Finding Forever (Living Again #4) Read Online Free Page A

his mouth to respond, but he found that words failed him. She hadn’t been wearing much makeup earlier when he saw her, but now, her face was scrubbed clean, her eyes red-rimmed and swollen. In his line of work, he saw women with so much makeup and so many fake parts, the natural beauty rolling off of her was enough to knock the breath out of him. “I…” He scrubbed his hands over his face, willing himself to stop acting like an idiot. “This is Max’s favorite place. We come here all the time. I couldn’t go home without him.”
    He stepped forward, and she eyed him warily. Before he could stop himself, he reached his hands out and grasped her small hands in his large ones. He could feel her quivering. “Are you okay?”
    Lacey looked away, over his shoulder, as if she was thinking about how much she wanted to tell him. He could understand that. “Fourteen years ago today, my mom died. She was my best friend.” Tears invaded her eyes again. He knew that wasn’t easy for her to say to him, a virtual stranger. She pulled one of her hands away from his and covered her mouth. “Why did I just tell you that? It’s not like you care. I’ll be fine.” She turned, and he put his hands on her shoulders before he could stop himself.
    “Of course I care,” Brant said into her ear. “I’m sorry doesn’t seem like the right words, because that just means I pity you. I know enough to know that isn’t what anyone in pain wants.”
    He felt her relax just slightly at his words, so he knew he must’ve said something right. “So, fourteen years? You must’ve been young.”
    She turned her head, her eyes meeting his. “I was twelve. She had breast cancer that spread.” He was right, she was around his age. He wanted to ask her a million different questions, but knew this was not the time.
    Brant couldn’t empathize, he had never known anyone closely that had cancer, but he could only imagine how hard it would be to have to deal with such a difficult thing as a child. “Who’s Aubrey?”
    She looked back over his shoulder, then back at him. “My little sister. She’s supposed to be meeting me here, but she must be late.” She pulled away from his touch and wrapped her arms around herself. “T-thanks, but I’ll be okay. And I need to find out where Aubrey is.”
    He knew a dismissal when he saw one, and he wasn’t in the business of pushing beautiful women. He smiled, wondering why he wanted to stay. “Thanks again for taking care of Max today. I’ll see you tomorrow at the office.” She nodded, and he turned to walk away.
    As he moved away from her, he saw what could only be her sister walking briskly towards her, two bouquets of flowers in her hand. She resembled Lacey, with the same dark hair and light eyes, but he didn’t feel the same pull towards her. She was petite, while Lacey was tall, and Lacey’s curves couldn’t be hidden by her scrubs or the jeans she was wearing.
    Aubrey glanced at him as he walked past her, but said nothing, her eyes back on her sister. He stopped a safe distance away and watched the sisters embrace, then saw the unmistakable signs of crying, both of their shoulders shaking as they held onto each other.
    “Happy Birthday, Lacey,” Aubrey finally choked out, handing her one of the bouquets. “I got you and mom matching flowers.”
    It was her birthday? Her mom had died on her birthday? His heart clutched. As if losing your parent as a kid wasn’t bad enough, now every year she had to mourn her own birthday? Dr. Lacey Russell was twenty-six years old today, if his math was correct.
    He couldn’t explain the urge he had to walk back to the two women, wrap Lacey in his arms, and tell her that her mom would’ve wanted her to celebrate her birthday. He wondered how many years it had been since she had done anything for herself on this day, and vowed that when he saw her tomorrow, he would make her feel special, whether she wanted it or not. He decided not to overthink his