My Everything - Seth & Amber (38 page)

He looked at her name page, which so
beautifully read 'Katie' and the first thing that came to Jason’s
mind was Kit Kat...the best candy bar in the whole world! He
quickly changed her paper to read just that.

He had not expected any of the other kids to
notice it when they came in from recess, or to think it was funny.
It was supposed to be a special, inside secret between him and his
blonde angel.

In fact, to be honest, he had completely
forgotten that any other kids were even in their class. No one
existed in the room for him but Katie.

But after the look on Katie’s face when the
other kids were all gathered around her desk in giggles, Jason knew
that he had made a huge mistake.

Okay, he had to fix this and quick. The only
thing he knew to do was try to relieve some of the tension by
stating the obvious. It was part of his charm, Jason was always
being accused of saying what everyone was thinking. Instinct kicked
in and he simply said “I think this is your seat Kit Kat”.

He was shocked to see a look of anger and
embarrassment that suddenly appeared on Katie’s face. He didn’t
know how things had gone so terribly wrong or why his charm and wit
had not gotten the smile that always had appeared on the opposite
sex's face whenever he spoke. But the one thing he did know was
that he had never met anyone else who made him feel the way this
girl sitting next to him made him feel.

And he hadn't known it yet at the time, but
he never would.

Present Day

The same feeling that had paralyzed him upon
seeing her for the first time in Kindergarten class washed over
Jason now as he stood in front of Katie. His world stopped spinning
and she was the only thing that existed.

Katie had grown into the most beautiful woman
he had ever laid eyes on. Standing five foot three, with a petite
figure that had curves in all the right places, she still had
incredible long blonde hair, and the most intoxicating blue eyes in
existence.

And when he looked at her, he still saw his
angel.

Excerpt: Sweet Reunion
THE HOPE FALLS CHRONICLES

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Excerpt from Sweet Reunion

As Amanda moved the bite-size chicken pieces
and chopped vegetables around the sauté pan in front of her, her
head swam with conflicted emotions. Was it always going to be this
way? If Justin did decide to stay and run the adventure resort with
her, was her consciousness going to forever exist in such a state
of unbalance?

Karina, Sam, and Lauren had gone to visit
Karina's grandmother, albeit reluctantly. They hadn't wanted to
leave Amanda alone, but Amanda had insisted, coming just short of
physically shoving them out the door.

“I need to get my head on straight!” she had
told them, “The only way I am going to accomplish that is with some
serious soul searching and contemplation. And, barring that, a
little 'come to Jesus' meeting with myself. Trust me! An hour alone
will do me a world of good. I'll make dinner, and be a whole new
woman by the time you get back.”

So, the rest of the Fabulous Four had
departed amidst skeptical expressions and admonitions to call if
she needed anything.

And now Amanda was by herself, cooking and
contemplating, and not a whole lot seemed to be moving forward. She
had started out feeling confused and vulnerable, and that was
squarely where she still found herself. It didn't help that she had
had ZERO hours of sleep the night before! Maybe it was time to try
the 'come to Jesus' meeting.

She heard a knock at the back door which led
into the kitchen, and turned around to see the very source of her
confusion and angst standing there, his handsome face framed in the
glass pane of the exterior door like a finely wrought portrait.

A tremor ran through her from head to toe,
but she quickly reminded herself that she could not show him her
weaknesses. She again thought of her sleepless night, and noticed
how well-rested he looked. She couldn't let him see she was coming
apart at the seams!

No, she was only going to show him a
completely strong and together facade. She quickly pasted a smile
on her face, striving for as natural an expression as possible, but
truthfully not even caring if it came off as slightly artificial –
as long as her face didn't betray the roiling emotions just below
the surface, it could look as plastic as a mannequin's for all she
cared.

She crossed to the back door, opened it, and
stood aside, inviting him in.

“Is this a bad time?” he asked as he
entered.

“Not at all,” she assured him. “The girls
went down to see Karina's grandmother, and I'm just cooking some
dinner.”

“How is Renata doing?” Justin inquired.

“Oh, you know Renata. As indefatigable as
ever. I think she'll outlive us all, and be working on twelve
different community projects as she does it.”

“She's a rock,” Justin agreed, “Karina's
lucky to have her.”

“True. All of Hope Falls is lucky to have
her, when you think about it. So, what were you up to today?”

“Oh, just cleaning out the bunkhouse and
getting it habitable. It brought back a lot of memories of living
there.”

“I bet.” Amanda said, and sitting between
them, making the air electric, was the unspoken memory of the last
time they had been in the bunkhouse together. The last time they
had seen each other at all.

She quickly turned back to the stove and
focused her attention on the chicken sizzling in the pan.

Justin moved behind Amanda, close. So close
that she could feel his ragged breath on her neck and in her hair.
The nearness of him paralyzed her. Her vision swam and her body
felt on fire, and he wasn't even touching her.

“Amanda...” he said, his voice husky with
emotion, with regret. With desire? Was that just wishful thinking
on her part?

“Amanda...” he started again, and then
trailed off again.

Slowly, so slowly that she almost couldn't
tell if she was really doing it or if it were only her imagination,
she turned her face up to his. She could barely breathe. Their
mouths were less than an inch apart, and their eyes were locked on
each other. She felt as if she would melt on the spot, or possibly
explode.

“Yes?” she whispered. With the one small
scrap of awareness of her surroundings that she had left, she
realized that her breathing had grown ragged as well, as if in
answer to Justin's.

“I...” he started, then took a deep breathe
and tried to begin again, “I just...”

And then, displaying a sense of timing so
horrendous that it belied the flawless sense of rhythm she
possessed which was one of the factors which made her a brilliant
musician, Karina called from the front door, “Yoo hoo! We're
home

Amanda drew in her breath sharply as Justin
retreated across the kitchen, but couldn't manage to access her
vocal chords to summon a response. She heard Karina's voice calling
as she came down the hall, “Did you hear me? Lucy, I'm home!” she
hollered in her best Desi Arnaz impersonation.

Amanda looked up as Karina entered the
kitchen and shook her head to clear it, but realized that the truth
of what had just happened must have been written all over her face
when she saw a sly smile spread across Karina's face. “Lucy, you've
got some 'splaining to do,” she grinned, drawing out the
impression.

“What?” Amanda asked, doing her best to
maintain an innocent expression as Lauren and Samantha entered the
kitchen behind Karina.

Other titles by Melanie Shawn

THE HOPE FALLS CHRONICLES

Sweet Reunion
(#1, The Hope Falls Chronicles)