Dark Hearts (Light in the Dark 3)

I’ve learned that not everything is what it seems. If you start to look too close, you uncover things people don’t want you to see. It’s why I hide. It’s why no one knows the real me. But he sees me. He sees the darkness in my heart but he’s not afraid, because he’s like me. They say opposites attract, but we’re proof that like-and-like are a far more potent combination.

Novalee Clarke is hiding from a past she wants to leave behind, and Jacen Kensington is running from his.

The thing about hiding and running is eventually the thing you’re trying to escape catches up to you.

And when it does?

It changes everything.

Nova

“I fucking hate weddings.”

I glance up in time to see my friend Jace drop down into the seat beside me. He fiddles with his tie, loosening it, and then undoing the top button of his white dress shirt.

“I never want that to be me,” he continues, waving his fingers lazily to where our just married friends dance, their smiles blinding and their laughter nearly louder than the music.

“Allergic to love?” I raise a brow.

His top lip curls. “No—it’s just that love makes you weak. Look at them. They’ve willingly handed their heart to the other person, giving them permission to break it at any time.” He shakes his head and rolls up his sleeves, revealing the intricate tattoos that snake around one forearm. “It’s not for me.” He makes a face like something tastes bad.

“Can’t say I don’t agree with you,” I mutter.

He raises a brow. “Really? You’re a girl, so I can’t believe you’re not about to give me some spiel on true love and how love conquers everything.” He pulls his cigarette pack out of his pocket and taps the box against the white-tablecloth-covered table.

I sigh. “I believed that once, but in my experience, it’s not true. Love doesn’t conquer everything, it destroys you instead.”

Jace looks at me seriously, and I swear it’s like his eyes see right through me. “Huh.”

“Huh?” I repeat. “What does that mean?”

He shrugs. “Nothing.”

“What?” I prompt again. “You’re thinking something.”

He shrugs, and the motion stretches the shirt tight across his shoulders. “Just that you and I are so alike it scares me sometimes.”

I smile at that, and he chuckles. “I didn’t think anything could possibly scare you.”

He slips the cigarette pack back into his pocket without ever grabbing one. He stands then and holds his hand out to me.