Read Now and Forever 4, The Renovated Heart for Free Online Page A

stirred in milk and sugar while Jim drank his
black.
    “Nothing you could say can shock me. My life
has been one big disaster area, so…”
    “Do you want to tell me?” He leaned forward,
still loosely holding her hand.
    “I’d prefer to look ahead, not back,” she
said, lifting her cup to drink.
    “A good philosophy.” He drained his coffee
and sat back.
    After she finished, Jim paid the check. They
drove home in comfortable silence. He turned into his driveway, cut
the motor then pulled Sarah into his arms. He kissed her gently
then took it deeper, parting her lips, his tongue seeking hers. She
responded, hungry for his affection. Pulling her closer, he
flattened her breasts against his hard body. Her breath came
quickly as desire began to flow again in her veins. When he leaned
back, he locked his eyes on hers as his breathing became ragged,
and the air between them thickened.
    Sarah pulled him to her for another long
kiss, winding her arms around his neck. He cradled her breast
gently, feeling its weight...she moaned softly, wishing for more.
His body stiffened as his fingers closed around her flesh. Heat
shot through her veins like a rocket. Her body’s reaction unnerved
her so she pulled back, trying to control her heartbeat. Jim
dropped his hand.
    “Do you want to…come inside?” he asked her,
almost panting.
    She shook her head. As much as he raised
desire in her, how could she even consider sleeping with him on
their first date?
    “Too fast for me.” Her breathing had almost
returned to normal.
    “Of course.”
    He nodded, moving away from her. They sat
not touching.
    “Thank you for the dinner. A great
place.”
    “Do you want to go out again next
Saturday?”
    “I…I’d love to.” Pleasure colored her
cheeks.
    “It’s a date, then.”
    “Have to lock in the babysitter.”
    He placed his palm on her cheek, tipping her
chin up to face him. He peered into her eyes, his gaze searching
hers. She couldn’t hide the longing there. His warm smile told her
he read her, and knew she wanted him, too. He kissed her then
walked her up to the front door.
    “I had a—”
    Jim tugged her into his arms to interrupt
her with his mouth.
    “Me, too,” he said after releasing her,
“until next Saturday.”
    He waited for her to open the door hanging
around to be sure she was safely inside before he returned to his
house. My first date in so long I can’t remember. Sarah
smiled to herself before turning toward Becky. Her cell phone
buzzed…a text arrived from Kit.
    How was ur date? I’m moving to Grace’s.
     
    * * * *
     
    Downtown Willow Falls, Saturday
afternoon.
     
    Kit opened the creaky gate to walk up the
brick path leading to Gracie’s Mansion. She liked the homey
atmosphere and the eclectic decorating of the old Victorian. Grace,
a recent widow, agreed to a rock bottom rate for Kit because she
made it clear she desperately needed a place to stay at least for a
few days and had limited funds.
    She moved her suitcase from the motel into a
room on the second floor. The small room had light blue walls, a
bedspread in a small print fabric in dark purple, lavender and
light blue. The bed had a matching canopy. The only other piece of
furniture besides a small bureau was a little dressing table with a
skirt in the same print. There were two windows, one looked down on
the entrance to Bon Appetit while the other faced the
University.
    When Kit signed in, the band of white skin
on the third finger of her left hand, where her wedding band used
to be, caught her eye. She had discarded her ring in the gutter in
disgust on the way home from the French restaurant after Johnny
dumped her. To pretend you’re married, you need a wedding
ring. At least until she could accept the divorce.
    First stop after unpacking—Willow Falls
Jewelry where she purchased the cheapest plain gold wedding band
they had. Kit wasn’t ready for the attentions of a man or to admit
her husband had left her. The wedding band kept