Dark Masterpiece (Serendipity Series 3) (29 page)

He smiled and lifted her chin with his
finger. He gazed down into her eyes and kissed her with gentleness.
When he pulled away, he touched her cheek, then turned back to the
photo album and began the journey through his past.

It was strange to revisit his storybook
wedding. It seemed like so long ago… In another lifetime, really.
He supposed that’s what it was. A page in history and nothing more.
There had been times, right after the divorce, when he’d stared at
the pictures for hours, recalling every detail so as to never
forget the way she felt, the way she smelled. Now, they were only
fleeting memories. It was painful to remember, but no longer
devastating. It was a dull ache brought about by the memory of such
a bitter betrayal and heartbreak, but it was not her that he
missed.

When Traevyn turned the last page, he felt a
sense of relief come over him. He’d made it through. He still
lived. It seemed less painful somehow. Maybe it was because he had
confronted his demons. Maybe it was because Evie was there, still
holding his hand. For whatever reason, he felt a little freer than
he had before. He closed the book and ran his hand over the back
cover, saying a silent goodbye to the life he once knew.

He sighed. “So, what did you think?”

“You had a lovely wedding, Traevyn,” she
replied, her tone flat.

He smiled. She sounded very unconvincing. He
was sure that looking at pictures of him and his ex-wife was about
as fun for her as it was for him. He reached out to absently play
with her hair. “How would you want your wedding?” he asked. “Have
you thought about it before?”

“Thought about it?” She giggled, some of the
tension in her voice dissipating. “I’ve fantasized until my brain
hurt.”

His smile turned into a grin. “Tell me.”

“I always wanted to get married at
night.”

He raised his eyebrows. “At night?”

She nodded. “Outside somewhere with lots of
torches and Japanese paper lanterns. I don’t know. Something about
the soft glow seems so romantic. All the tables lit by
candles…”

“That sounds beautiful, Evie.” He didn’t
tell her that he had secretly always wanted a nighttime wedding as
well. Amy would never have gone for that. She was very traditional.
She would have thought he’d lost his mind.

With dread, he got back to the task at hand.
He set the wedding album aside, exposing Leanna’s baby book. He
stared at it for a moment, and his fingers trembled as he opened
the cover. He was blasted by a picture of her as a newborn and a
dried wildflower slipped out of the fold and down the page. The air
slammed out of his lungs as the memory assaulted him. She had
picked him that flower. The three of them had been walking and
she’d run ahead. She’d given it to him along with a huge hug…

He squeezed his eyes shut, feeling sick to
his stomach. Images of her barraged him, followed by the terrible
scene of her little body falling under the wheels of that truck. He
started to shake uncontrollably. “I can’t do this,” he rasped.

Evie took the book off of his lap and set it
aside. She stood to wrap her arms around him and cradled his head
to her chest. “You need to let it out, Traevyn,” she soothed. “It’s
okay. I’m with you. You’re not alone. It’s okay to miss her. It’s
okay to cry.”

His body shook as he fought for control. He
had cried in front of Evie before, but he had never completely lost
it in front of anyone. He hadn’t cried at her funeral. For a solid
two weeks he had remained in bed afterward, his tears a never
ending flood, but he had always been by himself. He hadn’t cried in
front of his brothers. Not like he wanted to now. Not the
body-wracking sobs that were threatening to choke him.

“Traevyn.”

Her voice was so soft, so loving. He forced
himself to meet her eyes. She caressed her fingers across his face,
tracing the lines. “Trust me,” she pleaded. “Trust me enough to let
me see your grief. Trust me with the burden you have always carried
alone. Trust me enough to let me in the darkest shadow of your
heart. If you don‘t, you will never be whole. You‘ll never heal.
You‘ll always be broken.”

He stared at her for a moment before
grabbing the book and turning it to the back page where a picture
of Leanna right before she had died resided. One of her smiling as
her golden hair curled around her face to make her look like a
cherub. “This was my little girl,” he choked out. “This was my
life. My heart doesn’t beat like it used to anymore. The sunlight
is dulled. I ache inside every day of my life and I fear it will
never go away.” He clutched the book to his chest as a sob was torn
from his throat. He hung his head and let himself cry. He opened
the last recess of his soul for her, let her see the ugly, black
pain that he carried within him. The sorrow, the guilt, the
emptiness.

