glanced at him and thought she saw understanding in his eyes. But then the setting sun glinted off his window and she couldn’t be sure of what she saw.
Their exit came a minute later. Mark guided the truck off the highway and they drove through a short set of side roads before he pulled to a stop on the shoulder of the road in front of the mechanic’s shop.
“I’ll wait,” he said, “in case your car isn’t ready yet.”
Jo looked at the shop, which was clearly busy despite the late hour. “Thank you.”
It turned out they weren’t quite ready with her car, but the mechanic working on it assured her he would have it done in twenty minutes or less. Jo indicated Mark’s truck and told him she would wait there.
“You must be psychic,” Jo said as she climbed back into the cab of the truck. “They said it would be a little longer.”
“I’ve dealt with places like this before.”
Jo looked down at her hands, her mind spinning in a dozen different directions. She wished her car would take all night to get done, so she could sit here with Mark. And she wished it were done already so he wouldn’t feel obligated to keep her company. And she wished for once that she took more care with her fingernails, that they weren’t so short and clearly the victims of her nervous habit of chewing on them. She thought of Emily’s perfect, French manicure, how the length of the nails and the pale polish made Emily’s short fingers look longer, more elegant. If only her hands—
Then Mark’s hand was lying on hers.
“What are you thinking about?” he asked quietly.
“That I’m putting you out, making you wait with me.”
“You aren’t putting me out.”
Jo looked at him. “Why are you so nice to me?”
He moved his shoulder slightly, turning more toward her. “I don’t know.” He slid his other hand under hers and picked them up, cradling them gently between his. “I think maybe it’s what that guy did, hooking up with your sister while dating you. It’s like I’ve found someone who might understand what the last few years of my marriage were like.”
“She cheated on you.”
“Over and over.” Mark squeezed her hands lightly between his. “But that’s not what I want to talk about now.”
“What do you want to talk about?”
His eyes moved up to her face and for the first time she noticed that they weren’t just brown, not just a sweet caramel color that seemed to compliment the light dusting of freckles across his cheeks. They had hints of green and blue in them too, with a little black and chocolate brown mixed in for good measure. And the emotion in them spun like a tornado, moving from hope to desire to fear to regret.
How desperately she wanted to understand what made him feel each of those emotions.
“I want.” He moaned faintly. “I can’t remember the last time anyone ever asked me what I wanted.”
“I want to know,” Jo whispered.
Mark raised his hand to her face, cupping the whole right side of her face in his palm. “I want to feel normal again,” he whispered as he moved closer to her. “I want to trust, to be trusted. I want to feel like a man again.”
“Mark.” She said his name as she slowly lifted her hand and pressed it against his throat, moving it slowly over the roughness of his jaw. He moaned again, moving so close to her that their foreheads
Their exit came a minute later. Mark guided the truck off the highway and they drove through a short set of side roads before he pulled to a stop on the shoulder of the road in front of the mechanic’s shop.
“I’ll wait,” he said, “in case your car isn’t ready yet.”
Jo looked at the shop, which was clearly busy despite the late hour. “Thank you.”
It turned out they weren’t quite ready with her car, but the mechanic working on it assured her he would have it done in twenty minutes or less. Jo indicated Mark’s truck and told him she would wait there.
“You must be psychic,” Jo said as she climbed back into the cab of the truck. “They said it would be a little longer.”
“I’ve dealt with places like this before.”
Jo looked down at her hands, her mind spinning in a dozen different directions. She wished her car would take all night to get done, so she could sit here with Mark. And she wished it were done already so he wouldn’t feel obligated to keep her company. And she wished for once that she took more care with her fingernails, that they weren’t so short and clearly the victims of her nervous habit of chewing on them. She thought of Emily’s perfect, French manicure, how the length of the nails and the pale polish made Emily’s short fingers look longer, more elegant. If only her hands—
Then Mark’s hand was lying on hers.
“What are you thinking about?” he asked quietly.
“That I’m putting you out, making you wait with me.”
“You aren’t putting me out.”
Jo looked at him. “Why are you so nice to me?”
He moved his shoulder slightly, turning more toward her. “I don’t know.” He slid his other hand under hers and picked them up, cradling them gently between his. “I think maybe it’s what that guy did, hooking up with your sister while dating you. It’s like I’ve found someone who might understand what the last few years of my marriage were like.”
“She cheated on you.”
“Over and over.” Mark squeezed her hands lightly between his. “But that’s not what I want to talk about now.”
“What do you want to talk about?”
His eyes moved up to her face and for the first time she noticed that they weren’t just brown, not just a sweet caramel color that seemed to compliment the light dusting of freckles across his cheeks. They had hints of green and blue in them too, with a little black and chocolate brown mixed in for good measure. And the emotion in them spun like a tornado, moving from hope to desire to fear to regret.
How desperately she wanted to understand what made him feel each of those emotions.
“I want.” He moaned faintly. “I can’t remember the last time anyone ever asked me what I wanted.”
“I want to know,” Jo whispered.
Mark raised his hand to her face, cupping the whole right side of her face in his palm. “I want to feel normal again,” he whispered as he moved closer to her. “I want to trust, to be trusted. I want to feel like a man again.”
“Mark.” She said his name as she slowly lifted her hand and pressed it against his throat, moving it slowly over the roughness of his jaw. He moaned again, moving so close to her that their foreheads
Similar Books
