Romancing My Love(23)

Life is too short to pretend. Rebecca didn’t pretend in any way. She tried not to hide her feelings, or lack thereof, and she tried not to cover her opinions with lies or to put on airs to seem like something she wasn’t. No, Rebecca had learned to just be herself and to allow the good, the bad, and the excellent to come as it may.

When she’d met Pierce, she’d pushed away the sparks that had flown between them and tried to ignore the way the air charged and heated and the way his eyes were like a giant vortex of passion and kindness that sucked her right in. In the span of a few days, she’d come to enjoy the heat of his stare as he snuck peeks at her, the way that he laughed a little under his breath and shook his head when they were teasing each other, and the whisper of his breath across her skin. She lay back on the bed, which was now covered with her own sheets and blanket and felt more like her own. She looked up at the ceiling and then closed her eyes. If she tried really hard, she could bring forth his scent and the sound of his voice.

Her phone vibrated and she reluctantly opened her eyes, wanting to stay with thoughts of Pierce a moment longer, but he was the only person who would text her. She retrieved her phone from the dresser and read Pierce’s message.

Can’t wait to see you. Almost done with your errands?

Errands. The word sent a stab of pain through her chest. She hated not telling him the truth, but she believed that for now, keeping the truth from him was the right thing to do. She thought of Henry and wondered if she’d be better off trying to get to know him instead of running off to spend time with Pierce.

I’m going to be a little longer. Want to skip it and see each other tomorrow instead?

He texted back a minute later. Not a chance. Want to stay at your place tonight? I can whip over.

She smiled at his offer, but after meeting Henry, she wasn’t sure they should ever stay in her room. She felt as if it would be disrespectful, and there was no need when they could stay at Pierce’s house. A new worry entered her mind. Would Henry and Daphne mind if she didn’t come home at night? Oh gosh. She probably should have thought this through a little better. She didn’t want to seem unappreciative, but she was a grown woman, after all.

She texted him back. It’s okay. I’ll be over in a little while. Can’t wait to see you!

Daphne poked her head into Rebecca’s room. “Hey, Rebecca. Henry made a wonderful roast. Want to join us?”

She could eat quickly, and this would be the perfect way to get to know Henry a little better. “Sure, thank you.”

Daphne handed Rebecca a key. “Great. I’ll set another place. I almost forgot to give this to you.”

“Daphne, I can’t thank you enough. Your house is lovely, and I really appreciate you letting me move in so quickly.”

“When you told me you’d been living in your car for the past few days, I knew it was fate.” She hugged Rebecca and picked up one of the framed pictures. “Oh, what a beautiful picture.”

“Thanks. That’s my mom.”

“She looks nice.”

“She was.” Rebecca realized too late that she hadn’t told Daphne about her mother’s passing.

“Was?” Understanding flashed in Daphne’s eyes. “Aw, Rebecca.” She gathered Rebecca in her arms. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know.” She drew back with a wrinkled brow. “If you ever want to talk, I’m a really good listener.”

“Thank you.” Rebecca was glad that Daphne didn’t dwell on the topic.

They followed the warm, spicy aroma to the kitchen, where Henry was cutting the roast.

“Can I do something to help?” Rebecca asked.

Henry ignored the question and continued cutting the meat. Daphne put her arm around her shoulder. “Sure. Why don’t you make a salad while I set out the silverware.”

Rebecca began cutting lettuce and dicing tomatoes.

“You don’t need to cut them fancy,” Henry said, eyes still on the roast.

“Habit, I guess. My mom loved colors in our meals, so we always added red, orange, and green peppers, tomatoes, and things like chick peas, and chopped the colorful veggies up real small so they would add more color. If it bothers you, I could—”

“Henry, Rebecca’s mother passed away.”

Henry stopped slicing and shifted his eyes to Rebecca. There it was. That look that always seemed to follow the news of her mother’s death.

“It’s okay.” Rebecca pointed to the diced veggies. “See? She’s still very much around.”

