Read Online Three Little Words by Lauren Hawkeye - Free Book Online Page B

defiance, a shield slamming down in front of her before I could even draw in a breath.
                “I dropped out of school.” She couldn’t have surprised me more if she’d punched me in the gut.
                She’d been a free spirit, sure, but she’d known exactly what she wanted and had gone after it with single minded determination.
                Just like she’d gone after me.
                Scrambling to think of what to say, I wound up sitting there silently like an idiot.
                She narrowed her eyes at my dumbfounded expression.
                “I work at Java the Hut.” Her words were clearly a challenge, daring me to comment.
                “I see,” I said slowly, trying to assimilate this knowledge with the memories of the girl I’d known.
                I was beginning to see just how much Adele had changed.
                Adele rubbed her hands on the thighs of her jeans with agitation, then abruptly stood up and shoved her hands into her pockets.
                “I’ve got to go. I have someplace to be.” She seemed like she was deliberately avoiding eye contact. Panic flared inside of me—I’d just found her again. I couldn’t let her walk out of my life for the second time.
                “I want to see you again.” I thought about asking her for her number, but decided instead to just tell her what I wanted. I stood as well, watching as her eyes ran the length of me, hoping she’d understand that I’d changed too.
                I wasn’t weak willed like I’d once been. I’d grown up into a man who knew what he wanted.
                From the second my eyes had locked with her from across the street, I’d wanted her.
                Her eyes seemed fathoms deep as she regarded me back. The urge to reach out and cup her face in my hands was irresistible.
                She shrugged away from the touch irritably, but not until heat as palpable as an electric shock snapped through both us, ignited by the skin on skin contact.
                “Adele.” I wanted to kiss her. If she didn’t stop me, I was going to kiss her.
                I wondered if she tasted the same.
                “What makes you think you want me so much now when you didn’t then? What’s changed?” Eyes wary, she stepped back, out of range. “Apart from a handful of phone calls, which I assume were to apologize for being such a douche, you sure didn’t fight very hard for us.”
                Her words were like a knife taken from the fire, slicing and burning at the same time.
                “I did,” I finally managed. “I did come for you. But I took too long. You were gone.”
                Emotion flickered through her eyes. I reached for her, but she stepped back, staying just out of my reach.
                “Why did you leave, Adele?” I held my breath as she turned and walked to the front door.
                With one hand on the door knob, she turned and regarded me again with serious eyes.
                “I came for you too, Mal. But I didn’t find you.” Her words didn’t hold any blame, just raw emotion. “And now it’s too late. I can’t be with you. I can’t be with anyone.”
                “Adele!” My voice thundered out of my throat, surprising even me. I’d never heard dominance layered into its tone before, but I knew, somehow I knew, that I had to do something before this creature who still held my heart in her hands walked out and never looked back.
                Startled, she turned.
                “There’s a reason we found one another again. I want to see you again, and I think you want the same thing.” My voice sounded a lot calmer than I felt. I kept my eyes on her as she regarded me with a