Total pages in book: 36
Estimated words: 33919 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 170(@200wpm)___ 136(@250wpm)___ 113(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 33919 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 170(@200wpm)___ 136(@250wpm)___ 113(@300wpm)
“No, no, I’m not questioning anything.” He pulled her close. “I never meant any of it.”
“I know that now,” Lisa said.
“I was scared,” he said.
She tilted her head back and frowned. “You were scared? Of what?”
“Of how you made me feel,” he said.
“And how did I make you feel?” she asked.
“Like I was the only man in the world.”
“To me, you are the only man in the world. You’re the only man I want in my world.”
And with that, she held him close.
Shadow pulled her close, kissing the top of her head and basking in what it meant to finally be with his woman. The barrier that had been between them melted away, he already felt the difference between them. This was his second chance, and he was not going to let this opportunity pass him by.
Chapter Eleven
“I love the new welcome mat,” Adele said.
Lisa glanced over at one of her best friends. “It was a gift from Shadow.”
“It’s a good gift. Speaking of you and Shadow, how are you two doing? Have you been able to make any progress?” Adele asked.
One week had passed since Shadow had declared his love for her and showed her the video apology he intended to allow so many others to see, but she had told him not to. That apology was between her, Shadow, and of course Pam for filming it. No one was going to see that again.
It was strange how different she felt about him after seeing him try. Before, when he learned she knew the truth, he’d acted like there was nothing wrong. He’d been so cold. Now, she saw Shadow didn’t know how to be anything else, not if he didn’t listen to his feelings or trust opening up to her.
The past week had been different. He told her repeatedly how much he loved her. She moved from her old bedroom into his bedroom. Shadow had also told her that under no circumstances was he moving back. She now had him for life.
It was nice, seeing this possessive side of him. Obviously, while they were dating, he’d not liked it when other men showed her attention, but that was to be expected. This was a different level of possessive.
“You could say that,” Lisa said.
Adele let out a little victory cry. “That smile says it all. I knew you looked happier. What happened? What did I miss?”
Lisa laughed. “Do I look happier?”
“Hell, yeah. I mean, you’ve always been lovely and smiling and stuff. This is different. You seem so…” Adele stopped and burst out laughing. “I guess the word I’m looking for is happy.” She snorted. “Sorry, my vocabulary is not too wide at the moment.”
“I feel it … happier. I feel great. I can’t really explain it, and I guess it doesn’t make a lot of sense.”
“You never fell out of love with Shadow, right?”
“No, I didn’t. I tried, but it’s a lot harder to fall out of love with someone than it is to fall in love with them.” She’d tried. There had been so many times she knew it would have been easier to just walk away.
There had been moments when she worried he’d find someone else, and she’d have no choice but to watch him with his true mate. There were several men and women in town who had to experience that already, and she didn’t relish the idea of it.
“I’ll have to take your word for it. I can imagine it being the other way around. It’s hard to fall in love with someone than it is to fall out of love with them. I can do it all the time, you know. Just look at the movies I watch. I jump from one actor to another.”
Lisa chuckled. “That’s not the same.”
“Ah, but it is for me, and trust me, I can handle it.”
Lisa adored Adele. The other woman didn’t want to fall in love, which was why she immersed herself in the fantasy world of movies. After what happened to her mother, she could understand it.
“You’ll find someone.”
“I’m good, thanks.”
Lisa wanted to tell her that falling in love didn’t have to be so scary, nor so hard, but then, she wasn’t a great advertisement for love. Sure, everything had worked out great, but that was after he’d broken her heart.
“How did you fall in love with him in the first place?” Adele asked. “It couldn’t have been easy after everything he did.”
“It wasn’t easy, and yet it was at the same time. I know that is crazy. He kept coming to the coffee shop.” Lisa smiled. “And trust me, I didn’t even realize how big of a deal this was until recently. He hates coffee. He can’t stand the smell or the taste of it, and yet he’d stand in line and wait to be served by me. You know that.”