He let it out as he let her in and, as she
held him to her, running her fingers softly through his hair, a
kind of calm overcame him. It came with knowing he did not bear the
weight of his burden alone. He had someone to lean on, rely on.
Trust. He had someone he could trust with the darkest part of him.
That was something he’d never thought he would have.

As the worst of the sobs abated, he let out
a shuddering breath. “I miss her so much, Evie,” he whispered.

She pulled back and smoothed his hair, wiped
his tears. “Tell me about her,” she coaxed. “What was she
like?”

A pained smile twisted his lips as he began
to tell Evie about Leanna. He spoke about her love for life, her
laugh, how she loved to dance, her favorite color, favorite animal,
favorite food. He found pictures in the book to coincide with his
stories. He laughed, he cried, but most importantly, he remembered.
He remembered Leanna for what she was. He remembered her life and
not just her death. For hours he spilled his memories of her, not
running from the pain they brought, not fearing tears. He let the
emotions come and flow through him, accepted them, and continued
on.

At the end of it all, he was exhausted, but
strangely at peace. He turned the last page of the baby book,
realizing he’d made it through. He expelled an enormous sigh and
closed it. He felt Evie’s hand rubbing his back in consolation, and
he gave a meager smile. The ever-present ache in his heart was
still there. It always would be, but it didn’t feel like a piercing
knife anymore. He hadn’t realized that half the reason he’d hurt so
much was because he’d never talked to anyone, never shared himself.
He’d held everything inside and let it eat at him like a cancer for
years.

“Are you all right?”

He closed his eyes. Her soft voice again.
His anchor. His light. He nodded slowly and turned his head to look
at her. “I might need to have more talks about this in the
future.”

She gave him a gentle smile and caressed his
face. “That’s fine, Traevyn. You can talk to me whenever you want.
That’s how we heal.”

He bent to rest his forehead against hers and
sighed. “My little apprentice,” he said. “She is so wise. You came
here so I could teach you about art, but you have taught me about
life. I am the real student.”

She took his face in her hands and kissed
his forehead. “When it comes to life, we are all students.”

He met her eyes, then lowered his lips to
hers in a slow, tender kiss. He relished the feel of her supple
lips. A knock on the door interrupted them and they pulled away
from one another. Traevyn’s eyes lingered on Evie’s, saying a
hundred different things.

“Uh…guys?” Seth’s voice
came. “I don’t mean to interrupt whatever it is you’re doing,
but…I’m
starving!
” He wailed the last part.

Evie laughed and rolled her eyes. “Heaven
forbid he make something for himself.”

Traevyn shook his head. “Unthinkable.”

She stood. “I’d better go make
something.”

He followed as she started for the door and
took her hand. “I’ll help you.”

She grinned and they headed downstairs
together. As they reached the kitchen, Evie started to pull things
out and hummed softly to herself. Traevyn went to her and enfolded
her in his arms, holding her tight.

She blinked in surprise and tried to give
him a questioning look when he pulled away, but she didn’t get a
chance. His lips met hers with blinding passion and he kissed her
deep and thorough, pressing her to him and tangling his fingers in
her hair. She clutched at the front of his shirt as he continued to
dominate her mouth and her legs started to feel wobbly. This was
the kind of kiss she had only ever dreamed about, the kind of kiss
she’d never thought she would be on the receiving end of. She felt
like he was trying to devour her very soul.

One of his hands cupped her cheek and the
other one snaked around her back. He explored her mouth to his
heart’s content, running his hand along the luscious curve of her
hip. He backed her up against the island in the kitchen and turned
his attention to her neck.

Any kind of coherent thought that might have
been hanging on in Evie’s mind fled. She couldn’t focus on anything
save Traevyn’s lips and heated kisses. She sighed in pleasure and
leaned back, offering him free reign to do and go wherever he
wanted. She couldn’t have stopped him if she’d wanted to… And she
definitely didn’t want to.

