AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Not only had she lied to me, and it’s embarrassing that I never worked it out, but it was with my accountant. A man I trusted. They took everything I’d worked hard for.”
They took everything?
“I was over-extended. And Linda had expensive tastes. By the end, all I was left with was debt. The business I worked so hard for was basically gone. Worst of all, I had to let all my employees go. They depended on me. I let them down.”
And she knew how hard that would be for someone like him. He would take that responsibility seriously.
Boy, his ex-wife was a real piece of work. She clenched her tiny hands into fists.
“When your brother said that there was nothing medically wrong with you, I jumped to conclusions. I thought you’d lied to me.”
She had. In the strictest sense.
“I overreacted. I had no right to talk to you like I did.”
There was silence. He sighed. “I was so angry because I feel something for you. I know that’s crazy. I’ve only known you for a few days. I have saved your life in that time, though.”
Saved her life? Did he mean when he thought she was drowning?
“And fed you.”
She shook her head, her lips twitching.
“That counts as a date, right? Two, if it’s okay to have a date with your best friends along.”
There was a thunk and she moved quietly over to the door. She touched the wood, wondering if he was sitting with his back to it. She turned and sat, leaning back against the door. Juliet understood why he’d gotten so upset. But it was difficult for her to get past it. Trust didn’t come easily to her. And he’d eroded what little there had been between them.
“Don’t know why you don’t talk, Duchess,” he said in a soft voice. For the first time, Duchess didn’t come out derisively. It almost sounded affectionate. She sighed quietly and heard him move.
“So, you are listening,” he murmured. “Okay, Duchess. Okay. It’s all right if you’re not ready to, uh, communicate with me. Listening is enough. Just know that I get that there’s a reason for you not talking. Not sure I want to know what that is, if I’m honest. Not sure I can handle knowing you were hurt, even in the past.”
Darn. That was kind of sweet. Sweeter than she’d expected from him.
“Just know, I’m not expecting anything. If you can be my friend, great. More than I deserve. If you wanted more. Well, fuck, I’d be the luckiest man on the planet.”
More? Did he mean . . .
“But I don’t want you scared to be around me. Rather have you mad. You’re cute when you’re mad.”
She was?
“When you cross your arms over your chest, and your nose goes up in the air as you lay down the law, yeah, cute as fuck. Course, you do that when your health and safety are on the line, and you’re gonna be in trouble.”
Trouble? What sort of trouble?
“Damn, I need to shut up before you run from me.”
She didn’t feel like running away from him.
She looked down at herself. She was dressed in a pair of long striped socks. They were blue and white. She had on white rabbit slippers and this cute navy-blue skirt that barely went past her ass. Under the skirt, she wore a pair of ruffly panties. A simple white t-shirt finished off the outfit. What would he think if he saw her like this?
He’d only ever seen her in black. And completely covered. It was only in here that she felt safe enough to dress how she wanted.
She grabbed for the pacifier that was clipped to her shirt. She stuck it in her mouth, sucking on it to ease the panic. For some reason, it just wasn’t doing the job it usually did, though.
“Anyway, you don’t have to worry about any of that.”
Why? Because he didn’t think she could handle that? Handle him?
