“Be careful who you trust.”
“Exactly. I promised myself I would never—ever—get taken in again. Wasn’t long after that I came out here and connected with Ana.”
Who became the one relative he could trust. Patience understood now why he’d been so suspicious of her when they’d met. Like her, Stuart had built himself an invisible wall. Granted, he’d built his for different reasons, but the purpose was the same: self-defense. So long as he kept the world at a distance, he would be safe.
He’d shared his history with her, though. To think he’d allowed her to see a part of him few people ever saw. Tears sprang to her eyes, she was so honored. What little there was left of the walls protecting Patience’s heart crumbled to dust.
It was a mistake. Every bit of her common sense knew better. A woman like her, a man like him. Temporary, at best. But she couldn’t help herself. The need for distance forgotten, she brushed her fingers along his jaw.
“Gloria was a fool,” she whispered, hoping he could read in her eyes the words she wasn’t saying.
“Are you sure?” Stuart whispered back. He wasn’t asking about Gloria, but about her. Was she sure she wanted to cross the line they were toeing.
The answer was no, but surety had long since fallen by the wayside in favor of emotion. Patience melted into his arms as his lips found hers.
In the distance, fireworks exploded over the Charles River. Neither noticed.
The first thing Patience noticed in the morning was the pressure bearing down on her chest. She opened her eyes to discover Stuart lying next to her, his arm flung possessively across her body. Remembering the night before, she smiled. Funny, but she expected the morning after to be uncomfortable, with regrets darkening the light of day, but no. She was so happy she felt as if her chest might explode.
Her smile widened as Stuart gave a soft moan and moved in closer. “Morning,” he murmured. With his voice laced with sleep, he sounded young and unjaded.
Blue eyes blinked at her. “I see you.”
“I see you, too.”
“No, I mean I can see you. I fell asleep wearing my contacts again.”
“Again, huh? Happens often?”
“More than I want to admit.” He rolled to his side. “In this case, though, I blame you.”
“Me?” she asked, rolling to face him.
“Uh-huh. You distracted me.”
“Oh.” She was going to strain her cheek muscles if she kept smiling this way. “I didn’t hear any complaints last night.”
“Oh, trust me, there are no complaints this morning, either.”
They lay side by side, his arm draped around her waist. The intimate position felt so natural it was scary. “But I better not hear any jokes about my glasses.”
“I like your glasses. They give you a sexy hipster look.”
Stuart laughed. It was a sound everyone should hear in the morning. “Maybe we should get you some glasses.” His smile shifted, turning almost reverent. “You really mean what you’re saying, though, don’t you?”
“Doesn’t make a different to me whether you wear glasses or not. You could wear a sack over your head for all I care. Well, maybe not a sack. I kind of like your face.”
“I like yours,” he said, brushing her cheek. Her face. Not her body. Patience loved the way he looked at her. He didn’t see her as an object or even as an ex-stripper. As far as Stuart was concerned, she was a person. Someone worthy of respect.
But do you deserve it? The question came crashing into her brain, reminding her that, in spite of all her confessions, there was still one secret she’d kept to herself. Stuart trusted her enough to tell his story. Maybe she should trust him with the rest of hers?
His fingers were moving south, tracing a path over her shoulder, tugging the sheet away from her skin.
“Stuart...?”
“Mmm?”
“I—” She arched into the sheets as he nuzzled the crook of her neck. “Nothing.” He made it way too easy to give in.
Ana was talking a blue streak. “...need more events like last evening’s. I asked Dr. O’Hara to get me the CEO’s phone number. When I’m settled back home, I want to make a donation and tell him to earmark the money for entertainment. As I told Dr. O’Hara, patients need distractions, and he agreed. I have to say, I wasn’t sure I was going to like him but he’s much less condescending than Karl. Plus, he has a lovely wife, so he won’t be bothering Patience. Are you listening to me?”
“Of course, I am. Dr. O’Hara’s condescending.”
