He frowned. “Yes, you do.”
She stared out the window for a moment, then gazed over at Connor. “But even if I could get a job, how would I get from my house to my workplace?”
“By car?”
“Oh no. I couldn’t have a car because I might get lost or crash it.”
“He told you that?” He squinted at her, puzzled. “But you were always a good driver.”
“I know,” she said with a sigh, and dunked a small piece of lobster in warm butter.
Connor took one last bite of his baked potato and it tasted like sand. He couldn’t even imagine how his Maggie had lived through all this degradation and come out so healthy and normal. And what kind of vicious creep was Ashcroft to have a great girl like Maggie and treat her so badly?
“On the other hand,” Connor hedged, “he had money, so you probably didn’t need to work.”
“True, I didn’t need any extra money,” she said breezily. “I would’ve just squandered it on frivolous things.”
He studied her as he sipped his wine. “You never seemed like a frivolous person to me.”
“I’m not. But he didn’t agree. He thought I needed more discipline. His mother agreed with him that I was helpless in so many ways. Once we were married, he began to criticize minor things. Just here and there, you know? But after a few years, he was taking daily jabs at my appearance, my weight, my personality, my lack of social skills. You name it.”
“God, what an idiot,” he muttered, shaking his head in bemusement.
“That’s putting it nicely. And as bad as he was, his mother could be downright evil sometimes.”
“I wish I’d known. I would’ve rescued you.”
“My hero.”
The waiter placed a basket of fresh bread and butter on the table. Connor held the basket out for her, then took a piece of bread for himself. He took a bite, then waved at her to continue. “Come on, girlfriend, tell me more. Get it all out.”
Maggie chuckled. “You’re enjoying this too much.”
“Believe me, I’m not.” In fact, he was imagining finding this guy just to plant a fist in his arrogant face. “But it seems like the more you talk about how awful they were, the more relaxed you get. And I like to see that. So, anything else you want to tell me?”
“I’m afraid if I get started, I won’t be able to stop.” She took a quick sip of her wine. “I think what I hated most was that my opinions never mattered. They considered me either too naive or just plain stupid, depending on the situation. He always liked to tell me how sad it was that I was so intellectually challenged.”
“That’s it.” Connor shoved his chair back from the table. He was only half kidding when he muttered, “I’m really going to kill him.”
She laughed and clapped her hands. “Thank you. You’re officially my best friend.”
“Yeah, I am,” he said, easing back into his chair, though it cost him to give her a smile. “And don’t forget it.”
* * *