Finding Destiny (11 page)

He tossed his
coffee cup in the garbage and moseyed over to the table. Even if he
was annoyed, he didn’t have anything better to do, and he could
certainly use a diversion from his own tangled thoughts.

“Would you
care to get something for the lovely woman in your life?”

He looked over
each of his shoulders, as though he might find his beauty standing
next to him. That wasn’t going to happen. She didn’t even know his
whole name.

He didn’t know
how he found it in him, but he chuckled; laughing as his own
stupidity. Skylar actually thought he had found himself a woman.
She had opened his heart and he had opened his arms to her, in such
a short time. And what does he get in return?

He was a
misfortunate soul, and to have a woman like Destiny in his life
would be too much of a blessing for him. She deserved a better
chance at life.

“Unfortunately,” Skylar admitted to the saleslady, “there is no
woman in my life.”

The young
woman looked up, but it was like she was staring right through him.
“Is that right? Then I wonder who that woman is across the room
shooting daggers at me.”

When Destiny
entered the trauma centre, she had gone against everything she had
ever believed in. Yes, Destiny Sanders wanted strings; the very
ones that had initially terrified Skylar. She never had even an
inkling of a care for strings in the past either, but with Skylar
she wanted to be strapped down in a bad way.

What if he
was hoping she wouldn’t find him?
Her anxieties had tried
coaxing her to turn back many times on her long trip, but she had
made it this far. There was no turning back now.

After meeting
Skylar’s mother, she was certain she was doing the right thing.
Destiny rushed toward the cafeteria, hoping to catch Skylar before
he took off. The steady click of her heels settled her nerves and
encouraged her to keep walking, even though her weak knees were
testing her balance.

When she
turned the corner, she was stunned to find Skylar so easily. She
couldn’t forget those broad shoulders, even if she wanted to. He
had his hands tucked in his coat pockets, and he seemed agitated,
rocking back and forth, resting his weight on one foot then the
other.

What she
hadn’t expected was to find him chatting with a young woman next to
a table filled with Valentine’s gifts. The woman was selling the
dream that Destiny was never allowed to sample. Her stomach lurched
at the thought that maybe she wasn’t the only one sharing his bed.
Had she truly believed she had captured his heart over such a short
stretch of time?

Destiny
watched the way the woman devoured Skylar’s sturdy posture and
stunning eyes, and she wanted to smack that flirty pout right off
her face. When the woman flashed a glance at her, she could’ve
ripped her heart out and fed it to her for breakfast. But then
Skylar slanted his head to have a look, and suddenly her heart was
in her throat, beating wildly with hope.

When Skylar
turned back to the girl, Destiny thought she might throw up, but
her feet were glued to the floor and she couldn’t tear her eyes
away. Maybe he hadn’t recognized her.

Then she saw
him reaching for a bundle of flowers and wondered who they were
for. She gulped when Skylar threw some money on the table and
glanced up at her. Then he didn’t look away as he approached with
steady feet. He stopped when he was a matter of steps away and
stared her down with those sexy eyes. She had failed to remember
how beautifully dark his lashes were, but she hadn’t forgotten the
curve of those lips. The expression on his face was blank, not
giving her any indication of what he was thinking.

“Are those for
your mother?” Destiny asked. She couldn’t believe how shallow she
sounded, but she was desperate to know whether her trip had been a
waste.

“No.”

She waited for
him to elaborate, but he didn’t.
Were they for his
girlfriend?
Her heart sunk in her chest at the thought, but
they hadn’t even discussed whether he was otherwise engaged. She
tried not to let the disappointment show on her face. Instead, she
nodded her head, as it became very awkward for her.

“Funny,
running into you here.”

Skylar smiled,
and Destiny felt it in her gut. “How did you find me?”

“It wasn’t
easy.”

“It really
doesn’t matter.” His voice was so stark, she wondered if he meant
for her to leave.

“I should
probably go. I just wanted to see if Matty was okay. I didn’t mean
to intrude.”

Skylar titled
his head and gazed into her eyes, melting her into a puddle at his
feet. “But you came all this way. And I haven’t even had the chance
to give you your flowers.” When Skylar reached the roses out to
her, Destiny’s tears started to fall.

Dropping the
flowers, Skylar crushed her in his arms. “I thought I’d never see
you again.”

“I know,” she
whispered.

Skylar backed
away from their embrace, and clutched her face in both his hands.
“How did you know this is what I wanted?”

His kiss was
so fiery and passionate, she had to press her hands against his
chest to make sure he was real. When she came up for air, she
sighed, admitting that coming here today was the right move.
Noticing how their public affection was making everyone around them
uncomfortable, Destiny smiled. Then she went up on her tippy toes
and took another kiss, because it felt that good to be touched by
him.

“Have you
heard any news? Your mother was with a doctor when I left her.”

Skylar picked
up her flowers, placed them in the crook of her arm and pulled her
back to the trauma ward with him.

“Sky!” his
mother shrieked, as they approached his parents.

“Is it Matty?”
Skylar clung to Destiny’s hand like it were his lifeline.

