Heart of Stone - Book 1: Fighting Fate

After the incident with the pervert and Stone nearly starting a fight, Aubree wasn’t interested in rollercoasters or the Ferris Wheel. She had enough excitement for one day and wanted to get her blazer and go back home.

It was more than that, though. Aubree was beyond confused now. She tried to pretend that nothing happened between her and Stone at the quiet end of the mall. She wanted to believe that nothing happened, but it was clear that something did and she didn’t know what to make of it or how to feel about it.

She decided that the best thing to do was to avoid Stone and tell Gwen that she couldn’t see him anymore, over-protective or not. He freaked her out and made her uncomfortable.

Of course, if she had known beforehand that Stone was her creepy stalker and Gwen’s brother, she would have asked Gwen not to let him come at all.

Oh well. What’s done is done, she thought as she unlocked the door to her and Dan’s apartment. She got her blazer for work tomorrow and that was all that mattered.

“I’m home,” she called out as she opened the door and stepped in.

Dan was nowhere to be found.

She sighed, feeling tired. Figures. She came home early, and he was out.

Setting her purse down on the end table by the door, she pulled out her cell phone and sent Dan a text letting him know she was home.

She didn’t have to wait long for him to respond. Her phone chimed as she took her shoes off.

Dan: OK. Wasn’t expecting you back early. Have fun?

With a slight shake of her head, she huffed. She would have had fun if Stone hadn’t been there.

Aubree: Kinda. Gwen’s brother tagged along and was an ass. So much for girl-time.

She massaged her temples as she sat down on the couch in the living room.

Dan: That sucks babe. Did you bring some food home for dinner?

Smacking herself in the forehead, she realized that she completely forgot about dinner. Growling, she typed furiously on her phone. Stupid Stone.

Aubree: Sorry hun. Completely forgot.

Still fuming, she picked up the remote and clicked the TV on in hopes of it distracting her enough to get her mind off Stone and the way he leaned into her, dominating her. The way his breath blew against her hair, sending tingles up her spine. The way his fingers traced her jawline...

The chiming of her phone snapped her back to reality and she grabbed it with her heart beating rapidly within.

Dan: No prob. I’ll grab something on my way home.

She sighed in relief. Thank goodness Dan was sweet and reliable. What would she ever do without him? Not like that jerk with the strange name.

Dan made her feel comfortable, not on edge. She felt she could be herself without holding back, whereas with Stone she had to tread softly, as if any small movement might set him off. Dan’s eyes looked on her with love and affection, not intense and hostile.

She chewed on a nail, thinking about how the few times she managed to even look him in the eye, she could feel something deeper there. Something within those depths pulled on her heart and drew her in when all she wanted to do was run far away from him. It was as if something within her was stirring, waking up from a long winter’s nap, and she was only now just rubbing the sleep from her eyes.

Groaning, she turned the TV off when she couldn’t find anything good enough to keep her mind off Stone. She grabbed the book she started reading yesterday instead, certain that that would prove to be a better distraction.

When it succeeded, if only a little bit, she was relieved when Dan came home a couple of hours later with dinner.

They wasted no time in setting the table and loading their plates up with food.

It turned out that one of his friends needed his help at his house, so he had gone over there to give him a hand.

He asked her about her time at the mall, but she shrugged, not wanting to think about it now that he was there.

There was one thing that suddenly popped in her mind that she hesitated to bring up. She had been thinking about it since Gwen first mentioned it and had chewed on it for a bit, but now she wondered if it was the best time to ask him about it.

“Dan, do you think we’re soulmates?”

He peaked an eyebrow at her with his mouth full of Szechwan beef. He chewed and swallowed. “Soulmates?”

“Yeah.” She felt a little shy bringing it up now.

He shrugged, looking a touch uncomfortable with the subject. “Sure, I guess. I mean, if soulmates exist, how would you know someone’s your soulmate?”

Aubree didn’t know. “I was just thinking about it because Gwen brought it up. Said her parents were soulmates before her mother passed.”

A small smile spread across his face in understanding. “Ah, I see now where this soulmate business is coming from. Gwen believes in it because her parents claimed they were soulmates.”

He took a sip of water from his glass as Aubree considered his words. When she didn’t say anything, he leaned forward in his seat and gathered her hands in his in the middle of the bistro table.

“Bree, I’m sure if soulmates exist, you would be mine. I’ve never felt more attracted and more in love with anyone as I have with you. I know I’m not perfect and sometimes I can be a jerk, but I’m only human. You’ve accepted my faults and that’s more than any guy can ask for.”

Aubree, moved by his confession, was speechless. His words were perfect but the moment had not been. She chided herself for bringing it up over dinner at home with take-out Chinese food. If she had been smarter, she would have brought it up over a nice, candle-lit dinner at a fancy restaurant or something equally romantic. Instead, she ruined what could have been the perfect romantic moment every young girl dreamed of.

And he had Szechwan sauce on his blushing cheek.

Her face heated up as he brushed his thumb over her knuckles.

“When did you get so sentimental?” she asked.

His lips pulled back in a smirk. “I always had it in me, just never knew when to bring it up.”

He brought her hand up to his lips and kissed it. “You taste like Szechwan.”

She rolled her eyes at him. “Way to kill the moment.”

“Just saying.”

“Well, you have sauce on your cheek.”

He went to wipe it with a paper napkin, making Aubree chuckle.

“You really are something, aren’t you?” she asked.

“Yup. Glad you finally realized it,” he replied with a cheeky grin.

She shook her head in amusement. “Oh, I’ve known for some time. I didn’t put up with a long-distance relationship for two and a half years for nothing.”

“Same here,” Dan said. “Have you any idea how many office girls draped themselves on my desk? If it weren’t for the picture I have of you there, I don’t think they would have given up.”

“That’s because you’re such a charmer.”

“Hey, that’s just for you.”

“It better be,” Aubree teased.

When they finished their meal and got up to rinse their dishes off, Dan gave her a peck on the cheek and whispered, “I love you.”

Her stomach fluttered before her heart twisted in what could only be described as bittersweet, for Stone’s face once again flashed before her eyes and made her breath hitch in her throat.