Goddess Legacy: Goddess Series Book 1 (8 page)

“Slowly works for me,” she said with a half-smile, keeping her hand in her lap.

He moved his hand across her cheek to beside her ear and then slowly slid it down her jaw before dropping it from her face. He finally unlocked her from his gaze, looking down at her hand that he’d been holding all evening. “Slowly,” he murmured, but it seemed as if he were directing that to himself rather than to her. He looked back at her eyes and smiled. “We should probably get going.”

He released her hand after she nodded and picked up the platter to put it in the basket. Then he hesitated and put it right in front of her. “Would you like some more before I put this away?”

Knowing she was already beyond stuffed, she took a couple of the small mints and said, “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” he said smiling, a little more relaxed.

He put the platter in the basket, and she picked up the glasses and handed them to him. Partly because she wanted to help, but mostly because she knew she wouldn’t be able to drink more if he’d offered.

They both stood up, and he folded the blanket and placed it over his arm. He picked up the basket with the same hand, and placed his free hand on the small of her back. They walked over to his car, and he opened the door for her before putting the items in his trunk. After he started the car and got on the main road, he reached over to hold her hand again.

The ride to her house was pleasant. She glanced at him often, and she could feel him doing the same. They were both smiling. Every now and then, he’d rub his thumb on the side of her hand. But neither of them said much, so she spent the time going back over the evening in her head. She never wanted to forget even one detail.

Suddenly, she considered what might happen once they got back to her house. She was surprised she hadn’t thought about this possibility when she was thinking about all those previously forbidden possibilities. Was Adin going to kiss her tonight? She felt new nerves in the pit of her stomach. She tried not to think about it but then felt Adin rub his thumb on her hand again. It was as if he were trying to soothe her worries. Maybe he’d been thinking about this already and that was why he’d been rubbing her hand periodically. Maybe he was trying to soothe his worries too. Regardless, she was immediately pleased she had eaten a couple of the mints before he’d put the platter away.

Adin pulled into her driveway and walked around to her side to open her door. He guided her while they walked to her porch. This walk seemed to take forever, yet it was over
way
too quickly.

Once they were standing in front of the door, she looked at him. His eyes were gentle, and she feared hers were panicked. Luckily, she didn’t see that reflection in his.

“I’ve had a lovely time with you this evening,” he whispered.

“Thank you. It was better than I could have ever imagined,” she said as she felt her body trembling.

“Me too.” He looked down.

She was lost in her own thoughts trying to read his. She couldn’t help but wonder if he’d decided which way he was going to go. Kiss or no kiss? She knew she would soon find out.

Unable to speak, she smiled a shyly and placed her hand gently on his chest. That was a mistake. Now she could feel how hard his heart was beating, and it was beating much faster than hers. It was crashing into her hand, and she watched as his gentle eyes turned intense at her touch. Realizing she was holding her breath, she exhaled slowly, but was unable to remove her hand or look away from him. He slid one hand onto her cheek, and she took an unsteady breath. Her heart was now beating just as fast and as hard as his was.

Adin took a step closer so that their bodies were touching—just barely touching—and tilted her head up in his direction. He placed his arm around her lower back, pulling her tighter against him while he leaned his head down toward her. He slowly placed his cheek against hers, holding her face against his. She no longer needed her hand on his chest to know his heart was racing. They were so close to each other that they could both hear and feel each other’s hearts beating.

“I can do this slowly,” he breathed.

Her breathing came much too fast and shallow. She started to feel faint. She put her free hand around his back to stabilize herself. She didn’t want anything embarrassing to ruin the moment. Although, he was holding her so tightly that he probably wouldn’t have noticed.

She slid her other hand up from his chest to the side of his neck. His breathing became ragged, and she started to feel weak. She didn’t want him to let go of her, but she didn’t know how much longer her heart could stand this.

