Heart's Desire by Jacquie D'Alessandro Read Free Book Online Page A

something as well. An image. Of this tree.”
    A tremor ran through William. By God , she’d seen it, too. “Why didn’t you say so at the shop?”
    “I suppose for the same reason you didn’t — it sounds like something that would make one a candidate for Bedlam.”
    “Did you see anything else besides t his tree?”
    She hesitated then nodded. “Yes. A couple. And a baby.”
    William’s heart began to thud in hard, fast beats. “I saw the same thing, Callie. Only for an instant. I thought I’d imagined it, but if you saw it as well … Did you recognize the couple?”
    Her gaze bore into his. “Yes. Didn’t you?”
    His every instinct warned him he was about to dive into very treacherous waters. Yet he couldn’t bring himself to deny what he’d seen. “They looked like us.”
    “Exactly like us.” Looking steadily into his eyes, she reached out and lightly clasped his hand that held the mirror pendant. “What do you think that means?”
    Any reply he might have made evaporated at the sudden appearance of a soft glow. He pulled his gaze from Callie’s and watched in stunned fascination as the same shimmer he’d seen at the shop emanated from the mirror.
    “Do … do you see that?” Callie whispered.
    “Yes. Don’t move. We’re both holding it, and our hands are touching. Just as we were in the shop. I didn’t see anything when only I touched it, nor did you— ”
    “But when we touch it together, this happens,” Callie whispered, finishing his thought.
    Not daring to so much as breathe, William watched an image slowly come into focus. A man and a woman. Who were unmistakably he and Callie. But this time , rather than sitting beneath the willow, they stood. Locked in a passionate embrace. Kissing.
    Heat scorched him, and with an oath , he snatched the mirror from her and stepped swiftly back. The image instantly disappeared.
    But it didn’t matter. The sight was branded forever in his mind. He couldn’t explain it, didn’t know how it was possible, but it was if the mirror pendant could read his thoughts. Ferret out his most secret desires. And illuminate them for the object of those desires to see.
    Bloody hell. His heart’s desire had been right there, glowing in his palm for Callie to see.
    Mortification, along with something that felt very close to panic , had him stuffing the damn ed mirror back in his pocket. He didn’t want to see anything else. And he sure as hell didn’t want Callie seeing any more of his private wishes.
    “William … did you see what I saw?”
    He ordered himself not to look at her, but his eyes disobeyed the command. And found her regarding him with an expression filled with … Christ, he didn’t know what. Something that severely tested his already tenuous hold on his control.
    He raked a less - than - steady hand through his hair. “I don’t know. What did you see?”
    “Us. Standing beneath this tree. Kissing.” She stepped forward, erasing the distance he’d put between them. Reaching out, she settled her palms on his chest. “Is that what you saw?”
    His command of English deserted him the instant she touched him. Beneath her hands , his heart thudded so hard he could hear the echo in his ears. He couldn’t speak. Couldn’t breathe. Could only stand there and absorb the warmth emanating from her palms.
    She took another step forward. Mere inches separated them now. A breeze rustled through the leaves, blowing a silky tendril across her cheek. “Is that what you saw, William?” she repeated.
    His common sense coughed to life. Demanded he get the bloody hell out of there.
    But he couldn’t have moved away had his life depended on it. Nor, it seemed, could he lie.
    “Yes. I saw it.”
    She released a shaky breath. “Thank God. Thank God it wasn’t just me. William … I can’t explain how that image happened, but I believe I know why it did.”
    “Why?”
    “Because I want, more than anything, for you to kiss me.” With her gaze steady on