Free A Kiss and a Cuddle by Sophie Sloane Page B

he fell in love with her when he painted her
portrait over 40 years ago?  And he painted her portrait every year after until
she was taken from us.  I think he feels guilty for the way that the media
hounded her and made her feel unsafe.  I know he will never forgive himself for
not being with her to protect her that night,” he said gently and sadly.  “Now
I know the importance of finding the right girl, treating her well, and not
letting her slip away.”
    “Yes,
that is good,” I said softly and squeezed his hand.  “There must be an intense
pressure for an heir like you to choose the right girl to marry.”
    “You
don’t know the half of it,” he said.  “Especially since I am over 30 years old
now,” he sighed.  “Anyway, listen to me blathering on.  Tell me about your
parents.”
    “Oh,
there isn’t much to say,” I said shyly.  This was a topic that I didn’t
normally talk about.  This was one of the doors inside of me that I liked to
keep closed.  Rex, however, had been completely open and honest with me, and I
felt like we had developed a bond.  With his troubled past, I knew that he
would understand my story.  “My mom still lives in San Antonio, and I talk to
her every day,” I smiled.  “My dad… well, I haven’t seen him since I was six
years old,” I said cautiously.
    “That
is a shame,” Rex replied.  “He is missing out on one very special girl.”  He
squeezed my hand.
    “It’s
okay now.  I try not to think about it.  If anything, it has made me and my mom
closer, and it helped me dive into music and find my true passion.”  I didn’t
want to seem overly dramatic, even though I was still hurt by it.  He had
experienced worse tragedies than me.
    “It
still is really hard to lose a parent like that, Rose.  It’s okay if you still
feel upset by it,” he said kindly.  “It is remarkable that you have been able
to look on the bright side and put your energy into something as beautiful as
your music.”  He looked at me with his kind blue eyes, and I smiled.
    “I
don’t normally talk about these things,” I admitted. “I find it hard sometimes
to let people in and trust them.  But I feel like I could share my life stories
with you.”
    “I
feel like I could share my life with you,” he quickly replied, and I snuggled
further into his chest.  He sure knew how to make me feel special.  It was hard
to believe that a week ago, I thought he was a spoiled, pompous, and arrogant
twit, and now I knew he was a kind-hearted, caring, and romantic gentleman.  I
looked up and met his eyes.  I wondered if he could also feel the warm electric
current between us.  I thought he might kiss me then, but he didn’t, and that
was fine too.  When you meet the right person, there was absolutely no need to
rush when there was no end in sight.

SIXTEEN
    I
woke up the next morning to texts from my mom, Derek, and Rex.
    My
mom texted: “How is everything coming together for your album release?”
    Derek
texted: “Did you enjoy the show last night?”
    Rex
texted: “Can I take you for dinner tonight?”
    I
sat up in bed and tucked my duvet to the side of my body.  Time to reply to the
early morning text interrogation.
    I
replied to my mom: “It’s going great, Ma!  I have another radio interview in a
few days to promote the show, and I wrote the lyrics to my last song.  I
finished recording it last week.  Can’t wait to see you at my show!”
    To
Derek: “It was an amazing show!  Your best performance yet.”
    To
Rex: “Sure.”
    I
always read that it was best to text as little as possible to guys you like. 
When they asked you out, you should only reply with “Sure”, rather than listing
all the dates and times you were available.  Let him ask.  Let him chase.  He
wanted to.
    I
thought it would be nice to go for dinner with Rex.  I wanted to ask questions
to get to know him better.  Besides our chat on the bench last night, it seemed
like we were just