Finally she heard the creak of the door and the sound of his boots on the ladder up to the loft where she was. He had come. He’d decided to run away with her. But they would have to hurry. Her birthday was approaching and she would be expected to marry the man that her sisters had managed to escape. It bothered her that she was leaving that fate to her younger sister, Destiny. But then her sisters had done the same to her. She had to believe that Destiny would manage to escape the same fate as well.His broad shoulders filled her vision as he topped the ladder. His smile was the same as every other day and still made her heart beat a little faster. She’d known him since they were kids. Loved him since they were in junior high. And somehow this wonderful man loved her as well. They’d grown together and managed to hide their relationship from everyone around them. He’d been her first lover, her only lover and she knew that no one would ever make her feel as he did with just a tilt of his lips.“Johnny,”
