Read Online With Love; Now & Forever by Raeanne Hadley - Free Book Online Page A

expression held more passion, as though he were intimately familiar with this belief. She started to feel hope, hope that her life wasn’t destined to be solitary and loveless. She felt like she had been looking down a tunnel, long and dark and was finally coming out at the other side where sunshine and warmth was promising. She had to admit, he was very convincing. Experiencing these new emotions, she also noticed a change in Rick.
“You sound as though you’ve experienced this. Does your work allow you to see this?” she asked.
“It does, but I have experienced this personally in my own life. I have been there twice in my life.”
She noticed he looked a little wistful as he made this comment and questioned. “You’ve experienced soul mates twice ?” Ana was amazed as she asked the question.
“I have. And both times were true, unhindered loves and friendships. I value both experiences and will treasure both women for the rest of my life, and I hope, beyond.”
Ana was now intrigued but was aware that this was a sensitive subject for him. “May I ask about them?”
At his hesitation, she felt she touched on a subject that maybe she shouldn’t have. “If you feel uncomfortable, I understand and you needn’t tell me.”
“I am being told that it would be very important for me to tell you my story, that it would help both of us.” He said gently.
“You’re being told?”
“Oh yes, I have several beautiful souls right now, whispering in my ear, guiding me. But that’s not what you want to know, you want to know about my soul mates. Let’s fill our wine glasses and get comfortable because it’s a long, painful and beautiful tale.”
CHAPTER SIX
A
    fter filling their glasses and getting more comfortable on the velvet sofa in the den, Rick proceeded. “I met Joyce our senior year
    of high school at a dance. It was so funny, two teenagers, kids really, that saw each other across the dance floor. There was only an hour left of the social when I finally gathered the nerve to ask her to dance. I still remember her smell, so sweet and she was so soft. I was a book worm, quiet and kept to myself so the idea that a girl would be interested in me was a dream come true. I knew right away that I would spoil her with romance, poems and songs. We were inseparable from that night on. She was a good eight inches shorter than I, petite with long brown hair and the most beautiful chocolate eyes that made you want to melt into them. On our graduation day, I asked her father if I could give her a promise ring, letting him know of my intentions. Because I had spent so much time with her family, he wasn’t surprised and seemed honestly thrilled. I promised that we wouldn’t marry until we graduated college.
    Joyce was so happy when I gave her that little opal and diamond ring that you would’ve thought it was a five carat diamond. We did pretty good the first year of college, she was going for her business degree and I was going for my engineering degree, but then our anticipation and need to be married became unbearable and Joyce convinced her family that we could get married earlier and still finish school.”
    Ana frowned, “What about your family? I haven’t heard you say anything about your family throughout this period”
Rick sighed and took a large swig of his wine. “My family was too busy with their own lives, so I went pretty much unnoticed and unbothered for most of my life.”
Sensing this was a subject she shouldn’t pursue, Ana let it drop.
“So anyway, we wed during summer break before our second year. We rented a little studio apartment near campus and made it our home.” Rick paused and took another drink. “It was all so unexpected. It was Christmas day and we were driving back from her parents having just had dinner with them. She just blurted it out, she was pregnant. I was so stunned that I couldn’t say anything. I pulled into the next parking lot I could find and cut the engine. She was sobbing