Free The Vengeance by Allison Rios

heaven.
    That wasn’t to be, though. She’d met Matthew, catching his blue-eyed glance from across the barn as the music played and enveloped the crowd. She instantly turned her head, feeling the blush arise from behind the skin of her cheeks. He had smiled at her and while many others had done so before, their glances had merely been out of politeness or pity. This was different. She didn’t know him and he had no knowledge of her life before.
    She tried to wait but could not, slowly turning h er blonde curls away and attempting to be nonchalant. Luckily the band was in his direction; she could play it off as watching them. Success was fleeting as she saw that he was still staring in her direction with the biggest blue eyes she had ever seen, his raspberry-lipped smile radiating from cheek to cheek.
    She nearly dropped her glass of soda, stumbling back over a rusted folding chair that she swore had appeared out of nowhere. She was hot, bordering on sweaty , as she pushed her way through the crowd to the barn doors. She hadn’t had a feeling like this since… well, since she met her ex. She felt guilt for the intensity of it, believing that after all she lost she didn’t deserve an ounce of good feelings. She wanted to run but her legs were nearly gelatin, wobbling underneath the coral form-fitting dress she had on. Her mother had made it for her years before, delicately sewing each stitch by hand in perfect formation. She had searched the dress over, time and again, and found not one flaw. She knew the fabric alone must have cost her mother a month’s worth of wages. Her mother had always been amazing in that way, giving everything she had to others.
    As she made it through the rickety white barn doors, she stopped momentarily to catch her breath. She’d gone maybe fifteen feet before her heart had begun pounding like a runner post-marathon, and as loudly as the bass drum on stage. She hesitated as the fear washed over her. The sound was booming and she was grateful for the lively music pumping from the bandstand in the hopes that the tune hid the increasingly loud bump-bump-bump of her heart.
    It was then she felt it. Before she saw him, she felt a docile yet firm hand on her arm and a gentle whisper at her ear.
    “Please don’t leave,” a voice called out.
    She turned her head, the blond waves flurrying behind her from the movement. He was even mo re beautiful up close, his crystal clear eyes a stark contrast to the dark black of his hair. What a stunning disparity, nearly making her knees buckle out from under her. The smile crept across her face even before she realized it and immediately a tiny hand flew up to cover the betrayal of her body against her soul.
    “Don’t cover your smile,” he said softly, leaning in a little closer. “It’s amazing. May I see it again?”
    She lowered her hand, unable to wipe the grin from her face. Her insides were churning, perhaps from anxiety combined with the frustration of having no control over these emotions and body movements. She wanted to stop smiling; her body simply wouldn’t allow her. She began giggling and was instantly horrified; she couldn’t stop!
    “You should smile more,” the deep voice said. “The way your lips curve up makes the whole room feel a little warmer.”
    She could feel the warm blushing sensation double and she looked away, her body still frozen to the spot where her pink-heeled feet stood.
    “Would you like to dance?” he asked, attempting his most gentlemanly voice.
    As his free hand extended towards the lively dance floor centered in the barn, she noted the lines of his forearms. Muscular and strong. They’d probably feel amazing wrapped around her.
    She stopped the thought, the blush now burned onto her cheeks. Surely, she thought, she looked as though she were on fire. She put her hand to her face and felt the heat escaping from her skin. The fear must have been evident as Matthew addressed her concern.
    “I like the pink,”