SOMEWHERE DOWN THE LINE
Excerpt
His skin was warm from the sun,
and he smelled of Old Spice and coconut oil. Alana closed her eyes, letting the
familiar scent of him surround her, and she knew the moment he leaned in to
kiss her.
His lips brushed hers, just
barely touching at first, moving back and forth in a lazy, mesmerizing pattern.
Chills skittered along her spine as she moved her hands up to encircle his
neck. She opened her mouth, inviting him in. She had waited a long time for
this moment. She was finally kissing Trey Morison, kissing him deep and long
and—
She felt him groan against her
mouth as his tongue found hers, and the intensity of their hunger increased.
Heat building within her, she laced her fingers in the hair brushing his collar
and fought the urge to press herself into him, to feel the need she knew was
swelling in him. She hadn’t planned on sleeping with him tonight, but she also
hadn’t counted on the power of what they’d kept bottled up all these years.
He stopped. Suddenly pulling
back, he turned from her, raking his fingers through his hair and leaning on
the opposite counter. She saw the rise and fall of his chest as he struggled
for air, but her breath wasn’t any steadier.
She went to the fridge and
retrieved a bottle of water. Closing the door, she twisted the cap and took a
long swallow. Then she went to stand next to Trey, rubbing her hand on his
back.
He turned, his face etched with a
pain she didn’t understand. She held out the bottle and thought for a second he
was going to refuse; then he took the bottle and tilted his head, downing half
the contents. Handing the container back, he seemed to study her for a moment
before reaching out to finger the necklace.
“I can’t believe you still have
this.” He rubbed his thumb over the heart pendant before letting it fall back into
place. “That was the only thing I could do to show how much you meant to me,
Ali.”
*******
“It was a nice gesture.” She
smiled sadly. “But I didn’t need a trinket, Trey. I’ve carried the memories
with me every breathing moment. Even when I thought things were good between
Don and I, you were always here.” She tapped her chest. “Of course, I didn’t
have the courage to walk away from my family the way you did.”
“Courage didn’t have anything to do with it, Ali. If I’d had
courage, I would not have left you behind that night. I was a coward. I
couldn’t face Margie knowing how I felt about you. If she’d ever asked if I
ever cheated on her, I’d have ended up quoting song lyrics. I did cheat on her, and on Debbie, if only
in my mind. We were married, Ali. Just to the wrong people. I wish I could fix
that for everyone involved.”
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