Breathe by Donna Alward Read Free Book Online Page B

thumped heavily. What she was asking wasn’t easy, or uncomplicated. Not for them. They both knew it. And yet the bond they’d forged years before held them together. And she knew he’d give her what she asked.
    He came up to her, so that she had to tilt her chin to look up into his eyes, the color of rich espresso. For a shining moment, she remembered what it had been like for him to touch her. When being this close to him meant he was about to kiss her. And how his kisses had made her body sing. The memory exhilarated and frightened her.
    His hand came to rest upon her cheek for a moment, and his gaze changed. Then it was gone, along with his touch as he left the room.

Chapter Four
    Jace came out of the bottling shed, intending on going up to the house and sharing a cup of coffee with Anna. Instead he saw her outside, already putting the children in their car seats. A shapely backside stuck out of the rear door and his gaze clung for a moment as the skirt flirted with her slim calves. Everything in his body seemed to tighten as desire for her flared. Anna had always been couture, not a hair out of place. This more casual side of her was like a punch in the gut. Last night, with her hair curling around her temples and her cheeks flushed, she’d been more beautiful than he’d ever remembered.
    It had only been a broken glass, a simple accident. But he’d been hard on the boy. He knew it and knew the sting of embarrassment. He’d been annoyed at the mess in his normally pristine kitchen, and each time he looked at Matteo and Aurelia he was reminded of how they could have been his. If only. And now she was leaving.
    He’d been too hard on her yesterday too. He took long strides, nearly running to reach her side. He should have done things differently years ago. He’d tried for a long time to forget about his responsibility in how things had turned out. But he couldn’t any more. Not now that she was here, with her children. Hiding from the world. A widow, for God’s sake, who couldn’t even bear to be in the family home. He bore more of the responsibility than he was comfortable with.
    And now he’d driven her away because of his stubbornness. Again.
    She opened her door and went to slide behind the wheel, and he jogged up the remainder of the dirt path, needing to reach her. Dammit, he’d promised to help her and all he’d done was snip and snarl and drive her away.
    â€œAnna, wait!”
    He braced his hands on the open door and glared. “Where do you think you’re going?”
    Her lips thinned and her eyes sparked. “I beg your pardon?”
    â€œYou’re leaving? Just like that?”
    He stood back as she slid out from behind the wheel and shut the door. “What do you mean, I’m leaving?” She angled her head as her words shot out, sharp as nails. “Do you think I’m a quitter?”
    Why was it everything turned into a fight with her?
    â€œI don’t know. Are you?” He glared right back at her. Patience and understanding? Maybe he could give them to her if she waited half a minute.
    â€œKeep your voice down. The children are in the car.”
    He bit back a sharp retort when he saw the look in her eyes. She was angry with him, but there was something more. A vulnerability, a weakness. Something that looked like guilt. His gaze darted from hers to the backseat and back again as realization dawned.
    â€œYou don’t want them to see us arguing.”
    â€œNo.”
    He remembered his parents arguing—loudly—as he’d grown up, but he also remembered he’d never felt insecure about it. They’d always laughed and made up. He’d never felt any fear that an argument would lead to something more permanent. Somehow last night when she’d brought the children down he’d wanted that sense of family again. He missed his parents. Missed their mealtime conversations and teasing.
    But that