Total pages in book: 113
Estimated words: 104820 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 524(@200wpm)___ 419(@250wpm)___ 349(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 104820 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 524(@200wpm)___ 419(@250wpm)___ 349(@300wpm)
He swallowed and said in his best lighthearted voice, “Morning. Something smells good.”
“Good morning,” she replied, sounding like a hotel receptionist about to check him out of his room. “I’m making buckwheat pancakes with fresh strawberries.”
Without a hint of a smile, she continued to lay the table. With one place setting only.
She didn’t intend to join him for breakfast. His heart sank, even though he couldn’t blame her.
He walked over to the table and, resting his crutches against the marble, turned to face her. “Tessa, can you stop for a moment so that I can speak with you about something really important?”
She frowned. And he knew she wasn’t going to make this easy. He’d have to bite the bullet and lay himself bare to her.
“I am so sorry about last night. I didn’t mean to upset you. I didn’t know anything about your past, but even if I did, I had no right to hit on you.” He took a deep breath. If there was one thing his parents had taught him, it was that if you were going to apologize, you should do it properly. “I also wanted to say that I’m so sorry you lost the love of your life.”
But to his surprise, Tessa made a face and shook her head. “Lewis Taylor was my husband… but he wasn’t the love of my life.”
“He wasn’t?” Arch was so surprised he stared at her.
Tessa sighed, then sank into one of the kitchen chairs. Arch took the one across from her and waited. Whatever she needed to say, he was there to listen.
She stared down at her hands in her lap. “I guess I thought that at first. That he was the love of my life. I mean, that’s why I married him.” She sighed. “But let’s just say his initial charm wore off pretty fast.” She paused again, and he waited, surprised to feel his own heart thudding in his chest. He couldn’t bear the image of her at the altar, dressed in a beautiful white gown, waiting to marry someone who wasn’t him.
Considering marriage had never before crossed Arch’s mind, this proved he had it bad for Tessa.
“And then when he got sick with early Parkinson’s…” She trailed off. The silence grew. Finally, she said, “That’s how I fell into caregiving.”
He could see that she didn’t plan to say more. He watched her face. She hadn’t said it outright, but from the little that she had said, he got the sense that her husband had been controlling and not a very nice man.
Arch felt instinctively protective. More than that, he wanted to punch the guy. Even though he had died from a terrible disease.
After he’d gathered himself, he said, “It must have been really difficult caring for him.”
She nodded sadly, still not meeting his gaze. How Arch longed to look into her eyes and tell her that she didn’t have to worry about men being jerks anymore. He wanted to treat her the way she deserved. The way she should always have been treated.
But after the way he’d acted last night, he was afraid it would only sound like another come-on.
She took another deep breath, and he suddenly realized that maybe she’d never told anyone about her husband before. He leaned across the table and took her right hand in his. Not in a sexy way, but in a comforting one.
Her skin was soft. Their touch electric. But he only squeezed her hand gently and then let it go. It was his way of showing her that she was safe here. No harm was going to come to her under his roof.
What’s more, it meant so much to him that she was finally opening up. Especially in the wake of his behavior last night. He cursed himself again for ever suggesting she climb into his bed. He wasn’t a hormone-ridden sixteen-year-old anymore. He should have known better.
Thankfully, Tessa seemed to get the message as she gave him a small smile, then began to speak again. Her husband had been in financial services. “After he got sick and couldn’t work, he started day trading.” She made a face. “I had no idea what he was doing—he only said he was working on a project, and as he was so bitter about losing his health, I was happy that he took an interest in something.” She blew out a breath. “I didn’t know that he was making crazy bets. I want so badly to believe that his illness and the meds made him irrational, but all I know for sure is that he lost all our hard-earned savings.” She raised her eyes to his. “I ended up widowed and broke.”
“I can’t imagine how that must have felt. Didn’t he have any life insurance?”
“He cashed in the policy to keep trading.”
“How could he do that to you?” Arch couldn’t hold back his incredulous tone.