Free Debra Webb - In His Touch Box Set (Here To Stay, Up Close, Tempting Trace, Basic Instincts) by Debra Webb

thick lashes. “Robert told me you’d already married someone else.” Paige pulled herself free of his relaxed hold. “My father told me I should have expected it...I shouldn’t have trusted you”
    Nathan’s mind whirled. He moved his head from side to side in denial. She couldn’t believe that. Paige drew in a sharp breath, drawing his attention back to her confused eyes. Tears streamed down her cheeks. This just couldn’t be. All these years.
    “Paige, I didn’t even meet her until a month after you left. I waited, hoped, even prayed that you would come back. When you didn’t, I lost control and married the first woman who showed interest. I thought I could forget you.”
    “But...” Paige shook her head and backed away a step. “You weren’t already engaged when we...?” Her questioning gaze locked on his.
    “No,” he answered her unfinished question. The past that should have been flashed before his eyes as he stood there looking at Paige. Nathan felt as if a twister had ripped through him, leaving a gaping hole where his soul used to be. She was all he ever wanted and his stupid pride had taken her from him. She had come for him and he had already made the mistake that would ruin both their lives.
    “All this time, I thought you...” Paige’s expression cluttered with confusion.
    Nathan’s whole body grieved. His heart dropped into his boots. Pride had kept him from calling her or going to Memphis to get her immediately after she had left. When she didn’t come back, he had sought revenge. He had ruined their lives. He took a tentative step toward her. Her eyes filled with the same pain and regret he felt. Nathan reached out and caressed her cheek. He tried to tell her with his eyes what he couldn’t find the words to say. He slid his arms around her and pulled her close. She fit perfectly against him, as she always had. Her cheek against his chest, his chin against her soft hair. Her warm body soothed the deep, dark ache inside him.
    Paige clung to Nathan, cried softly into his shirt. He pressed his lips to her hair. “Shh, don’t cry,” he whispered. “It’s over now. We can...We can still be friends.” At least they could have that. Nathan felt Paige tense in his arms. She tilted her tear-stained face up to his. Her sweet lips entirely too close... too inviting.
    “Do you mean that? We can forget the past and try to be friends?”
    He smiled. She was so beautiful. If she would still accept his friendship, it was hers. She never had to know the truth—that he would go to his grave loving her. “Yes. I’d like that.”
    She smiled then. “I’m so glad, Nathan. There’s so much I need to tell you.”
    He pressed her cheek against his chest and squeezed her tight. “Let’s not talk anymore right now. There will be time later.” She nodded against him. He couldn’t deal with anything else right now.
    Nathan felt some sense of relief that Paige seemed so happy, but somehow he didn’t feel happy at all.
    ~*~
    Paige fumbled through the dark, trying to find her way down the stairs. The storm had knocked the power out. She shivered. She hated the dark. She wasn’t really afraid. Not really, she reminded herself. It was just the idea of not being able to turn the lights on. She had never slept with a nightlight or anything like that, not even as a child. But she often awoke in the middle of the night and turned the bedside lamp on just to make sure she could send away the darkness if she chose to.
    Paige felt her way into the kitchen and opened one drawer at a time, carefully examining and identifying the contents by touch. There had to be a candle or flashlight around here someplace. Lightning flashed, temporarily illuminating the room. A boom of thunder followed a few seconds later. She hated storms, too.
    She had gone to bed over an hour ago, but couldn’t sleep. Her mind reeled with all that had happened. She and Nathan were actually going to try to be friends. Paige had been