Read Online Heartstrings by Hadley Danes - Free Book Online
Authors: Hadley Danes
Tags: Romance
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page out of Slade’s book?
I smile to myself as I get into my car, thinking of how smug
he would be if he knew I was taking life lessons from him, all of a sudden. I
start up the engine and head home once again, back to my eye mask, and my cat,
and a glorious day off tomorrow. I let daydreams of my upcoming trip push out
lingering thoughts of Slade. He would appreciate my desire to get on the road
for a while and shake off my typical life. Hell, he’d probably come with me if
I asked him nicely.
“Ahh!” I moan, slapping at the dashboard. He even invaded
thoughts about my road trip! My brain is acting like a twelve-year-old girl’s,
dwelling on Slade like this. I need to clear my head. Get some sleep. This
whole crush is spinning totally out of control—I don’t even know whether Slade
was faintly attracted to me! And here I am, daydreaming about him like a
lovesick puppy.
I turn into my driveway and have to laugh to keep from
crying. I’m hallucinating now, it would seem. I imagine that I see a man
sitting on my front stoop. A gorgeous, towering man who looks very familiar. I
cut the engine and stare at my walking daydream. This has gone too far—I’m
picturing Slade Hale waiting on my front stoop. I watch as my hallucination
raises his eyes to mine, waves with that charming smile I know so well. I wait
for the moment to pass, for reality to swoop in and rob me of my handsome
imaged guest...
But when I blink again, he’s still there. He’s standing up.
He’s coming over to the car...And I am utterly frozen in place behind the
wheel. Slade peers through the passenger window with an amused expression fixed
on his face. He taps the window with his index finger, attempting to get my
attention. I struggle to regain my composure, wishing that my heart would quit
the racket it’s making in my chest. Fumbling with my keys, I cut the engine and
swing open the door, nearly smacking Slade in the head as I do so.
“I’m sorry!” I cry, as he leaps out of the way.
“Are you trying to put me in the hospital again?” he asks
with a smile.
“No, I’m...” I stutter, “This is my house.”
“Yes,” he says.
“You’re at my house.”
“I am,” he grins. He’s clearly having a ball with this.
I stand before him on my own driveway, peering up at him in
the light of the street lamp. I didn’t realize how tall he really was. I’m used
to looking down at him in his hospital bed, but now he’s towering over me. His
body is a perfectly balanced collection of well wrought muscle. He’s got his
hands tucked into his front pockets and he holds himself in an easy, effortless
stance. I feel like a bundle of exposed nerves in front of him.
“What are you doing here?” I ask. “Sorry. That was rude. I
just—”
“You didn’t think I was going to leave without saying
goodbye, did you?” Slade said.
“I...Well...I just figured that you had to get a move on. I
wasn’t expecting you to stick around.”
“But you were hoping a little, right?” he asks with a wink.
“Maybe I was,” I smile, daring to let my affection for him
shine a little brighter.
“I wouldn’t have just bailed,” Slade says, a more serious
tone hardening his voice. “I don’t walk out on people, Julia. I want you to
know that.”
“OK,” I say. Why is he telling me this? I was just his
nurse, after all. It’s not like anything happened between us.
Except that, when I was honest with myself, I had felt
something pass between us in his hospital room. Whenever our hands happened to
touch, whenever I let myself get lost in his eyes for just a moment too long, I
could feel something waking up inside of me. Whatever it is that Slade does to
me, no one has ever done before. I try to convince myself that I’m just star
struck, that it’s just his sex appeal that clouds my head, but it’s more than
that. Yes, he’s the single most attractive man I’ve ever seen, but there’s
something beneath that gorgeous surface of his
I smile to myself as I get into my car, thinking of how smug
he would be if he knew I was taking life lessons from him, all of a sudden. I
start up the engine and head home once again, back to my eye mask, and my cat,
and a glorious day off tomorrow. I let daydreams of my upcoming trip push out
lingering thoughts of Slade. He would appreciate my desire to get on the road
for a while and shake off my typical life. Hell, he’d probably come with me if
I asked him nicely.
“Ahh!” I moan, slapping at the dashboard. He even invaded
thoughts about my road trip! My brain is acting like a twelve-year-old girl’s,
dwelling on Slade like this. I need to clear my head. Get some sleep. This
whole crush is spinning totally out of control—I don’t even know whether Slade
was faintly attracted to me! And here I am, daydreaming about him like a
lovesick puppy.
I turn into my driveway and have to laugh to keep from
crying. I’m hallucinating now, it would seem. I imagine that I see a man
sitting on my front stoop. A gorgeous, towering man who looks very familiar. I
cut the engine and stare at my walking daydream. This has gone too far—I’m
picturing Slade Hale waiting on my front stoop. I watch as my hallucination
raises his eyes to mine, waves with that charming smile I know so well. I wait
for the moment to pass, for reality to swoop in and rob me of my handsome
imaged guest...
But when I blink again, he’s still there. He’s standing up.
He’s coming over to the car...And I am utterly frozen in place behind the
wheel. Slade peers through the passenger window with an amused expression fixed
on his face. He taps the window with his index finger, attempting to get my
attention. I struggle to regain my composure, wishing that my heart would quit
the racket it’s making in my chest. Fumbling with my keys, I cut the engine and
swing open the door, nearly smacking Slade in the head as I do so.
“I’m sorry!” I cry, as he leaps out of the way.
“Are you trying to put me in the hospital again?” he asks
with a smile.
“No, I’m...” I stutter, “This is my house.”
“Yes,” he says.
“You’re at my house.”
“I am,” he grins. He’s clearly having a ball with this.
I stand before him on my own driveway, peering up at him in
the light of the street lamp. I didn’t realize how tall he really was. I’m used
to looking down at him in his hospital bed, but now he’s towering over me. His
body is a perfectly balanced collection of well wrought muscle. He’s got his
hands tucked into his front pockets and he holds himself in an easy, effortless
stance. I feel like a bundle of exposed nerves in front of him.
“What are you doing here?” I ask. “Sorry. That was rude. I
just—”
“You didn’t think I was going to leave without saying
goodbye, did you?” Slade said.
“I...Well...I just figured that you had to get a move on. I
wasn’t expecting you to stick around.”
“But you were hoping a little, right?” he asks with a wink.
“Maybe I was,” I smile, daring to let my affection for him
shine a little brighter.
“I wouldn’t have just bailed,” Slade says, a more serious
tone hardening his voice. “I don’t walk out on people, Julia. I want you to
know that.”
“OK,” I say. Why is he telling me this? I was just his
nurse, after all. It’s not like anything happened between us.
Except that, when I was honest with myself, I had felt
something pass between us in his hospital room. Whenever our hands happened to
touch, whenever I let myself get lost in his eyes for just a moment too long, I
could feel something waking up inside of me. Whatever it is that Slade does to
me, no one has ever done before. I try to convince myself that I’m just star
struck, that it’s just his sex appeal that clouds my head, but it’s more than
that. Yes, he’s the single most attractive man I’ve ever seen, but there’s
something beneath that gorgeous surface of his
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