Stone Romance (Stone Passion #2) by A.C. Warneke Read Free Book Online Page A

Ferris asked, looking up at him with her large blue-green eyes.
    With an indulgent smile, he squatted down to her level, “What is it, sweetie?”
    “I was wondering if you could carry me,” she asked bashfully, which Jenna knew to be an act; there wasn’t a bashful bone in Ferris’s body when it came to people she adored and Jenna knew Ferris adored Rhys. If she was honest she would admit that she adored Rhys a little bit , too. “You see, I’ve been standing and walking around all day and my legs are awfully tired and it would be so nice if someone could carry me and since Mr. Vaughn has been nice enough to carry me here I thought it would be okay if you carried me back?”
    His eyes twinkled with laughter but he kept his expression appropriately serious as he nodded his head in agreement, “I think something can be arranged.”
    Grabbing her around the waist, he stood up and swung her over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. Ferris let out a squeal of laughter and Jenna’s heart skipped a beat; she hadn’t thought a heart could skip a beat when faced with something so beautiful. She was struck dumb as he spun around and pretended to be concerned, “Oh, no! Where has that little moppet gone? One moment she was here and then the next… Poof! Gone, just like a fairy princess.”
    “Mr. Rhys!” she cried out between belly laughs. “I’m right here ! ”
    Rhys spun around, making Ferris laugh harder and Jenna’s heart thump even more erratically. It was ridiculous; she had stopped believing in fairy tales and happy endings when Jeremy was taken from her. Rhys was just a gorgeous guy who could make her laugh and illustrate to her that she was a woman who had needs and appetites, that she wasn’t just a mom or an accountant or an almost-widow. He was reminding her of who she used to be before her world collapsed in on itself and sucked her in.
    No matter how much she loved her daughter and her family, she had been living on auto-pilot for almost seven years and had forgotten how to be Jenna. Watching Rhys interact with Ferris, the sparkle of life in his eyes, a vivacity that infused his entire being, she realized she wanted that spark back. And she wanted to explore whatever this thing was with Rhys because she had a feeling that he was going to chang e her life in significant ways. She’d never be allowed to go back to sleepwalking through life with him around. She might never go back to sleep.
    Plus, he adored Ferris and, more importantly, she adored him.
    “Isn’t he just the best?” Melanie asked, drawing her arm through Jenna’s.
    Unable to tear her eyes away from the exuberant man spinning around with her daughter on his shoulder, she nodded, “He’s not bad.”
    Melanie playfully swatted at her, “Oh, please; he’s perfect.”
    “Nobody’s perfect,” Jenna replied automatically, trying to figure out if Rhys had any flaws, other than a propensity to say and do outrageous things. But she considered that a feature rather than a defect. Of course, she just met the man; it was easy to camouflage even serious flaws for a short period of time. Hell, he probably thought she was as adventurous and fun as he was and maybe once upon a time he would have been right. He didn’t know how… mind-numbingly monotonous her life actually was. The only joys were her daughter and her family; her job… well, her job was a paycheck. It allowed her to feel like a responsible adult even though she still lived at home with her parents.
    When Ferris was born it had been a luxury to be at home, having Melanie there to help out. After a few years it simply became easier to stay, knowing Ferris was safe. Even though she paid rent and lived in an apartment over the garage, she spent most of her time at the main house, with her family. The tradeoff of independence for security was one she struggled with on a daily basis but she hadn’t known what she could do about it .
    Melanie’s sudden decision to move out had