Navy Blue - A Second Chance Romance (Complete)

Navy Blue: Chapter 14

Mary's voice broke the glorious dream Emily lavished in.

Except it wasn't a dream.

Even though her eyes were closed, this was better than any memory or illusion she'd deluded herself with in the past. Tucked into Finn, squished against his long lines, her hand pressed over his beating heart was a dream come true. Like the first time she'd kissed him, and every time after that, delight swelled in her heart, overriding sense or reason.

This was where she'd longed to return to since the day they'd kissed goodbye at the bus station in Bridgetown that summer. She'd promised she could survive without his kisses for seven days. Instead, she'd had to try to exist without him for almost a decade.

Eight years slipped away in seconds. Heat from his touch branded her, his grip rooting her to him. There was no place she'd rather be. The hunger in his kiss nourished her. As their mouths danced to the same rhythm, Emily's body came alive, her heart pounding, her skin no longer cold but aflame, her soul singing with joy. Finn's lips were dry but warm and welcoming as he asked for more of her. She gladly gave everything to him.

For eternity and forever, if she had her way, Emily would have luxuriated in the solid form of the man she loved, holding him once again. Nothing could break her away from him.

Except Mary.

"I'm..." Emily tried to ignore Mary and everything outside of the bubble of Finn, continuing to let her skin absorb every touch of him. But his muscles tensed and her world crashed. Reality surgedin like a wave. She wasn't standing at a bus station kissing Finn, her boyfriend goodbye. Or hello. She stood in her Aunt's hospital room, kissing Petty Officer Finn, a witness in her case.

Cheeks that had flamed with passion, now burned with shame. She tried to pry her fingers from his shirt, but they refused to move, refusing to let go of him.

"Emily." Her older sister's reprimanding tone belied her harsh whisper. "Dad's right behind me."

Finn's hands slipped from her hair, and he inched backward. The cool air conditioning of the hospital room nipped at her heated skin with the loss of him. Light flooded the white room as her eyelids opened and he came into focus. His profile turned from her, eyes cast down and away, lips that had been so welcoming moments ago, pressed into a tight, thin line.

The elation from a moment ago shattered into a million pieces and lay broken at her feet. She stifled a sob from the sudden pain flooding the into the cavern left in her chest. The familiar ache of Finn's rejection. To try to gain composure, she spun away from him and her sister and through blurry vision, she willed herself not to cry.

Emily's gaze landed on her aunt lying in the hospital bed. Time had been kind to her aunt and Emily tended to forget the woman, who had lost her own husband early in life, was vulnerable as well.

Her aunt, lying helpless and hurt, dredged up memories of seeing her mother wasting away in a hospital bed. In her last days, her mother had asked Emily to act as guardian to her sisters.

"They'll need your strength." Her mother's voice was too weak for anything above a whisper.

Back then the promise seemed easy. Emily loved her sisters. She'd be honoured to follow in her mother's footsteps. But the commitment was overwhelming for a girl of seventeen to adhere to. No one could have predicted the changes the death of Lucy Montgomery would cause.

Mary's transformation shocked everyone. Her once carefree and affectionate sister retreated from life, locking herself in her bedroom in the lake house, sleeping for days on end. When she finally emerged, a bitter streak Emily hadn't known had existed in her sister marred her personality and stained her soul. Smart remarks had always been a trait of Mary's, but now the biting commentary turned vicious, and no one was good enough for her snooty new attitude.