The Executioner: A Love Story Read Online Free PDF

“I have bottled water,” she offered as she took one out of her fridge.
    “That’s fine,” he said, and opened it to take a sip. He forced a smile.
    “I don’t have any soda,” she apologized. “I don’t drink it.”
    “No, this is fine,” he insisted, and took another sip. “I just don’t drink much water.” He frowned. He couldn’t hide his emotions at all.
    “I won’t mind if you want to go get your soda.” She smiled brightly. “Go ahead, it’s fine.”
    He hurried out the door, and in less than two minutes he was back with two cans of soda. She dished out two plates full of pasta, and gave each a roll. They ate quietly, listening to soft music.
    “This is really good,” he said after he finished.
    “Do you want more? There’s plenty.” She stood to refill her glass, and filled his plate again.
    “Where is your sister?” It was an innocent question. She turned away from him and quickly finished her glass of wine. “It’s just that you use the past tense when you talk about her.”
    “She died.” Florian turned toward him and stared into his earth brown eyes. Did she want to tell him the truth about her life? Did she want to open up to him?
    He waited patiently for her to continue. Until her stare dropped to the floor and her hand went to her cheek to wipe away a tear. And then he was on his feet and beside her in seconds. He wrapped his arm around her shoulder and led her to her couch. “Do you want to talk about it?”
    “No not really.” She said it, but she didn’t mean it. She very much wanted to talk about it. And she wanted to talk about it with Jordan. “I can’t,” she wanted to say. But the sobs took over, and tears poured down her cheeks.
    He hurried to her bathroom and grabbed some toilet tissue and carried it back to her. He gently wiped her eyes and cheeks. She buried her face in his shirt, not worrying about the eye make-up that was sure to stain it. He wrapped his arm around her shoulder and held her closer, not moving until she calmed down and stopped sobbing.
    “Do you want to come over to my place? We can watch the third episode of your favorite show.”
    His soothing voice made it impossible for her to say no. “Sometimes when I start crying like that I go for a run,” she told him as she stood up.
    “I see you running a lot.” He paused for a moment and thought. “And I hear you crying in your bed.”
    “Okay, I don’t cry every time I run, and I don’t run every time I cry.” She tried not to smile. “I’m sorry I got make-up all over your shirt.”
    “Don’t worry about it, I’ll use stain remover.” He didn’t even look down at the wet spot. “If you would rather go running, that’s fine.” His bottom lip protruded in a slight pout. He didn’t realize he did it, she assumed, which made it even more endearing. “I don’t run.”
    “No, it’s fine,” she insisted. “You can make me some more hot chocolate, and I’ll go right to sleep again.” She smiled brightly, teasing him. He nodded, which made her smile even wider. “Let me just clean up here and I’ll be right over.”
    “I can help,” he offered. He placed the salad and the pasta in the fridge, without commenting on how she had nothing at all in it. She was going to scrape the plates down the garbage disposal, but he took the serving she’d just placed on his place and put it in a plastic bowl. “For tomorrow,” he said.
    He was smart, practical, sensitive, caring, and adorable. She wondered why it took so long for her to get to know him.
    They cleaned everything up and put the dishes in the dishwasher. “I’m going to change out of this and be over in a bit.” She looked down at her cute leopard print jumpsuit. It wasn’t the right type of outfit for lying on the sofa and watching TV.
    “You look really pretty, by the way.” He said it shyly, then hurried out the door. She smiled as she changed. But her smile turned to a frown when she heard her phone beep, and