“Legacy,” he breathed as if he were in disbelief she was actually in his arms. Then he shifted his head and slowly brushed his lips down her cheekbone. A shiver went up her spine, and she felt his knees buckle slightly—she wasn’t the only one fighting weakness. He stopped in the middle of her cheek and kissed her there, pressing his lips gently against her skin and then pulling away to lean his forehead against hers.

They stood there for several seconds feeling each other’s heart beating and listening to their breaths slowing. And she knew he was trying to maintain his hold on the whole
going slowly
concept.

Then he let go of her face and put that arm around her neck to hug her. Her hand went from the side of his neck to around the back of it, caressing it slowly at his hairline. They held their embrace for several more seconds, and then with a final squeeze, he released her. After he stepped back and they slowly slid their hands off each other, he took both her hands into his.

“I’ll see you when I get back,” he said with a soft smile, and leaned in to kiss her forehead before meeting her gaze again.

“Have fun.”

He let go of one hand first as his body turned away from her. He kept his eyes on her as long as he could, then turned his head and slipped his other hand free as he walked away.

She stood on the porch watching him leave. Once he was in his car, she could see his face again. He had a glow that she’d never seen before tonight, a glow she was sure she shared.

She turned to walk into the house, inhaling his lingering scent, and knew this was a night she’d never forget.

* * * * *

The wind had howled all night. Legacy had tossed and turned, but luckily, no dreams had plagued her. After the strange dream she’d woken up to yesterday, she was pleasantly surprised that this morning wasn’t a repeat. She didn’t need that kind of drama before starting her new job.

She got up and put on some khaki pants, a short-sleeved white blouse, and some comfy slip-on shoes. She figured she needed to dress up, but the light colors and breathable material would keep her cool and comfortable since she really had no idea what her work would entail.

She walked down the stairs and into the kitchen. Lissa had already left for work, but she left a note on the refrigerator stating she would be working late and she would have to fend for herself at dinner. This happened often, so it wasn’t going to be problem. She quickly ate some cereal and cleaned up her dishes, so she wouldn’t have to do it when she got back home. She grabbed her purse, keys, and paperwork and headed to her new job.

When she got there, she walked in and saw River standing against the counter.

With everything that had happened, she’d sort of forgotten about him. Calli must not be too obsessed with him since she hadn’t brought him back up after they left here Saturday. Maybe she was just being the true friend she was by letting Legacy talk about her own problems and squeal about Adin without any other distractions. Calli had even been forced into an hours-long conversation about her date as soon as she’d gotten home last night. Legacy would need to make sure she made this up to her friend by getting the skinny on River.

And as for the guy in question, he still looked gorgeous. On Saturday, he’d been wearing casual clothes. Today he wore slacks and a fitted collared shirt, which made her feel better about her own clothing choices.

“Good morning.” He smiled at her as she walked toward him.

“Good morning to you too.”

He looked at her with a strange expression. It reminded her of when she saw him as she was leaving here on Saturday. He had a similar expression then. Odd.

“How was your weekend?” he asked, his face returning back to a smile.

“Interesting, and yours?”

“Interesting works for me too,” he responded cryptically.

He just stood there staring at her. She wasn’t sure what to make of his demeanor. Then she laughed nervously and looked away from his gazing eyes.

“Interesting, indeed,” he whispered, but it seemed like he was whispering to himself.

She tossed her hair over her shoulder and casually looked back at him. He continued to stare at her with a polite smile on his face, but his eyes were intense and full of questions. She didn’t understand his behavior, but for some reason, he rubbed her the wrong way. Part of her felt like snapping at him, asking him what his deal was, but he was the boss’s son and all. That would not be appropriate behavior on her first day. Not if she wanted to keep this job. Besides, she needed him to confide in her for Calli’s benefit. She couldn’t scare him off with a tirade, no matter how justified she felt it was at this moment.

Or maybe he was just shy and didn’t know how to articulate himself.

Legacy needed to focus. She couldn’t stand here and let him stare at her all day. She figured Ms. Gorgos wouldn’t think too kindly of her if she continued to stand here like an idiot on the clock.

