Running Towards Love (13 page)

Authors: Marisa Adams

BOOK: Running Towards Love

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"Thank you," he replied just as quietly, his thumbs caressing her fingers. "Perks of the job." Their faces were inches apart, foreheads almost touching, hearts beating rapidly. Hesitantly, he leaned closer towards her as her eyes began to close.

"Excuse me, Mr. Taylor!" the waiter, exclaimed as he walked around the corner to where they were, causing both of them to jump apart. "I'm so sorry, Mr. Taylor."

“No, that’s okay,” Jason replied, glancing at Rebekah with a look of disappointment in his eyes. “What did you need?”

“I just came in here to bring you dessert.”

“Thank you, you can set it down.” Knowing the moment was lost he turned back to Rebekah. “Will chocolate do?” he asked with a smile.

“How did you know that was my favorite?” she answered, smiling back, walking towards the table. As he pulled out the chair for her to have a seat, he let his hand linger on her back for a second longer than he should have, and shooting chills down her spine.

He sat back down across from her, and they resumed their small talk from earlier. Neither mentioned what almost happened after their dance but the interest was still evident in each of their eyes. She intrigued Jason. He wanted to know more, and he still wanted to know about that ring on her finger. Something told him she could not be some ‘easy woman’ who would cheat on her husband; there had to be something else there. However, something also told him not to push and that she would tell him when she was ready.

Thirty minutes later, they were finished with dessert and ready to leave. Jason was not ready to take her back to the hotel yet, but he did not want to push; he had already talked her into going to dinner with him. Luckily, as he was getting ready to hail a taxi, Rebekah stopped him. “Do you want to take a walk before we go back?” she asked, almost shyly.

“Sure,” he answered, trying not to appear too enthusiastic. He quickly forgot the taxi as they turned to walk down the street, stopping occasionally to look at the different shops.

“I was married for four years,” Rebekah stated, so quietly, Jason almost could not hear her. She glanced up to see if he was listening. He met her gaze and nodded his head, silently telling her to go on with her story. She closed her eyes for a brief moment and took a breath before continuing. “I know that’s a long time for someone as young as me. We were high school sweethearts, and I got married young. As soon as we were married, Steve and I began trying to have a baby. We never succeeded, and we continued trying for a couple of years. Nothing worked, so we finally went to see a specialist. I had countless numbers of tests run, and still the doctors were not able to find anything. They decided to do a simple blood test on both of us to check the Rh factors of our blood; apparently there can be some problem. We waited a week for those results, expecting the doctors to say, once again, they could not find anything. Finally, they called.” Rebekah paused and Jason could tell how difficult it was for her to continue, but he watched her take a deep breath to steady herself, and then continue on with her story. “This time, it was with news we weren’t expecting. Steve was diagnosed with cancer. We fought it, but within a year, he was gone.” She stopped walking. “That was a year ago.”

Nothing was said for a few minutes until Jason finally spoke. “Rebekah, I am so sorry,” he said, truly wanting to take all her pain away. She looked up at him and could see the sincerity of his comment. He did not need to say anything else.

“Thank you,” she whispered. They continued walking in silence for a moment, each lost in their own thoughts. She could not believe she had made it through telling that without crying. It was the first time in a year she had done that. “So, now you know I’m not some cheap woman trying to pick up some famous guy,” she said jokingly, trying to lighten the mood a little.

“Cause of course, that was the impression you gave me from the beginning,” he laughingly played along, knowing what she was trying to do. After a moment, he continued. “Seriously though, if you’d rather go back, I can get a tax…” but she cut him off.

“No!” It was her turn to try and not appear too enthusiastic. “This is probably one of the best nights I’ve had in a long time, and I am not quite ready for it to end yet. Unless you are,” she finished, looking at him.

“Neither am I,” he responded. Smiling at him, she closed her eyes as his fingers brushed a piece of hair behind her ear. It was a simple gesture, one that was meant to put her at ease. However, all it did was quicken both of their heartbeats, leaving each of them secretly longing for more. Pulling apart, they continued on their shopping journey, investigating just about every shop on the street before turning onto a new one, both walking slow in an effort to make the night last longer. They discovered more about each other as they walked, laughing from time to time, enjoying the silence in other moments. Somewhere along the way, Rebekah timidly reached her hand out and entwined her fingers with Jason’s. He didn’t say anything, just gave her hand a soft squeeze, indicating he was comfortable with this too; although for a reason he couldn’t understand, he had this crazy desire to hold more than her hand.

Before long, they realized how late it was. Regretfully, he called a taxi to take her back to the hotel. He knew she had an early day of meetings the next morning, and he didn’t want her to be too tired. Once they arrived at the hotel, he helped her out of the cab and walked her into the lobby. He followed her to her room, and they stood outside her door. Again, she took his hand and held onto it, neither of them sure of what to say.

Finally, Rebekah broke the silence. “Now it’s my turn to say thank you.”

“For what?” he asked, playing with her fingers.

“I had a wonderful time tonight, and I owe it all to you.”

He smiled. “I had a great time too.” Jason paused for a moment, almost too nervous to continue. “Do you…I mean…would you like to have dinner again tomorrow? We could go for another walk. It’s Sunday, so things are a little slower in the city.”

“I would like that, Jason. A lot.” Taking a step towards him, she placed her lips on his cheek and gave him a soft kiss. “Good night, Jason,” she whispered, backing away and opening her door. She turned and looked at him one last time before she shut the door, leaning on it from the inside.

He brought his hand to his cheek, and then to his lips. Sighing, he then touched the door, feeling her presence there. “Good night, Rebekah,” he whispered back, turning to walk to his own room, anticipating what tomorrow would hold.

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