He wasn’t even close, was he? Stuart could tell from Ana’s arched brow. “Sorry, I was thinking about...something else.” This morning, to be exact. And last night.
“Obviously.” His aunt settled back against her pillow. Time in the rehab facility had improved the sharpness of her stare, which she used to full advantage. “So what is it that has you smiling like the cat who ate the canary? It’s unlike you.”
“I’m in a good mood is all. I found a condo yesterday. On the other side of the Common.”
“Does that mean you’ll be moving out?”
“Not for a while yet.”
The disappointment left Ana’s face. “Good. I’m not ready for you to leave yet.”
Neither was he. It had dawned on him this morning that leaving would mean leaving Patience behind. Unless they continued whatever it was they were doing at his place. Was that what he wanted?
Pictures of her standing on his terrace flashed through his head.
“You’re smiling again. Must be a very nice apartment.”
“It’s not bad. Patience came with me to check the place out. She liked it.”
“Really? I didn’t realize you valued her opinion? I got the impression there was tension between the two of you.”
“We...” Damn, if his cheeks weren’t getting warm. “We worked that out.”
“Did you, now?”
“We talked.”
“I’m glad. She’s a lovely girl, isn’t she?”
“Um...” He pictured her face when she woke up this morning. Hair mussed. Sleep in her eyes. She was far more than lovely. She was genuine and honest. He could trust her.
The realization hit him while they were dancing. Scared the hell out of him. At the same time, he’d never felt freer.
“Stuart?”
“You were right, Tetya. She’s terrific.”
He could tell the second his aunt put two and two together. Her pale blue eyes pinned him to the chair. “Are you having an affair with my housekeeper?”
Stuart ran a hand across the back of his neck. His cheeks were definitely crimson now. Thankfully, his aunt took pity on him and waved her question off. “You don’t have to say anything. I know a besotted look when I see one.”
“I’m not sure I’d say besotted.” A word from this century, perhaps.
“Use whatever word you want. I’m glad.”
“You are?”
“Of course. You let what happened with Gloria keep you from falling in love for way too long. Killed me to think Theodore crushed your heart, too.”
Who said anything about love? He was about to tell Ana she was reading too much into the affair when something his aunt said caught his attention.
“Too?” This was the first time his aunt had ever referred to the bad blood between her and his grandfather. He thought of the memory box buried at the bottom of her drawer, of cats all bearing the same man’s name, and his heart ached for the woman he’d grown to love as a grandmother. What had his grandfather done? He had to ask. “Are you talking about Nigel?”
“Don’t be silly? What would your grandfather have to do with my cat?”
She was a worse liar than he was. The way she suddenly became interested in smoothing her sheets gave her away. “I meant Nigel Rougeau,” he said.
Her hand stilled. “Who?”
“I saw the photographs, Tetya. The ones in your drawer.”
“Oh.”
“I know it’s none of my business...I’ve just always wondered why. What could my grandfather have possibly done to make you cut us off?”
“Oh, lapushka, I was never trying to cut you off. What happened was a long time ago, before you were ever born.”
“You mean what happened with Nigel?”
She nodded.
She didn’t get to say anything further. Footsteps sounded outside the hospital door and, a second later, Patience appeared. Stuart couldn’t believe the way his pulse picked up when he saw her.
“Hey,” she greeted in a shy voice that screamed all the things they’d done overnight. “I was bringing Ana something to eat. I didn’t realize you’d be here.”
“I decided to visit during lunch so I could get home at a decent hour,” he replied. His answer made her blush, probably because they both knew why he wanted to get home early. The pink ran across her cheeks and down her neck, disappearing into the collar of her T-shirt. She looked so incredibly delectable Stuart had to grip the sides of his chair to keep from kissing her senseless.
“I brought you a chicken salad sandwich,” she said, setting a bag on Ana’s bedside table. Then, noticing his aunt’s distraction, she frowned. “Am I interrupting something?”