All I Want is You (Hearts on Fire Book 1) Read Online Free PDF Page A

to anyone about her childhood since she lived with her grandmother, someone she knew she could trust not to judge her.  But she wants to tell Jake.  Wants to trust him with her past, no matter how dark, no matter how much it hurt her.
    “Certain things,” she says.  “I remember up to a point, but then it’s like someone suddenly shut my vision off for a period of time….  There’s a missing piece.  I may never be able to remember.”
    “Isn’t that good?” Jake asks, but then adds, “I mean, not remembering something that was presumably hurtful?”
    “I don't know,” she says.  “They tell me it’s like the shock soldiers experience after war.”
    “PTSD?” Jake asks.
    “Yeah, but I really want to remember.  It gnaws at me constantly.  I have pieces… parts… but not a whole picture.   I can’t let it go….”
    “Do you think you might be able to figure it out, the missing part?”
    “I have to….  I’ve been seeing a memory expert.  He thinks we’re making progress.  It’s just so hard.  Everything else in my life is clear.  Not always great, but clear.  It’s just one block of time… one I was too young to have any control over.”
    “I’m sure you'll figure it out sooner or later,” Jake offers.  
    “Maybe, but my story in The City Lit totally depends on it.  I don't think I can leave that piece, whatever it was, out.”
    “There are avenues around that,” Jake says.  “Editors can help.”
    “Yeah, but I don't see how an editor will help me remember any more than a memory expert.”
    “It's not the remembering an editor can help with, it's more the craft… the creative side.”
    “I don't know, Jake.  I’m not sure I want to write things that didn’t happen.  It’s a true story, remember?”
    “Give it a little time.  It’ll come together.  Maybe you should bring your story over to the The Review. ”
    WHOA.  He publishes The Review?   That’s only the best literary critique on the entire East coast.  Forget The City Lit .
    “I’d love to talk about that.  I think right now though, I just need to get back into my apartment, get things back to normal….”
    “I’m going to fix that, remember?” Jake asks.
    “I know you said that, but I don’t know how I’m going to repay you, so the problem isn’t really going to go away.”
    They reach the west side park exit, cross the street and enter Ellie’s apartment building.  
    “I’ll probably stay with Naomi tonight,” Ellie says while they wait for the elevator.  
    It’s more of a suggestion— offered for challenge— than a statement, but Jake doesn’t take the bait.  
    The elevator bell rings.  
    Her eyes glance at the floor indicator, then back at Jake.   
    “It’s not the money I want,” he flashes a wry grin.
    Ellie’s expression goes blank.  “What is it then, Jake?”  
    The door opens to an empty car and Jake steps inside.   
    He extends his hand toward Ellie.
    His eyes wide, his full lips part to speak.  
    “Get in,” he says.  “There’s something I want you to do for me.”
     
    ***
     
    Ellie’s heart races.  She wants to step forward, but somehow her legs won’t work.  She shifts her stance instead, tucks a tuft of hair behind her ear.  Suddenly, she’s overwhelmed— her face glowing like a hot iron.
    Earlier today, all she wanted to do was figure out a way to pay her rent.  Now, she stands in front of the gorgeous— no, beyond gorgeous— Jake Harlow, and he wants something from her.
    Their eyes lock on each other.  
    The corners of Jake’s lips edge up.  His fingers gesture— without even a hint of impatience in the rest of his demeanor— for Ellie to step into the elevator car.  “Take my hand,” he commands.
    Ellie’s mind eases, disarmed by his confidence.  The rest of her body is a different story— his full, moist lips make her quiver with desire.  A guy like him could take her places she’s never been, never imagined.   Come