 445(@300wpm)
He stood up immediately and held out his hand to her. “I’ll show you the kitchen and bathroom. I should have given you a tour.”
She noticed he did so without the fluid, smooth way she associated with him. “You don’t have to do that. Should you be moving around?” Rory felt shaky, every nerve ending still alive. He couldn’t get near her. He really couldn’t. Maybe he was already cooling down, but she didn’t trust herself yet. “And I’m not taking your hand.”
“Red. Helping you up isn’t going to rip open my wound.” Now there was male amusement in his voice, and it was creeping into the blue of his eyes.
“I’m not worried that helping me up will tear open your wound. It’s tearing off your clothes and leaping on you, wrapping my legs around you and doing bad things to you that you need to worry about. We both need to worry about,” she corrected. Talking too much again. Making a fool of herself again. “Just step back and stop grinning.” She couldn’t breathe, and she was going to have a panic attack. The room was already beginning to spin a little.
“I’m in danger?”
“Yes. At least pretend you’re afraid. That would be helpful.” She crossed her arms over her chest to keep from the temptation of taking his hand.
The color of Gideon’s eyes deepened to that nearly royal blue and softened to velvet. No man should have eyes like his. It wasn’t fair. And how could one man’s eyes change color the way his did so often? “A woman could fall in love with you so easily.”
Had she blurted that out loud? What was wrong with her? He’d just kissed her and he’d made her lose her mind. “I should go home.”
“You should stay here. Use your inhaler. I’ll take the food to the kitchen. One of the many bathrooms is straight across from you. Right there.” He indicated a door with one long finger. “I’ll bring you a bottle of cold water. Take a breath, sweetheart. I love everything you’re saying to me. I’ve said the same to you.”
Gideon leaned down and brushed her forehead with a kiss, gathered up the food containers and sauntered across the room.
Rory watched him go before she went to his guest bathroom. It was spacious with black and gray tiles. She used her travel nebulizer, thankful she’d brought it with her. Why in the world did she blurt out everything she was thinking to Gideon? She’d always been so careful to keep her own counsel. For years she hadn’t talked to anyone about what she was thinking or feeling, but now she couldn’t keep her mouth closed. If she thought it, she said it to him.
She stared at herself in the mirror, taking her time. She was getting in deeper every moment she spent with Gideon. It was now or never. If she didn’t run while she could, break away and get out of San Francisco, she might never leave. Every indication told her to go.
What about her worry that she could harm him? She didn’t know about her past. It was a complete blank to her. There was that nagging worry that something was terribly off, and she might have some terrible secret hidden inside her that could harm someone. But it had never happened in all the years she’d traveled around. Never once had she done anything to hurt anyone. She was alone so much and had such a vivid imagination that she easily thought up reasons to fill in her past. It was ludicrous to think that she would hurt Gideon.
It was just another excuse she gave herself to leave, because she made so many. She was insane to stay. Everything was happening too fast between the two of them. She had no reason to trust Gideon, and yet she did. She was jumping in with both feet, and it made no sense.
Free-falling. Euphoric. She’d never been like this. She’d never had this. Goose bumps ran down her arms, and she held them out in front of her before wrapping them around her. She felt as if she’d always been alone and fearful. Of what, she didn’t know. With Gideon, everything was different. She had him to talk to. To laugh with. To kiss. To want to be intimate with.
Did she want to give that up because she was afraid she might get hurt? Just because their connection was happening too fast and she didn’t understand it? She didn’t know what a relationship was, but Gideon was worth sticking around for and finding out. In any case, she knew with absolute certainty that she wouldn’t feel the same with another man.
Rory took a deep breath while she washed her hands. She was going to stay. She had finally found a place she liked, with people she enjoyed being around. Most of all, there was Gideon. She wanted to be with him. She was going to put her faith in him and see their relationship through. She wanted him to be right—that they could make it through good and bad together. She wanted him more than she wanted her own life.