“He’s stable.
They said he’s going to make it!”

Skylar smiled
at his mother and lifted Destiny up, nearly throwing her into the
air. Then he slowly lowered her down until she dropped onto his
lips for a celebratory kiss.

His father
cleared his throat, suggesting they save it for later, but Skylar
continued to kiss her, ignoring everyone else in the room. When he
smiled at her, it was like his lips were caressing her heart. And
when he stole another kiss, she knew he liked her back. That was
all she could have hoped for. He was giving them a chance.

Skylar lowered
her to the floor, still smiling, and swept her bangs aside with a
gentle hand. He plucked a long-stemmed rose from her bouquet and
held it out to her. She couldn’t believe how terribly romantic it
was.

“Happy
Valentine’s Day, sweetheart.”

When Skylar walked
Destiny out to her car, he focused on the length of her legs in
that short designer dress and the click of her boots on the salty
pavement. The emergency parking lot was filled with vehicles, as
Destiny searched for her car. They stayed silent the entire walk,
but their hands were latched together with a death grip. It felt to
him like she had parked on the other side of the world.

Her steps were
slow and practiced, making him wonder if she was hating this moment
as much as he was. He had convinced her to spend the night at the
hospital with him and they were both sleepy, with depression
lingering on the other side of goodbye. He felt like he could hold
it together as long as he had her in his arms, but when she was
gone, he just didn’t know.

Destiny
cleared her throat. “Now’s probably a good time to exchange
numbers.”

Skylar had
been avoiding this conversation all weekend, but he knew it had to
happen. She had kept quiet overnight, giving him a chance to
reminisce a little about his good times with Matty. It didn’t
really make him feel all that better, with his brother unconscious
in a hospital bed, near death, and Destiny could see that. She had
sat on his lap and they cuddled for a long while, both secretly
mourning their short-lived relationship together.

Destiny had
filled the silence over breakfast with warm chatter about her
friends and it was a nice relief for him. Just hearing her voice
settled his nerves. That realization had his knees knocking. He
didn’t want her to go.

But what did
he expect? He hadn’t even put any thought to where she lived.
Regardless, did he really believe that she was going to drop
everything and stay with him?
A man could dream.

Having Destiny
by his side and in his bed every morning would be a nice change of
pace for him. But what man would suggest such a crazy idea to a
woman he doesn’t even know?

“This is me,”
Destiny said, cutting Skylar out of his own thoughts.

Skylar
collected Destiny’s small hand into his and pulled her closer. She
curled her arms under his and latched onto him for a hug that
battled for his undying love. Then she reached into his pocket and
snatched up his phone.

“You’re going
to call me, mister.”

Her attempt at
lightening the mood was appreciated, but it didn’t work. He scooped
the phone out of her hand and pressed in the password before
handing it back to her. She managed to get her name and number into
the contacts on his phone, but the anxiety rummaging through his
stomach remained unchanged.

“This has been
a pretty wild weekend. I don’t expect I’ll be forgetting about you
any time soon,” he admitted, wanting to give her a piece of his
heart to take with her.

She nudged his
arm, then settled against his chest. “I sure hope not.”

Skylar swept
his hand over her hair and squeezed her against him tighter. He
dreamt that if he held on tight enough she would have to stay with
him. Then he returned to real life to sort out their reality.

“I live about
45 minutes north of here, in Lyndon Cove. I hope that’s not going
to be a problem.”

Her visible
shudder told him he had said the wrong thing. From the direction
she had been travelling with her friends, he had figured she lived
in the opposite direction from him.

“It took me
over four hours to get here,” Destiny admitted. “I live a good two
hours south of your cabin.”

Skylar rested
his chin on top of her head and closed his eyes.
How could they
ever make that work?

Destiny was
ready to have a mental breakdown. She had wanted this relationship
to work so bad, but that wouldn’t make it real. She didn’t have
much hope for a long distance relationship, but she would do it if
it meant having a chance at a future with Skylar.

When she
looked up into those warm translucent eyes, she melted into them.
He could have said anything and she would have agreed with him in
that moment. She had already felt starved of his love, craving a
skin against skin connection that she was sure she couldn’t again
have. Her hands were starting to seize up from the cold, as he
clutched her in his arms. Then he cupped her cheeks in both of his
hands and delivered a long, loving kiss.

Skylar
whispered in her ear with a soft growl. “I need more of this in my
life.”

And Destiny
imagined being brave enough to add, “I need more of you.”

He pressed her
back against her car and kissed her again, her hormones screaming
yes, despite the fresh snowfall wetting her hair.

“Why don’t we
get in? We can chat more in there.”

“Chat?” he
asked.

She knew then
that he wanted exactly what she needed.

Destiny let
herself in the car and started it, as Skylar rounded the front and
settled into the seat next to her. He looked like an ogre in her
small car. It made her smile. He reached under the seat for a
handle and backed the seat all the way up, to accommodate his long,
thick legs, as she pulled off her leather gloves. Then he took her
hand in his and tugged on it.