Page 49 of My Heart Still Beats

---

“Is that the only reason?”

“What if it isn’t?” he asks, his gaze meeting mine. “Does it matter, as long as my heart was in the right place?”

His dark eyes are so warm and inviting.

When a warm breeze drifts over my skin, I feel something.

I feel something familiar yet foreign.

I like this man.

I like him a lot.

I like him more than I should.

I’m not sure I can ever even have sex again.

I’m certainly not there yet.

Certainly not when the idea of his pinky touching mine makes me flinch.

But Ben makes mewantto heal. He makes me want to want those things again.

And while that should scare the hell out of me—and it does—part of me also relishes the thought.

Part of me…

I grab his pinky.

The feel of his finger on mine doesn’t scare me, doesn’t make me flinch.

BecauseIchose to do it. Ichoseto do it. The power is mine.

He cocks his head once more. “Is this okay?”

“It’s okay.”

Then we turn, neither of us saying a word, our pinkies still entwined, and we continue walking along the shoreline.

Chapter Fourteen

Ben

I meet Braden the next morning for breakfast and a cold plunge.

The cold plunge first.

He and I started this ritual after we made our first million. It’s forced meditation.

Because when you’re submerged in icy-cold water—I prefer fifty-five degrees, which isn’t exactly icy cold, but it sure feels that way—all you can think about is not freezing your ass off.

You focus on your breaths—in and out and in and out—keeping them slow and steady.

No other thought enters your mind, so yes, it’s forced meditation.

When you live the life that Braden and I live—running a billionaire company that employs thousands of people who depend on you to be your best every day—your mind is always going.

I know mine is. The cold plunge has helped me through some difficult times. Those demons I’ve mentioned to Tessa, to name a few.

---