Read Online Love Resisted (The Real Love Series) by Melanie Codina - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Melanie Codina
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start, signaling the beginning of the slideshow.
CHAPTER FIVE
MIKE watched the color drain right out of Allie’s face. It looked like a good old-fashioned panic attack was setting in. Not sure what triggered it or why, he reached out and touched her knee, thinking it was the only safe place to touch her. He needed to touch her to get her attention, since he thought she might not hear him otherwise. When he asked her if she was okay, she gave a very good impression of a bobble head doll. But the look of panic was still there.
He felt like he needed to do something, she needed something, but he had no idea what that might be. Her distress was calling to him and he felt he should attempt to divert her attention away from whatever was causing it. He did what he could to distract her, and joking about stealing the baby back from Morgan might have done the trick.
He watched as she blinked rapidly a few times, and the panicked look receded a tiny bit. A small pathetic excuse for a smile even made its way to her face. She looked to relax fractionally. He would take it; it was better than nothing. Especially since he had no idea why. He knew he mentioned feeding her tomorrow, and he hoped that wasn’t the reason she looked like she wanted to run and hide forever. Wouldn’t that suck for a man’s ego? Although he made a mental note that she didn’t decline his invitation either, and she seemed to panic more after Maddie walked in.
She’d mentioned a video, then Morgan came in, and the baby made her way out of Allie’s reach. All three things happened in quick succession so he really didn’t know what was wrong with her. But he knew she needed something, and he would stay close to figure out what it was.
Even though Mike was paying attention to Allie, he could hear Madison talking to everyone. “So my grandma and I wanted to do something cool for Jonathan for graduation. And what could be cooler than a slideshow video that has pictures of him from birth to now?” The crowd chuckled a little, and he heard a groan from someone, too. He could only assume it came from Jonathan. “So make sure you pay attention to all the pics and let me know if you want a copy. Even though I’m pretty sure my brother will try to destroy the disc immediately.” The young woman smiled at her brother and said, “This is for you, Jonathan.” Then she pressed play and music filled the room.
It was a country song he recognized, but it took him a few seconds to figure out which one it was. Allie tensed a bit more, and the look of panic filled her eyes again. He squeezed her knee once more in reassurance and turned his head to look at the television screen. There were pictures of a baby and younger versions of Gillian and Logan moving across the monitor as Kenny Chesney sang about being young. Some pictures moved to the side, some faded in and out, all while the people taking in the show let out the usual aawww as they watched. About ten seconds later, a picture came up on the screen of what he assumed was the infant version of Jonathan, being held by a very young Allie. He couldn’t help his smile as he stared at her picture. She was the same, only younger. Except her smile, which was clearly much brighter then. It was carefree, full of energy and life … and then he realized what she was upset about.
Turning back to her, he could see that her eyes were once again closed, and her body trembled slightly. She was barely holding it together. He could only assume she was panicking over possibly seeing pictures of her late husband. It had been over five years, but she still couldn’t see pictures of him without this response? Her pain was clearly still very much on the surface, and he made a silent vow to find a way to make this less painful for her. Looking at the people around him, they were oblivious to what was going on, and he wanted to keep it that way. From his own experience, he was certain the second a picture of Marc came up on the
CHAPTER FIVE
MIKE watched the color drain right out of Allie’s face. It looked like a good old-fashioned panic attack was setting in. Not sure what triggered it or why, he reached out and touched her knee, thinking it was the only safe place to touch her. He needed to touch her to get her attention, since he thought she might not hear him otherwise. When he asked her if she was okay, she gave a very good impression of a bobble head doll. But the look of panic was still there.
He felt like he needed to do something, she needed something, but he had no idea what that might be. Her distress was calling to him and he felt he should attempt to divert her attention away from whatever was causing it. He did what he could to distract her, and joking about stealing the baby back from Morgan might have done the trick.
He watched as she blinked rapidly a few times, and the panicked look receded a tiny bit. A small pathetic excuse for a smile even made its way to her face. She looked to relax fractionally. He would take it; it was better than nothing. Especially since he had no idea why. He knew he mentioned feeding her tomorrow, and he hoped that wasn’t the reason she looked like she wanted to run and hide forever. Wouldn’t that suck for a man’s ego? Although he made a mental note that she didn’t decline his invitation either, and she seemed to panic more after Maddie walked in.
She’d mentioned a video, then Morgan came in, and the baby made her way out of Allie’s reach. All three things happened in quick succession so he really didn’t know what was wrong with her. But he knew she needed something, and he would stay close to figure out what it was.
Even though Mike was paying attention to Allie, he could hear Madison talking to everyone. “So my grandma and I wanted to do something cool for Jonathan for graduation. And what could be cooler than a slideshow video that has pictures of him from birth to now?” The crowd chuckled a little, and he heard a groan from someone, too. He could only assume it came from Jonathan. “So make sure you pay attention to all the pics and let me know if you want a copy. Even though I’m pretty sure my brother will try to destroy the disc immediately.” The young woman smiled at her brother and said, “This is for you, Jonathan.” Then she pressed play and music filled the room.
It was a country song he recognized, but it took him a few seconds to figure out which one it was. Allie tensed a bit more, and the look of panic filled her eyes again. He squeezed her knee once more in reassurance and turned his head to look at the television screen. There were pictures of a baby and younger versions of Gillian and Logan moving across the monitor as Kenny Chesney sang about being young. Some pictures moved to the side, some faded in and out, all while the people taking in the show let out the usual aawww as they watched. About ten seconds later, a picture came up on the screen of what he assumed was the infant version of Jonathan, being held by a very young Allie. He couldn’t help his smile as he stared at her picture. She was the same, only younger. Except her smile, which was clearly much brighter then. It was carefree, full of energy and life … and then he realized what she was upset about.
Turning back to her, he could see that her eyes were once again closed, and her body trembled slightly. She was barely holding it together. He could only assume she was panicking over possibly seeing pictures of her late husband. It had been over five years, but she still couldn’t see pictures of him without this response? Her pain was clearly still very much on the surface, and he made a silent vow to find a way to make this less painful for her. Looking at the people around him, they were oblivious to what was going on, and he wanted to keep it that way. From his own experience, he was certain the second a picture of Marc came up on the
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