Nita looked away, sliding her hand over Jenna’s sleek, dappled neck. Silence stretched between them. Heathcliffe’s heart pounded with dread in his chest.

     Finally she said, “I’ll never lie to you, Heathcliffe. I want only honesty between us.” She looked at him as if waiting for him to agree, so he nodded. “I was planning on running that day.” When he closed his eyes against the pain she hurried on, “I didn’t want Max to hurt you.”

     “So what you said in the note was true? You didn’t want to be with me?”

      She stepped closer, reached for his face, and slipped a silky fingertip along his jaw. “I always want to be with you, Heathcliffe. Always. I just didn’t know any other way to keep you safe.”

      He took a deep breath, nodding. A lead weight lifted off his chest. “Okay. Good. I always want to be with you too.”

     She smiled and Heathcliffe gave in to the urge to kiss her. As their lips touched, the kiss slammed over him with its usual power. He pulled her close and allowed the kiss to deepen, feeling as if his world had finally settled on its axis.

     When she pulled away she tapped him on the nose. “Now stop delaying, Honeybun. You promised.”