Cross My Heart (A Contemporary Romance Novel)

talked about everything. Of course, almost from the moment he’d met her, he’d told Jenna things he’d never told anyone else. But now he found himself telling her darker things, things he’d almost forgotten himself. He told her about the first time he’d lost a patient. He told her about his childhood. And he talked about Claire, his fears and uncertainties about being a father.
    She always made him feel better, just by listening. And her perspective on things was so unique, so different from his...she always gave him something new to think about.
    He’d never shared any of that stuff with Angela. He’d never leaned on her for anything. He’d wanted to be her knight in shining armor, to give her a life free from worry or doubt. He’d been afraid that if he let her see his weaknesses, it might undermine her confidence in him.
    He was starting to realize now that in his desire to protect Angela, he’d kept her from being a real partner in their marriage.
    It was ironic that Jenna was teaching him what a relationship between equals was like, considering that his feelings for her were more primitive and possessive than anything he’d ever felt in his life. But he also trusted her. She knew his strengths and his weaknesses, just as he knew hers.
    Of course none of that would stop Jenna from leaving him. But he’d known that from the beginning, and somehow he’d find a way to accept it.
    Because he had to.
     

 
    Chapter Eleven
    The days slipped past too quickly. Jenna wished she could hang on to each moment, the days filled with music and teaching and the nights filled with Michael. She started resenting the need for sleep, staying awake one night to watch him sleep, instead—the way he’d watched her their first night together.
    But no matter how hard she tried to slow the passing of time, the last day arrived anyway. Summer camp was over, and Claire was flying in tomorrow morning. As thrilled as Jenna was that Michael’s daughter was coming back, she couldn’t help but feel an ache of regret that her time with him would soon be over.
    It was early afternoon and she was sitting on her patio with a book. After getting half a dozen new songs sketched out in the last ten days, she actually needed a break from music.
    But she didn’t need a break from Michael. The truth was, she wasn’t ready for things between them to end.
    Their plan had been to get their desire for each other out of their systems. To let the fire between them burn out.
    In her case, at least, the plan was a miserable failure. Not only was she more attracted to him than ever, but she’d discovered more pleasure in his company than she’d ever felt with anyone.
    After that first day, they’d fallen into the habit of working together in the evenings when Michael was home—he on the computer and she on the guitar. There was something effortlessly harmonious about pursuing their separate projects in each other’s company. Her creativity seemed to flow more freely when he was around, as though his quiet presence stimulated her. And he’d told her once that he always seemed to get twice as much done at her place, even though he never lasted more than a couple of hours before scooping her up and carrying her off to bed.
    She loved their time in bed, too—not just the sex, although that was incredible, but also the hours they spent talking. She was still amazed at how easily they talked to each other, considering how unlike they were in so many ways. But behind the differences in their childhoods and temperaments and careers, there was a deeper affinity that made those differences seem to fit together, like puzzle pieces. She loved putting half-formed ideas in front of him and letting his clear-headed, scientific mind go to work on them...and he seemed equally stimulated by her more intuitive, non-linear approach.
    When she thought about all the ways she enjoyed being with him, about the different layers of intimacy that had opened up between them, it was hard to think about being just friends again.
    But Claire was coming back. She wouldn’t feel right seeing Michael secretly, without telling his daughter—and she wouldn’t feel right telling Claire about their relationship, either, knowing that she was leaving so soon.
    Unless, of course, she stayed.
    It wasn’t the first time that thought had occurred to her. But every time she got to that point, she reminded herself that parts of her nature would always pull her away from