Her elbow hit the edge of a plate and sent
it crashing to the floor. Neither of them paid it any attention.
She slipped her hands underneath his shirt and ran her fingers
lightly up his sides, then back down, grazing his skin with her
fingernails. He drew in a sharp breath and moved his lips back to
her mouth.

“Evie, are you all right?” Seth called from
the living room. “I heard something— holy crap!” He spun away from
the doorway as soon as he entered. “I’m blind!”

Traevyn managed to separate himself from Evie
for a moment to shoot Seth’s retreating form an amused look.

Evie put her hand over her heart, as if doing
so might still the pounding. “Seth,” she breathed. She cleared her
throat. “We were just…uh…making dinner.”

Seth made a strangled sound and threw his
arms in the air wildly. “La, la, la la!” he shouted as he all but
fled back into the living room.

Traevyn chuckled and met Evie’s eyes with a
devilish twinkle in his own.

Evie arched an eyebrow. “I think I’d better
make dinner alone.”

He gave her a playful pout. “You don’t want
to do that.” He slipped his arm around her waist again and pulled
her up against his body. “Do you?” He pressed his hips suggestively
against her.

Evie’s throat went dry and her head swam.
No, she didn’t want to make dinner alone. She didn’t want to make
dinner at all. She wanted to go back upstairs. His eyes seemed to
hold all sorts of hidden promises and she desperately wanted to
explore all of them.

He ran his hand down the length of her hair
and his face grew serious. “Thank you for making me feel alive
again, Evie. All you have done…” He shook his head. “Words don’t
exist to express my gratitude.”

She sighed, resting her head against his
chest. Suddenly, a great reverberating ring filled the house and
Evie lifted her head with a frown as Traevyn clenched his
teeth.

Seth came into the kitchen carrying the gong
mallet. “Star—va—tion,” he stated.

Evie rolled her eyes and
pulled away from Traevyn. “You know what?” she muttered. She opened
the refrigerator door and pulled out a carrot. She handed it to
Seth. “Enjoy.” She took Traevyn’s hand and started to lead him out.
“Come on, we’re going
out
to dinner.”

Seth stared forlornly at the carrot. He
looked up at Evie. “No way, come on! Traevyn did the exact same
thing to me with a banana!”

She grinned and couldn’t help herself. “I
really don’t need to know what you did with Traevyn’s banana,
Seth.” He made a strangled noise and Traevyn shoved her lightly
with a halfhearted scowl. She giggled.

“Come on, guys!” Seth cried.

She grabbed her keys and a light jacket and
headed for the front door. “See ya later.” They both disappeared
out the door, leaving Seth standing there in dismay with his
produce.

Chapter Twenty-Three

Traevyn awoke as if something had startled
him, but he didn’t know what. He frowned as he stared up at the
ceiling, letting his eyes adjust to the darkness. He heard the
waves in the distance, pounding out their soothing rhythm, but they
refused to calm him tonight for reasons that he couldn’t place. He
tried to remember if he had been dreaming and he immediately
thought that it had to have been about Leanna or Amy. Why else
would he have awoken so suddenly with a fine sheen of perspiration
across his skin?

A vision of Evie flashed before his eyes and
he blinked. Evie… Had he been dreaming about her? The memory of
their passionate kisses in the kitchen invaded his thoughts. His
heart started to pound at the recollection of her soft lips against
his, her beautiful body beneath his hands…

He swallowed painfully and sat up, shaking
his head. His hair fell over his shoulder in a half-braided mess
and he frowned. What had happened to his hair tie? He raked his
fingers through it in irritation and flung it back behind him,
contemplating hacking it all off for a moment. It was too heavy and
too hot.

No, he couldn’t do that. He loved his long
hair, and so did Evie. He thought of how she tangled her fingers in
it when they kissed, how gently she brushed and braided it…

With a frustrated growl, Traevyn stood and
paced for a few restless moments. She was plaguing him. He couldn’t
get her out of his mind. It had to have been in the low forties and
his body felt like it was on fire. He felt like he was back in
Arizona. He sighed. He needed a glass of water. That would
help.