Back This Heart of Mine Save as PDF
Chapters (34)
  1. Cover
  2. Chapter 1
  3. Chapter 2
  4. Chapter 3
  5. Chapter 4
  6. Chapter 5
  7. Chapter 6
  8. Chapter 7
  9. Chapter 8
  10. Chapter 9
  11. Chapter 10
  12. Chapter 11
  13. Chapter 12
  14. Chapter 13
  15. Chapter 14
  16. Chapter 15
  17. Chapter 16
  18. Chapter 17
  19. Chapter 18
  20. Chapter 19
  21. Chapter 20
  22. Chapter 21
  23. Chapter 22
  24. Chapter 23
  25. Chapter 24
  26. Chapter 25
  27. Chapter 26
  28. Epilogue
  29. Acknowledgments
  30. About the Author
  31. Other Books by Susan Elizabeth Phillips
  32. Credits
  33. Copyright
  34. About the Publisher

He flipped to his side, took a few lazy strokes. “Don’t you know how to dive?”

“Of course I do. I went to summer camp for nine years!”

His voice lapped at her, a low, lazy taunt. “I’ll bet you stink.”

“I do not!”

“Then are you chicken, bunny lady?”

Oh, God. It was as if a fire alarm had gone off inside her head, and she didn’t even kick off her sandals. She just curled the toes over the edge of the rock and threw herself off the bluff, following him into insanity.

All the way down she tried to scream.

She hit harder than he had and there was a lot more splash. When she came up, water dripped over the stunned expression on his face.

“Jesus.” He spoke on a softly expelled breath that sounded more like a prayer than a curse. And then he started to yell. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?”

The water was so cold she couldn’t catch her breath. Even her bones were shriveling. “It’s freezing! You lied to me!”

“If you ever do anything like that again …”

“You dared me!”

“If I’d dared you to drink poison, would you have been stupid enough to do that, too?”

She didn’t know if she was angrier with him for goading her into being so reckless or at herself for taking the bait. Water flew as she slapped it with her arm. “Look at me! I act like a normal person when I’m around other people!”

“Normal?” He blinked the splash from his eyes. “Is that why I found you holed up in your apartment looking like spoiled shrimp?”

“At least I was safe there, instead of catching pneumonia here!” Her teeth began to chatter, and her icy, waterlogged clothes pulled at her. “Or maybe making me jump off a cliff is your idea of therapy?”

“I didn’t think you’d do it!”

“I’m nuts, remember?”

“Molly …”

“Crazy Molly!”

“I didn’t say—”

“That’s what you’re thinking. Molly the fruitcake! Molly the lunatic! Off her rocker! Certifiable! The tiniest little miscarriage, and she flips out!”

She choked. She hadn’t meant to say that, hadn’t ever intended to mention it again. But the same force that had made her jump off the cliff had pushed out the words.

A thick, heavy silence fell between them. When he finally broke it, she heard his pity. “Let’s go in now so you can get warmed up.” He turned away and began swimming toward the shore.

She had started to cry, so she stayed where she was.

He reached the bank, but he didn’t try to climb out. Instead, he looked back at her. The water lapped at his waist, and his voice was a gentle ripple. “You need to get out. It’ll be dark soon.”