Let Love Heal (The Love Series) by Melissa Collins Read Free Book Online

hazel and golden flecks in those deep chocolate irises. Another piece of my hair falls across my cheek, and Bryan tenderly sweeps it away. His eyes soften and dance with light as he says, “You need to know two things, Melanie.”
    He’s so close to me that I can’t say anything. The grey matter that used to be my brain will only allow me to nod dumbly at him.
    “First of all, yes, Courtney and I dated last year. But we broke up because she’s superficial and shallow and we had nothing in common. She’s not a nice person and I think you know that now. So please believe me when I tell you that I definitely do not want to be with her, anymore.” He gives me a second to let his words sink in before he leans his forehead to mine.
    Cupping the soft curve of my jaw tenderly, he moves his lips to my ear, making it completely impossible for anything intelligible to come out of my mouth. I can smell the cinnamon on his breath and I want so badly to lick his full lips.
    Whispering softly, he tells me, “And yes, I am flirting.”
    My breath hitches in my throat as his soft lips graze the outer shell of my ear. The room spins and my knees wobble slightly. When the tiniest bit of my composure returns, I mumble, “I must be hallucinating then, because I think you just told me that you’re flirting with me .”
    He pulls his lips away from my ear, but keeps his hand at my cheek. Lightly brushing the pad of this thumb across my freckled peaches-and-cream skin, he asks, “Why do you find that so hard to believe?” He’s looks like he’s searching my face for some kind of answer, but all he’ll find there is disbelief.
    I reach up and pull his hand away from my face. I can’t concentrate when he’s touching me. Shaking my head, I try to gather my thoughts. I’m pretty sure that if I tell him what I’m really thinking, he’ll run away from me and my craziness. A few more seconds pass and I still can’t come up with any kind of explanation that won’t expose the insecure girl who I try my hardest to keep hidden. “Please, Melanie, talk to me. I thought we had a good morning. I thought things were off to a decent start this week.” Bryan’s words convey his confusion, and if I’m not mistaken, he also sounds a little hurt.
    Sobered by the idea that I’m hurting him by rejecting his advances, I take a deep, cleansing breath and offer up the best explanation I can come up with. “No, you’re right, we did have a good morning and I’ve really enjoyed spending time with you.” Tucking a piece of hair behind my ear and averting contact with his searing eyes, I add, “And I was flirting too.” I feel the embarrassment of admitting my flirtation spread across my neck and chest as it creeps toward my face.
    “I knew it!” His eyes twinkle as his lips curl up into the most gorgeous lopsided grin I have ever seen. You know the kind you only read about in romance novels. Well, apparently, they exist in real life too.
    I have no choice but to huff and roll my eyes at him and his goofy grin. “Fine, then. You flirted and I flirted, but that still leaves one very important question hanging in the air.”
    Bryan folds his arms across his chest and my eyes are immediately drawn to the way his t-shirt stretches under the strain of his muscles. He catches me staring and arches an eyebrow at me. “And that question would be?” he prompts and I have to peel my eyes away from his delicious body.
    With my eyes cast downward, I barely squeak out the question that I’ve been dying to ask since seeing Courtney’s perfect body. “Why me? When you can have her, why me?”
    He immediately responds without missing a beat. “Because I don’t want her.” His words are curt and cold. But then his eyes rake over my body causing my face to go crimson again. “And, I like you. A lot.”
    He sees the look of surprise on my face and says, “Give me one good reason not to like you, Melanie. You answered the ad for the job less than ten