Page 712 of Cold Case, Warm Hearts

Sydney shrugged. “Sure.” She turned and waited for Stella to go with them.

Stella shooed them on. “Y’all go on. I want to stay here by myself for a few more minutes.”

Sydney and Sean walked to his truck. He took her hand and linked her fingers through his. She still hadn’t gotten over the fact that he’d broken into her house and stolen the journal. She thought about jerking her hand away, but let it ride.

When they reached the truck, he let go of her hand and retrieved Avery’s journal from the seat. “I believe this belongs to you, ma’am. The articles are tucked inside.”

She clutched the journal with both hands and held it to her chest. “Thank you.”

He leaned against his truck and took one of her hands and pulled her to him. “So where do we go from here?”

She shook her head. “I don’t know. You tell me.”

He traced the curve of her cheek with his finger. Her face grew warm under his touch. No matter how hard she fought it, she never could overcome her strong attraction to him. His hand moved to her hair, and he took a section and wound it around his finger and then let it go.

“I don’t even know who you are,” she said, her breath coming a little faster when his arms encircled her waist. “Are you really this Sean Corbin, or whatever you said your name was?”

He laughed. “Yes, I am.”

“Are you even from Texas?”

He nodded, a glimmer of amusement sparkling in his dark eyes. “Yes, I’m from Texas, but Austin, not Houston.” He grew serious. “Sydney, I meant what I said to you yesterday. I love you.”

She searched his eyes. “Do you really?”

“How could you even question it?”

She withdrew herself from his arms and shook her head. “I don’t know. I don’t even know who you are.”

“Oh, I understand, Sydney … or is it Cindy?”

Her eyes grew large. “Wait a minute! That’s not fair. I had a very good reason for concealing my true identity.”

He nodded. “Bingo!”

“Okay, maybe you’ve got a point. But what will you do now? You’ve solved the case. Won’t you go on to someplace else?”

“Yeah, that’s the plan.” His eyes met hers. “Unless I decide to change it.”

Those words kindled a hope that surprised her. “What do you mean?”

“I’ve spent the last five years hopping from life to life, always undercover. This never bothered me until I met you. I always knew the right girl would come along someday.” He paused. “Look Syd, I don’t have all the answers. I just know that I want you to be a part of my life.”

Oh, how she loved hearing those words.

He put his arms around her waist again. This time he linked his fingers so she couldn’t get away. “Are you telling me that you don’t have any feelings for me?”

A tingle ran up her spine.

“Well?”

She was warm all over. “Okay, I do feel something for you. It’s just all so confusing right now.”

He looked hurt for a second. “I guess I can live with that.”

She tried to explain her feelings. “I’ve always been attracted to you, and I’ve spent the last few months trying to rid myself of those feelings.”

He chuckled.

Her eyebrow arched. “Oh, so you think it’s funny, do you? It’s like this: A part of me wants us to be together, but the other part of me thinks that maybe I’d be better off if I got rid of you.”

He smiled. “Is that right?”

“Yeah.”

“Oh, Syd, you’ll never be rid of me.”

“Well, aren’t I the lucky one?” she said as her lips met his, and for the first time, she meant it.

The End