Read Online What Family Means by Geri Krotow - Free Book Online Page A

my neck.
    “Sure do, sweetheart. Sure do….”
    February 1973
Paris, France

    “I’ VE MISSED YOU .”
    Debra’s skin warmed at Will’s statement.
    She leaned toward him over the six-inch hedge that separated them as they walked through the public garden. They held hands over the small expanse between them.
    “Liar.”
    “I haven’t been able to come by as often because of my project. But it’s in the bag now.”
    “The papers and exams can be overwhelming, can’t they?”
    She marveled at how perfectly their hands fit together.
    The hedgerow ended and Will stopped. They were in one of the most breathtaking gardens in all of Paris, beautiful even in winter, yet Debra saw only Will. It wasn’t just his large frame, his heat or his deep voice. It was an aura she couldn’t see, but her heart beat faster every time she sensed him near.
    “I don’t want to talk about school right now, Deb.”
    She met his gaze, thrilled by the warmth in his eyes.
    “Okay.”
    He sighed and glanced around them. “I know this isn’t Buffalo, that they’re more open here. But I can’t bring myself to do anything other than hold hands in public. I don’t want anyone to look at you differently.”
    She loved how he put her first, allowed the decision to be hers. But Debra’s impatience to be with him spurred her on. “Will, I don’t care what other people think. You know that much about me.”
    He hadn’t forgotten that, had he?
    “Deb, I care what other people think. I could’ve ruined your entire reputation, cost you your friends, back in high school.”
    Her throat tightened around her breath. “They weren’t my friends.”
    All but one of her girlfriends had disappeared from her life after word got out about her and Will.
    “We deserve at least this time together, don’t we, Deb?”
    “Yes.”
    But she didn’t know if she could handle the part that came after. The pain of separating. She’d already done it once.
    There’d always be an after—and it wouldn’t bring them together. Not if they both went back to Buffalo.
    “Amy’s still on her study in Marseilles?” His voice asked about Amy, her roommate, but his eyes asked another question.
    “Yes. Until Saturday.”
    It was Tuesday. They’d have four days to spend alone in her flat.
    He stared at her, his face relaxed except for the sparkle in his eyes.
    “Will—”
    “You know how we’ll end up, this week or next.” He finished her thought. They had the whole semester ahead of them. In Paris…
    “I just don’t know if this is the best thing for us.”
    She damned the tears that threatened to spill, the quiver of her chin. It was as though they were fifteen and seventeen again and his mother had caught them kissing on the porch.
    “We’re not kids anymore. We’re adults, Deb. Deb?”
    His fingers touched her chin and forced her to look up. When she saw the same desire in his eyes that she felt every time they were together, her tears overflowed and dripped down her face, onto his hands.
    “We’ll never do anything you aren’t comfortable with, Deb.”
    “That’s not what I’m afraid of.” She punched his arm. “And you know it.”
    Will’s laugh chased away her fears. She didn’t doubt the depth of her feelings for him, or his for her. It was the pain of letting go that they would both face, whether it was after this week or after a year in Paris.
    They could never go back to Buffalo together.

CHAPTER NINE

    Present Day
Buffalo, New York
Debra

    W ILL CHEWED his Thai spring roll, and his eyes met mine as I stared at him over my coconut-curry soup.
    “What?” he asked. He tilted his head and set his fork down.
    “Is something bothering you? You’ve been quiet since we left the house.”
    He swallowed.
    “Nothing’s bothering me. I’m just wondering how you’re really doing with everything that’s going on.” He grabbed my left hand. “You’re getting to the busiest part of your work, with the exhibit so close. Mama and Angie