Chapter 31

Hard to say when it had actually happened. Perhaps as a boy when she'd first come to him in dreams, surrounded by buttercups and under the sun's golden rays. Maybe it was the second he'd spotted the real her from his office window, standing on the sidewalk while leveling his foundation. Or it could've been the moment he'd kissed her in the lighthouse, knotting years of memories and opening his eyes he hadn't realized were closed.

Regardless of when, the truth smacked him upside the head now. He'd been on the brink before with other women, had waded in that particular pool a time or two, yet hadn't fully engaged his heart. But he'd been fooling himself. All along, and without even realizing it, he'd been waiting for her.

For Kaida. A restless soul just searching for a place to belong. Intelligent, adaptable, determined, and intuitive Kaida Galloway.

Unimaginable heat filled him, shoving drafts out of the corners and cold from the cracks. Throat tight and pulse tripping, he succumbed.