Love Everlasting (Isle of Hope series Book 2) Read Online Free PDF Page A

saying it too loudly.
    She stared at her plate, no longer seeing the omelet for the awful memories that assaulted her mind. Swallowing hard, she slowly met his gaze, stunned that he’d picked up on what she’d worked so hard to hide, especially with a brain muddled by alcohol. Her rib cage constricted when she saw raw compassion in bleary eyes so tender, they sparked a sharp sting of tears at the back of her lids. “The worst,” she whispered, quickly returning her focus to her food in the hope he would do the same, “which is why I gave up dating.” Head bent, she silently nibbled at her omelet, grateful he let it go, as if sensing her need to distance herself from the subject. They ate in companionable silence, and she was surprised at how relaxed and natural it felt, as if he, too, were lost in the sins of his past.
    When they finished, she rose to take her empty plate to the sink, anxious to steer the conversation away from her. Inhaling deeply, she reclaimed her seat and zeroed in on him with a jut of her chin. “ So , Dr. Cunningham, since I’m not the one who drank herself into a stupor tonight, let’s trade couches, shall we?” Her gaze softened as she folded her arms on the table, recalling Jack’s concerns over how miserable he felt Sam was despite his ever-jovial demeanor. A man who, in his endless pursuit of love and approval, Jack suspected, buried his pain in laughter and tease.
    Just like I bury mine by being quiet and shy.
    “Jack told me about Jasmine,” she said gently, heart wincing at the flicker of pain that crossed his features. “And I ache for you, Sam, because I know how hard it can be when a relationship is over.”
    His Adam’s apple ducked as he abandoned his fork for his cup, pushing away from the table to sag back in his chair. “It is, as we both obviously know, but it’s far from over for me, I can tell you that,” he said without a trace of a slur, the determination in his eyes obviously sharpening his focus and tongue. “From the moment I laid eyes on her, it’s like the woman possessed my soul, convincing me she was the one.” His mouth banked to the right. “Now I just have to convince her. Again .”
    He set his cup down and leaned in with arms on the table like her, a glint of steel glittering in those coffee-brown eyes. “Never been a quitter, Shannon, and I sure don’t intend to start now. She’ll have her fling with this new guy, and I’ll have plenty of my own, but when she’s ready” —he dipped his head in emphasis, penetrating her with a bloodshot stare— “and she will be sooner or later—she’ll be back.” He raised his coffee cup in a mock toast. “And I’ll be ready because it’s the dance that we do, until she finally figures out I’m the guy that she needs.”
    “Why?” She reached for a piece of cinnamon toast and nibbled the edge.
    He frowned, dark brows digging low. “Why? Why what?”
    She sat back to settle in, casually hugging one arm to her waist while she nipped at her toast, curious as to why Jasmine possessed him so. It was a mystery she’d had to solve herself with Eric in order to heal and discover who she really was. And although it was no mystery what Sam or any man saw in Jasmine—she was beautiful, smart, and the wealthy daughter of Sam’s and Jack’s boss—Shannon suspected Sam had never truly scratched the surface of “why.” Never delved into the deep, dark recesses of his soul where the truth lay buried, just waiting to be revealed.
    Like mine.
    With a pensive crunch of her toast, she chewed slowly. “Why is she ‘the one’ for you and why are you the ‘guy she needs’?” Wrinkling her nose, she took another bite, smile skewed as she studied him. “And why, in the name of love, would you even consider a ‘fling’ with anyone else if Jasmine ‘possesses’ your soul?”
    Ruddy color crept into his cheeks as he offered a casual smile, leaning back with a muscled arm over the chair, as if just shooting