His Healing by Perfect Love

Chapter One

The afternoon June sun was high in the sky and shining at its zenith and Georgia Adams could swear she was dying. In her room she lay sprawled on the floor like a dried-out starfish. Her skin was moist and felt disgustingly clammy and her hair stuck uncomfortably to her forehead while she stared at the ceiling fan which was doing nothing to combat the heat even though its long arms were spinning vigorously.

"Georgia!" Samantha Garcia's voice broke her reverie. Her voice was clipped with annoyance as she shouted. "Georgie!" The childhood nickname rolled off her tongue as she looked down at Georgia from her standing position in front of the huge, white wardrobe at the far end of the room. "Would you please stop being so dramatic and get up from the floor? You need to help me pick out a nice outfit."

Samantha Garcia was Georgia's best friend and the two had become inseparable from the time she moved to Costa Rica when she was only twelve years old. No matter how much older she became, Georgia remembered the events of that moving day like it was just yesterday. Her parents had barged into her room breaking the news that they were quitting their jobs in Florida and moving to the tropics to make a new start. They were so excited, and as young as she was, Georgia tried to be happy for them. But she knew she hadn't a clue how to speak Spanish, let alone live in a Spanish speaking country for the rest of her life. That was why the day she met Samantha was considered as the day her social life was saved. Samantha's ability to fluently speak both English and Spanish had allowed the two to become fast friends and they had stuck together like glue ever since.

"Can't I just wear jeans or something?" Georgia wiped the sweat from her brow. "I really don't feel like over dressing, Samantha."

Her friend frowned. But what else did she expect? Samantha was a fashion freak. "Honey, you'll be meeting your employers. We'd want to leave a good impression on them, now, wouldn't we?" She turned her slender back to Georgia and continued to dig around in the closet causing Georgia to roll her eyes.

"Even if it's just for a couple of months," Samantha's voice came out muffled as she searched, "you'd better dress more presentable."

"Aha! Perfecto!" Georgia's friend blew out a wisp of air as she held out two dresses for her to see.

"What do yah think, chica?"

From her place on the floor, Georgia spotted the mustard Bohemian dress. The very same dress that she never wanted to see again. Her breath caught in her throat as the frock dangled from Samantha's finger. How did she find it? She'd stuffed that in the depths of her closet over a year ago and had long forgotten it. At least...that's what she liked to believe.

Georgia knew full well that she still dreamt of those arms. The strongest arms that she had ever felt in her entire life and the most piercing blue eyes she'd ever seen. Every night her mind tormented her and laughed cynically at her as she fell over and over again into the memories as though her heart hadn't endured enough misery. Now the very same organ that was responsible for her pain moved into overdrive and threatened to beat out of her chest simply at the sight of the dress she had worn that day she met him.

This is what she hated most about broken relationships. Falling was the easier part but forgetting, it was the topic that a person tended to avoid because it was the most difficult step in the process of moving on. And moving on was what she ought to be doing.

Georgia shook off the thoughts. "I'll go with the blue dress Sammy," she said, referring to the other piece of clothing that her friend suggested. She wearily picked herself up from the floor and drank the glass of remaining water that had now turned warm from the humidity. "I don't like the look of yellow on me these days."