His smile put a fissure in the steel wall he’d erected around himself. He glanced at her several times while she was mixing the salad.

At the dining room table, as he piled salad onto his plate, Henry said, “I think I like the salad better this way.”

Daphne smiled and squeezed his arm. Rebecca loved that they sat beside each other instead of across from each other. She’d never understood the idea of formality at dinnertime. Wasn’t dinner supposed to be about families coming together?

They ate dinner and talked about Rebecca’s first day of work. It was nice to share the day with them. It was nice to feel like she had a home, too, although after spending the weekend with Pierce, she felt at home there even more.

“May I ask how you lost your mother?” Henry asked.

She still hadn’t come up with an answer that would not incite pity, and she loathed the question too much to dwell on coming up with one now. “She had cancer, and I’m glad she’s someplace better now.”

Henry glanced up at Daphne and drew his thick white brows together. “I’m sorry to hear that. Were you young?”

She smiled. “It was almost two months ago.”

“Oh, hon. That’s very recent. Are you sure you’re holding up okay?” Daphne asked.

And there was the pity again. “Yes, thank you. I’m really okay, actually.” She needed to change the subject to avoid becoming a charity case. “Do you have any children?”

They exchanged a painful glance of sadness and acceptance blended together.

“No, it’s just us,” Daphne answered.

The silence that followed was filled with the unanswered question, By choice? Rebecca sensed that they hated that question as much as she disliked questions about her mother’s death, so she let the silence settle in.

After dinner Rebecca helped clear the table. “Thank you for dinner, Henry. It was delicious.”

He nodded. “Did I hear you say you’re taking classes?”

“Not right now, but I only have two left before I get my business degree, and I hope to take them when I save enough money.”

“I worked in the business office of the newspaper plant. What do you want to do once you graduate?” He crossed his arms and looked at her with what she’d imagine a fatherly gaze would look like.

“I don’t know. I’m really good at negotiations and figuring things out, or at least in class I am. Practically? I’m just not sure. The things I want to do aren’t in line with just one aspect of business. I guess I hope that at some point I can get an entry-level job in a growing business and gain experience in several different areas and then sort it out. I worry I’ll get bored if I’m just crunching numbers, which is why I didn’t go into accounting, and I’m not a marketer, but I enjoy the marketing process.” She shrugged. “I guess the answer is that I’m not sure.”

He nodded again, which she was quickly learning was his standard response.

“And this boyfriend of yours? What does he do?”

Uh-oh. She realized that she needed to talk to Pierce about how to answer those types of questions where his employees were concerned. Was it okay to tell them he owned the resort?

“He’s a real estate investor.” She began putting away the condiments from dinner, hoping she could shift the conversation away from Pierce.

“Did he know your mother?” Henry asked.

“No. Unfortunately, he didn’t.”

Henry nodded again before patting Daphne on the shoulder and disappearing into the den.

“Don’t mind him. He’s still coming to grips with his employment status, but he liked you. I can tell.”

Rebecca began washing the dishes. “It’s okay. He’s very nice.”

“He is, when he’s not trying to figure out how to handle a roommate after years of only the two of us. Move over, hon. I can do those. We have a pretty efficient agreement. Henry cooks and I do dishes. Besides, don’t you have a boyfriend to sext?” She shoved Rebecca out of the way and took over washing the dishes.

“Daphne, would you be offended if I spent the night at my boyfriend’s house sometimes? I don’t want to seem ungrateful, or have you and Henry think poorly of me.”

“Darlin’, you’re a beautiful young girl. Live your life. We’re providing a roof over your head, but you don’t need to report to us.”

Even with Daphne’s blessing, Rebecca couldn’t shake the feeling that at least tonight she should stay there. She’d felt Henry warming to her when they were talking, and she knew how embarrassing it was to have your life situation change dramatically. She thought making an effort toward him might lessen his discomfort of renting to her—and she needed the room.