Chances (Mystic Nights #1)(31)

As Jonathan watched her from the darkness, he thought she never looked more beautiful. She was truly radiant while she was dancing. It was in that moment he realized he was falling for her. Yes, the attraction was there. It was blazing hot. But even watching a movie with her had been an eye opening experience. He never felt so at peace than when he was with her. Thoughts of work, stress, and life just slipped away.

She was engrossed in performing several of the moves he had seen her perform individually, putting it all together. She was incredibly graceful and elegant as she performed a difficult jump into the air. Stunning. He watched her run to her tattered notepad, pick it up, and scribble a few more lines down. She’d repeated the process several times until she had worked for nearly thirty minutes and perfected the dance she was choreographing to her satisfaction.

When she shut the notebook and stuffed it into her backpack, he knew she was preparing to leave. It was then he made his presence known. He clapped. Just for her. He hadn’t wanted to startle her, but heard her gasp softly.

She peered into the dark theatre and though she couldn’t see him clearly, she recognized his form, even in a suit. It was his shoulders. Amazing. “Jonathan?” she asked tentatively, to be sure, though she doubted very much it could be anyone else.

“Yes, it’s me,” he stated softly as he began to move. She heard him approaching and soon he stood in the light from the stage. He simply took her breath away, and not just because she found him incredibly handsome, but because he was seeping into her heart more and more. She quickly scrambled to the edge of the stage and jumped down effortlessly into his waiting arms.

Despite her rough morning, she forgot everything else in his presence. Caring for this man, falling for him, had happened so fast. And if what she suspected was true, about her condition, she didn’t know how that would effect them. For now, she kept that concern to herself. She wanted to be sure before she made any decision.

She knew she was falling in love with the man, but it had been barely two months since their first encounter. She still had no clue how he was feeling about them. When he took her into his arms wordlessly, she succumbed to his lips on hers and was lost in the moment. She was going to take what she could for now. Enjoy it while it lasted. He licked the seam of her lips and she opened for him wrapping her arms tightly around him until he lifted her like she was nothing and seated her on the edge of the stage and stood between her open legs which she wrapped around his torso. He groaned his pleasure. And she felt the same way.

“Mmm, I could really get used to this,” he murmured against her cheek inhaling her, enjoying being close to her this way.

“I feel the same way, Jonathan. Is this crazy?” she asked, afraid to express her feelings, but wanted to know if he was feeling the same way. She knew it was a loaded question and didn’t want to pry, or push.

“No.” He kissed her neck. “It’s not. It’s perfect.” Jonathan touched her forehead with his and looked deeply into her eyes. He saw something there. A soul mate. He knew he wanted this woman in his life. The silence stretched between them and they both laughed awkwardly, still touching forehead to forehead.

Aliya broke the silence. She wanted this man to know her. All of her. Know what he was getting into before they took it to the next level. If they were to make it, he had to know the truth. “I was engaged once. I ended it.” Her words came out unsteadily. She wasn’t sure how to begin.

Not expecting those words, but sensing she was trying to tell him something, he encouraged her to go on. “The past is the past, Aliya. I heard something about that. But I don’t judge people by the past. The present speaks for itself.”

She took in his words. He must know some of it already, she assumed. But she wanted to be sure he knew the truth, and that it came from her. “I don’t want any secrets between us.”

He saw her eyes looked sad, and he gave her a slight encouraging nod. “Okay. No secrets.” Again he waited. She was tensing up and so he stroked her arms. “There has never been a woman I have wanted to spend more than a night or two with until you, Aliya.” Saying it out loud sounded silly, but he wanted her to know he cared about her. He sensed that was what she needed in order to open up.

“No dark secrets. No one from the past?”

He shook his head in the negative. “Nobody.” He was telling the truth. Yes, there had been plenty of women, girls in college, but all had been fleeting. All had known he wasn’t interested in more than sex.

She swallowed hard. Though his words had been meant to lessen her worries and fears, it had the opposite effect on Aliya. This made it harder to tell him what she wanted him to know.

He saw her eyes shining. A lone tear slipped down her cheek.

“Hey, hey, now, what’s this?” He wiped the tear away with the pad of his thumb. “We are beginning to care for each other. A lot, I suspect. I told you the past does not matter.” He heard her sniffle. He stayed patient.

“I do care, Jonathan. A lot. And that is why I want to tell you something I did. Something about my past. I don’t want to fall in love and then you find out from someone else, and can’t handle it.” There. She said it. She couldn’t turn back.

Jonathan let out a sigh. He knew her story, well, some of it. He suspected she was talking about the rumors about her having an abortion. He wanted to ease her fears and tell her it did not bother him, it was her body, her choice. He could see she was struggling with her decision to tell him. This was hard for her. It pained him to see her so distraught. So he told her some of what he knew so her secret wouldn’t seem so overwhelming. “Darling. I know you were engaged. To a detective. I know you ended it. I know you went to Vegas to pursue your dancing career, and I have heard the rumors of you having an abortion. Lantern Hill, sadly, is a small town, and well, secrets are hard to keep here.”