by Julie Wright
He closed his eyes and sucked in a hard breath. “I don’t know that I’m up to any more kind truths.” He scratched at the back of his head and backed away another step. I grabbed his hand, like he had grabbed mine three times before.
As soon as our fingers touched I felt something soft loop over our wrists, but when I looked, nothing was there but our hands. I rushed on before he could try to pull away. “I don’t know if it’s a kind truth. I don’t know if it’s kind to either of us, but it has to be said, while there’s still time to say it.”
I swallowed the lump in my throat that had moved into the way of my confession, making me stumble and stutter and need to start again.
“I . . . Everett, I . . .” Our eyes locked, his eyes more green than brown or gold. “I love you.”
The words hung in the air like the last bit of light from a brilliant, chandelier-style firework just before it died in the darkness. In that moment of suspension, I felt fear like I’d never felt before.
I was too late. Oh, Miss Pearl . . . I wish I had listened to you sooner. I am too late.
“Well then . . . That makes this interesting, doesn’t it?” he said.
I swallowed hard.
“It’s only fair to tell you that I, uh, I love you, too.”
“What? Even after—”
“Yes. Even after.” His fingers tightened on mine. “And there are a lot of even-afters in our relationship. For both of us.”
He leaned in and I moved to close that distance, to close it once and for all and never let anything come between us again.
But the office door opened and Miss Pearl stepped out, her arms folded across her chest. She leaned into the doorframe and waited. When we stood still, wondering what to do with her interruption, she said, “Well? Go on! I think I’ve actually waited longer than the two of you for this moment, and I won’t be denied yet again.”
“Did she just tell us to—”
I cut him off with a kiss. We had all waited too long. And I was done waiting. When I broke away to breathe, I glanced back to see if Miss Pearl still watched.
She was gone.
I expected her to be gone and was surprised by the disappearance at the same time. Everett seemed to have forgotten she was ever there.
“Would you like to go to dinner?” he asked. “Every night for the rest of our lives?”
“I think that sounds kind of perfect.”
“You still smell like a lemonade stand.” He stood so close that his lip brushed mine when he spoke.
“You still smell like cinnamon,” I whispered.
He still had a hold of my hand and with the other, he cradled my face, his fingers threading into my hair behind my ear. His mouth settled softly on mine.
As we tangled into each other, the fingers from our free hands twined together, that soft sensation of something looping over our hands returned.
Only this time, the loop was pulled tight, binding us to that moment, to that tangle, to our two hearts, and the universe snicked into place and stayed put this time.
After all, when you meet the same guy over and over again, it just might mean the universe is trying to tell you something.
####
Dear Reader,
Thank you for reading Four Chambers! This series has been in the works since 2014, and I hope you’ll enjoy all the other books in the Power of the Matchmaker Series. They all have the linking character, Miss Pearl, but they can be read in any order. If you haven’t read Pearl’s story yet, check out Power of the Matchmaker, the novella.
If you’d like to join my Review Team and receive e-book copies in advance, please send me an e-mail at [email protected].
Reader reviews help me spread the word about this book. So, if you have the time, please post a review on Amazon, on Goodreads, and your favorite eBooks site.
Thanks for your support!
Read More by Julie Wright
Romance:
Loved Like That
My Not-so-Fairy-Tale Life
Tangerine Street Series:
The Fortune Café
The Boardwalk Antiques Shop
The Mariposa Hotel
Fantasy
Spell Check
Acknowledgments:
I am lucky enough to be surrounded by amazing people who invite me to be part of their amazing plans, and no amount of thank-you will ever be enough, but thank you Heather Moore! This book would not exist without you. It’s a story I’ve wanted to write and had been in my idea file for over a decade, but I likely never would have sat to write it all out without you! I’m grateful for all the talented authors who are a part of this series with me: Heather Moore, Rachael Anderson, Karey White, Kelly Oram, Heidi Ashworth, Taylor Dean, Michele Paige Holmes, Janette Rallison, Regina Sirois, Sheralyn Pratt, and Jaima Fixsen. Thanks to my support writers who make this journey as a writer so worth being on: you all know who you are. A special thanks to Rachael Anderson for her cover design. She’s crazy good at what she does and understands the romance market. Thank you to Crystal Liechty for her editing prowess and for allowing me to name characters after her in various forms throughout the book, but mostly for her friendship. And, finally, thank you to my husband and children for your patience while I write, your support, your endurance, and your love. You people are my world. And always, thank you to my readers. What I do is nothing without you.
Table of Contents
The First Chamber
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
The Second Chamber
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
The Third Chamber
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
The Fourth Chamber
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two