Another flash of recognition sped through her mind. It’s him, her thoughts whispered through the fog of arousal. And she wanted to know who he was. What else he could do for her. What he’d feel like inside her. What he would unleash within her.

The last time someone had laid out a suit and a pair of dress shoes with a ticket purchased for a faraway place, Henry had refused to go.This time, Henry refused to stay.

Sometime during high school he’d gotten . . . Kind of . . . Beautiful, and Harper found it easier to not look directly at him. When she did, it did strange things to her, making her voice high and her cheeks burn. So she only ever really looked at him out of the corner of her eyes, like one would look at a solar eclipse.

Have you ever met someone and felt like you’ve known them forever?

It was her. No one had eyes like that. Eyes as pure as the sky on a fresh, wintery morning. Ones that sucked him in and refused to let go. No one had her touch. Feather light and warm. A touch that sizzled his insides and brought him to his knees.And no one had that pure, simple, cherry-vanilla scent. The sweetness that was only her, like she was a dessert made just for him. To lick, nibble, and enjoy.

A smile curled the corner of Xavier’s mouth. “You didn’t think I would let her walk out of my arms without knowing I would see her again soon, did you?”Bryant shrugged. “Well, no. I guess not. What are you going to do now?”The lid of the case slammed shut, and Xavier jerked his vibrating phone back out of his pocket. “Well, as soon as I get these fires extinguished, I’m going to go start one with her.”Bryant laughed. “After this long, that’ll be one hell of a raging inferno.”“I hope so.

The heart is stubborn. It holds onto love despite what sense and emotion tells it. And it is often, in the battle of those three, the most brilliant of all.