I Love You Twice (Falling For Him Contemporary Romance Series Book 7) by Jessica Gray Read Free Book Online

everyone else feel her discomfort! But even then, you still love her.
    It’s that same thing with a man. Look at me and Hugh. He’s barely able to walk nowadays and he’s often grumpy and says harsh words to me because he’s so much in pain. But do I love him even then? Of course I do and I couldn’t imagine how I’d live without him.” Annie paused as her eyes filled with tears. She’d been watching her beloved husband decline in health for the last several years, and she knew that the day was coming when she had to learn how to live without him!
    Patting Melissa’s hand, she picked up her teacup and headed for the hallway. At the doorway, she turned and met Melissa’s eyes, “Don’t be in a hurry, honey. Wait for that one person in the world you can’t live without. I promise you’ll never regret it.”
    Melissa found herself alone in the kitchen with her thoughts. Annie had given her plenty to think upon. Was Dean someone she couldn’t live without? They’d only shared a single kiss! She remembered how good she felt when she was with him. And Happy apparently loves him!
    Shaking her head, she mentally chided herself. There’s that love word again. Love at first sight is for romance novels. It doesn’t happen in real life. Look what happened with your first boyfriend!
    Melissa had thought she was in love with him and given him everything he’d asked for. But when the going had gotten tough, and she’d found out she was pregnant, he’d bailed on her! He had pretended it was all her fault!
    Ric had talked her into having sex with him and had refused to use protection. He’d promised her he would “pay attention”. And she had believed him. She’d been so naïve about these things back then. She’d been seventeen, not quite eighteen, and totally innocent! Without anyone to confide in. Definitely not her parents.
    Thinking about her first time, it wasn’t that she hadn’t liked sleeping with him. It had been nice, but she wished they’d waited. Ric never made her feel special. Not like Dean does! And somehow she couldn’t see Dean pushing her for more than she was willing to give.
    He’d even backed away yesterday when she’d voiced her concerns. Rather than trying to take advantage of their high emotions, he’d acted the gentleman and given her some space. And she would have been easy enough to convince last night! He’d made her feel so good!
     
     
     

Chapter 9
     
    Melissa nervously walked along the path around the lake at 4:30 a.m. the next morning. After thinking about Dean’s early pick-up call, she’d called him back and offered to meet him somewhere so he wouldn’t have to come get here so early.
    He’d insisted to pick her up because he hated for her to be out on her own at that hour. How sweet and caring of him! But Melissa had been insistent herself and finally convinced him to meet her at the lake. Now she was pleased to see him already waiting for her.
    “Good morning,” she offered softly as she stopped next to him.
    “Good morning, angel. Thanks again for the offer to meet me here. It saved me a lot of time this morning.”
    “No problem. So what are you looking for today?” she queried.
    “That dragonfly I showed you in the diner the other day. I brought my telescoping lens and would love to get some close-up shots for my study. This could be the missing link I’ve been looking for.”
    “How long have you been searching for something like this?” she asked, falling into step with him.
    “A few years. I’ve felt for a while now that there was at least one species I was missing, and this could be it!” he told her excitedly.
    Melissa smiled at how happy he sounded. He did love his work. And she loved to observe his enthusiasm. They walked along the riverside, passing beyond the guard rail that instructed normal tourists to stay out. Lake Perry was home to a natural preserve and only scientists with special permits were allowed to enter the protected area. Since