“Er, where is Ms. Gorgos? I need to turn in my paperwork and find out what she needs me to do.”

River continued to stare at her, saying nothing. His gaze—before irritating—was now intimidating her.

“I-I’ll take these to her office,” she said as an excuse to walk away from him.

He wasn’t having that. “I’ll take those. She’s not here, and the office is locked,” he said as he reached his hand out to take the papers without releasing her from his stare.

“Okay,” she said as she handed him the paperwork. “What do I need to do?”

Again, he just stared at her. His eyes were hard, cold. Their emerald green color from Saturday seemed more forest green today.

“Are you going to answer me, or are we just going to stand here all day?” She tried to sound rude, but sounded more like a scared child.

He shifted his weight to his left leg and looked down. His features relaxed. He shot his eyes up at her again with a soft, apologetic look on his face. He looked back down to the floor before he started speaking. “I’m sorry. I just didn’t…” He trailed off. His gaze shot back to her and was penetrating, his smile fading.

“What?” she asked, hoping to avoid a repeat of his silent gazing.

He shook his head as if he were trying to clear it and smiled at her again. “I’m sorry, really. I’m just surprised. I didn’t expect,” he said, shaking his head again. “You look just like her.”

His reply caught her by surprise. He looked away from her because now she was the one staring, but her eyes were not cold, they were wide.

“Who?” she murmured, trying to meet his gaze.

He slowly looked at her again, but this time, his eyes were as confused as hers. “Dora,” he whispered.

She felt her knees wobble. They stood there looking at each other, both with a ton of questions in each other’s eyes. He was the first one to speak. “Are you all right?”

She couldn’t remember how to speak. She needed to think about what he just told her. She felt a wave of emotions come over her, and she knew she would have to remember how to move her tongue.

“How,” she started, still in shock and not really knowing what to say to him or how to get it out. “How do you know my mom?” She stepped closer to River. His body seemed frozen, but his confused eyes traced her every move. He took a deep breath and looked as if he were preparing to answer her question, but ignored it and asked her one instead.

“What are you talking about?”

“You said I look just like Dora. How do you know her?”

“I don’t.” He was being evasive.

“You know something,” she insisted as she stepped closer.

He stumbled as he took a step back, still staring, unable to speak.

“Say something!”

“Umm…I…don’t understand.” And she realized he truly meant that.

“Tell me what you know.”

River looked at her beseechingly. Then he shook his head. “I’m sorry. I honestly didn’t know you were her daughter.”

Her spine tingled. Why did this new guy know anything about her mother? “What do you know?”

“Everything,” he whispered. “I know you’ll be a goddess. And you’re going to hate me for the truth.”

Chapter Five

“No,” Legacy breathed.
No freakin’ way. No way!

“Yes,” River said, nodding. “I don’t know how much you already know—”

Yale walked hurriedly through the front door.

“Sorry I’m late. I overslept,” Yale said as she quickly put on her nametag and unlocked her cash register.

River looked at her. “No problem, my mom’s not here yet, but you should probably hurry up and count your drawer. I think she’ll be here any minute.”

“Sure. Thanks!” she responded as she quickly counted the money and entered the information on a form that she pulled out from underneath the register.

River looked back at Legacy. “We should get your nametag,” he said as he led the way to the break area. If he thought this was the end of their conversation, he was sorely mistaken.

He fumbled around in a drawer and pulled out a readymade nametag. “Here, put this on.” His hands were shaking. She took the nametag and put it on her shirt. He was watching out the window on the door of the break room and spoke through hurried whispers. “I know you want answers, but now’s not the time. My mom will be here any minute.”

“No, tell me what you know,” she whispered heatedly.

Just then, the front door of the store opened and Ms. Gorgos walked in.

“Later,” he said, and walked back into the lobby. She followed behind, reluctant to drop this conversation for now, but determined to get all the information she could out of him later as he’d promised.