Keep My Heart- Prologue

Keep My Heart- 17

Sometimes the greatest relationships are the ones you never expected to be in. The ones that sweep you off your feet and challenge every view you've ever had.

Aloha, dear readers. I couldn't update yesterday because I was on the road all day. However, here is 17, I hope you enjoy it. :) Please remember to vote and comment!

The open sea was all that met their eyes for the next several days. Luckily, the weather had been fair and they hadn't come across any privateers or anything else of the sort. The Sun Goddess was like a speckle of dust on the long train of a pristine wedding dress. The ocean rose and fell like normal, and sometimes there was a larger swell that sprayed over the deck.

It was very, very hot, and so Olivia mostly stayed in their chamber, quiet and thinking. His words rang through her mind endlessly. Why must a kiss mean something? Personally, Olivia felt that every kiss should mean something. Perhaps a promise, or a greeting. Good bye kisses were the ones that weighed heaviest on one's mind. Her favorite kisses were the ones that felt like a gift, like the person kissing her was allowing her a glimpse of joyful Christmas memories.

But Adam had never kissed her that way. He kissed her in a way that was entirely different, something she had never experienced before. Sort of sweet and gentle, but what they hinted, she did not know. He was so very confusing. The last nights, she had slept on her side of the bed and he had slept on his. The worst part was, he had no idea that she wasn't her happiest with him. He had made no attempts to kiss her again and neither had she.

It was in the middle of a hazy afternoon near the end of June that they anchored in the port.

Her husband entered the room, standing in the doorway. His skin was a healthy color, and his white shirt was tucked neatly into tan trousers.

"We will go into Port-de-Paix after we stop here for a few days. That is where we shall unload the cargo and care for that business."

She said nothing but faced the floor, feeling empty and disappointed.

"Then we shall return to Boston and to Hawke's Vale."

"And then life shall return to normal?" she spat, but regret rained through her half a second later.

"If normal means that we will spend more time together, then yes," he replied, and she was very surprised. "I was also hoping that we might sometime within the next few years, we might really settle down."

Up her brows went at this hint and she looked at him. "You hardly even kiss me."

"I did not know you wanted to be kissed often."

Don't you see the way I look at you?

Her chest was filled with emotion and she was sure it was on her face. "Every woman enjoys being kissed."

"Then I shall kiss you." He took a step forward, and her pulse rose. But no, this was not what she wanted from him.

"Go and get your business together," she snapped. "I do not want you to kiss me. Not now..."

"Olivia," he said. "I am almost thirty two."

"What does that have to do with anything?" She looked at her lap, wondering why he brought this up.

"When you are almost there, you will see things the way I see them."

Irritation bubbled inside of her and she could not help but roll her eyes.

"I mean it, Olivia."

Then, he left.

Again, like usual, she was alone and fighting the urge to go after him. He drove her absolutely mad! He said one thing but acted on another. She felt like she was waiting for nothing. Her heart burst when she saw him. Her heart shattered with joy that filled the air when he touched her. The slightest brush of his fingers across her skin sent shivers through her being.

He confused her like nothing. Rashleigh had never confused her, but perhaps that had been because he kept everything from her.

Immediately, her stomach sank. When would she ever cease comparing Adam to Rashleigh? He was so much better for her, and yet, he was always second best to the man who had ruined her entire life. She compared the man who took care of her to the man who left her. The man who had cleaned the mess up was never as cherished as the one who had made the mess.

Why did she do this? She remembered the pain Rashleigh had caused her and she did not want to want him but she sometimes still missed him. All the time, Adam was there and he confused her, but he walked with her through it. It was becoming clear to her that he was for her, and not against her.

Why, though? That was the question at hand. Why did he invest so much effort into her? It was obviously to no avail. However, he never stopped. Did he even realize he did it? Or...oh, she did not know. There were a hundred thousand questions running through her head. She still could not answer them but the truth was becoming even more real. It had first been clouded, and opaque. But everyday, it was becoming clear.

Maybe someday, Olivia might see that not everything had to be something. To Adam, a kiss was a kiss. And that was the beauty of it. To kiss was the most natural, simple thing a person could do. He still could not make her see the reason in everything he did.

When he looked into her eyes, it was like looking into the morning sky. Faintly light and speaking of more things to come, a promise of hope. He loved staring into her eyes, seeing the raging storm. He wanted so badly to calm that storm. But Olivia had the wrong impression about love.

When you loved someone, it was not a feeling of mere attraction. Certainly, when he looked at her, he felt something deep inside, but that was not what love was. It was not a feeling; it was an action. It was controllable, to an extent. He had read her mind more than once, he knew she had been thinking about Rashleigh. Thinking about how she could not simply let go of her love for him.

But Adam knew, love was a conscious decision. Every day, when he woke up, in the back of his mind, he made the decision to love her. Didn't he? Isn't that what love did? She continued to push him away, she continued to mess up. He messed up, he pushed her away, the same.

Even though he wasn't perfect...Adam admitted to himself, he loved and was in love with his wife.

This is really short and sort of terrible, but the next chapter should be good. I've not been giving this my all lately, I've been pretty distracted. But please do vote and comment!