Page 47 of My Heart Still Beats

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I gaze outward, and then I gaze at Tessa.

And I think I may have found something more beautiful than this breathtaking Jamaican sunset.

Chapter Thirteen

Tessa

Something’s happening in my hand. My fingers are tingling, but for once it’s not from nerves.

Except it is, in a different way.

And I recognize it.

I recognize it from something the old Tessa used to feel when she was attracted to a man.

Tingles starting in my fingers. Tingles that made me smile, giggle, flirt.

This Tessa doesn’t smile, giggle, or flirt.

Still, the tingles are there.

Part of me wants to step closer to Ben, maybe grab his pinky with mine, feel his warmth as he entwines it around my own.

Part of me is scared to death of that prospect.

I stop walking, turn, and look at the ocean.

It’s so beautiful, a sparkling dark blue as the sun sets.

I take a drink of my water, and I look at Ben. The soft ocean breeze drifts over his hair, messing it up.

And if possible, he’s even more handsome.

This is a man who is equally at home in a suit and tie as he is in trunks and a T-shirt, walking along the beach.

“You okay?” he asks.

“Yeah, why?”

“You stopped walking.”

I turn and meet his gaze. His dark eyes are so beautiful and searching. “I wanted to look at the ocean. I’ve always loved it. It’s so vast. Its beauty is unequaled, especially right at sunset. If we stay here and just watch, we’ll be able to see the very last edge of the sun go beneath the horizon. Beneath the waterline.”

“It is gorgeous,” he says. “But it’s not as beautiful as the woman watching it.”

The tingles in my fingers again.

Ben stands beside me, gazing out at the ocean with me.

Again, my pinky itches to grab his.

Such a tiny tender touch, and I want it.

But I’m afraid to want it.

What if my body reacts in a bad way? What if the fear overpowers the desire?

It’s too soon.

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