Dancing in the Moonlight - Harlequin.com

240 DANCING IN THE MOONLIGHT
She met his hot, glittering gaze and felt stunned,
breathless, as if she’d just taken a hard punch to the gut.
She didn’t know what to say, what to think. He
couldn’t love her!
She suddenly wanted distance from him, if only to
give herself room to think. But with her prosthesis off,
she was effectively trapped. Her crutches were still
down in his SUV, she remembered. And since she didn’t
relish the idea of hopping across the room to the chair,
she could do nothing but wrap her robe more tightly
around her.
“How can you?” she finally asked. “I’ve been miserable
to you and to everyone else since I’ve been back
to Pine Gulch. I’ve been so mean and contrary and confrontational,
I can’t even stand to be around myself most
of the time!”
His smile was rueful. “I almost hate to admit this,
because you’ll think I’m crazy, but I even love that about
you, too. I know it’s only one of your coping methods.”
She gazed at him, her thoughts whirling. A bright and
hopeful joy fluttered inside her like a trapped bird trying
to break free, but she was afraid to let it go, terrified of
her own insecurities.
She was so afraid to believe him, afraid to let
herself trust.
“You could say something,” he said after her silence
dragged on. “You don’t need to leave me hanging here,
flapping in the wind.”
“What do you want me to say?” she asked, vying for
time.
A muscle tightened in his jaw, and she thought she