Colters Leagacy 01.5 - Colters Wife

body language for any sign that she meant to flee. He couldn’t blame her for not trusting him, but suddenly it was the most important thing in the world for her to do just that.
    “What do you want?” she asked quietly.
    The shock of her voice floated over him. It was pleasing. An electrical sensation that nipped at his neck and snaked through his body like a river current. He wanted her to talk again. To say his name.
    “I…” What did he want? And how to say it? He laughed softly and shook his head. “You’re going to think I’m nuts.”
    She smiled then and it made her so lovely that he ached.
    “I might already think you’re crazy. You stared at me so funny in the line. I worried I’d somehow made you angry.”
    “No. No, of course not,” he rushed out. “Look, will you go somewhere with me?” At her look of surprise he hurried to amend his statement. “There’s a diner down the street. It’s warm and we can sit and talk there.”
    She gave him a confused look. “But I just ate. So did you.”
    “Do you like coffee? Hot chocolate?”
    “I love hot chocolate,” she said wistfully.
    He latched onto that like a dying man struggling for one more breath. “Then walk with me to the diner. We can have hot chocolate and you can talk to me. What do you say?”
    Puzzlement still shone in her blue eyes. She nibbled at her bottom lip as she clearly couldn’t decide whether to accept or decline.
    “I’m a police officer,” he said. He rummaged in his pocket for his badge. “You’re completely safe with me.”
    She stared at the shield, and he could swear tears flashed for a single moment before she quickly gathered herself.
    “What’s your name?” he asked. “My name is Seth. Seth Colter.”
    “Lily,” she said in a soft voice. “Just Lily.”
    Lily. It suited her. Delicate and beautiful.
    “Well, Just Lily. Will you walk down and have a cup of hot chocolate with me?”
    She took a deep breath. “Okay.”
    Relief coursed through his veins until he thought he was going to crawl out of his skin. He held his hand out to her, unsure of the gesture and how she’d take it. He only knew he had to touch her.
    With a curious look in his direction, she slid her small fingers trustingly into his. He gripped her hand, infusing his warmth into her cold fingers, and then he tugged her back down the alley to the street.
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