Page 34 of The Husband's Secret
She got stuck on that smile. He had the…most intriguing smile. Nice, but something more. Sexy. Yes, she decided. Very sexy.
“You?” he prompted.
There she went again, getting distracted. “My parents,” she said so fast the words almost came out as one, “were older when they had me. Sadly, they died when I was in college. I so regret they never got to meet Janey.”
Her sweet baby girl. Janey was what she should be thinking about now…not whatever this relentless urge was that kept tugging at her. She cleared her head and focused on the man whose job it was to be here doing what he was doing. This wasn’t personal and it certainly wasn’t intimate.
He considered her for a moment as if he’d read her thoughts. “That must have been a tough time for you.”
“Yes. My mother died first. She’d had heart surgery, but things didn’t go so well. There were complications, but no one realized until it was too late. Anyway, she was doing what sheloved most—working in her flower garden. Janey is named after her.”
Ben smiled. “What about your father?”
“Dad was as healthy as a horse. I think he died from a broken heart. The two of them had been together for more than half their lives.” A smile tugged at the corners of her mouth as she thought of her parents. “Their relationship was the kind every couple should have. The sort of love you read about in romance novels. Deep respect for one another. They were amazing.”
“They sound like my parents.” That sexy smile was back. “Totally committed to each other. I wonder sometimes how it’s possible to love someone that much. It seems all-consuming.”
“God knows I haven’t figured it out,” she admitted. “I thought I had but I was wrong.”
He didn’t ask her to expand on the comment, and she was grateful. She could have left that part off.
They moved on to the kitchen. She didn’t actually have a dining room. The previous owners had sacrificed it to make a larger living room with a wide cased opening that led into the kitchen. Worked out fine for Brenda. She wasn’t a formal table kind of person. She and Janey generally used the island.
“We’re young,” he reminded her, drawing her back to the conversation. “We still have time to find the right people to share our lives with.”
Watching his hands touch each item he reached for was almost as hypnotic as watching his lips move. She blinked and silently chastised herself. She must really be desperate for stress relief. There were plenty of reasons why she needed it, but this was not the time.
The thing he’d said about how they still had time penetrated all the other static in her head. Did that mean he was single?Doesn’t matter.
“You have siblings?” she asked, when she really wanted to inquire about his relationship status.Not going there.
“Three brothers. All older.”
“So you’re the baby?” Interesting.
He laughed. “Thirty-two is hardly a baby, but yeah, I guess I am.” He motioned for her to follow him into the hall. “What about you?”
He already knew this answer. The Colby Agency had likely done a thorough background search on her. “No one else. Just me. I believe my mother said they’d given up hope of ever having children and suddenly I came along.”
He checked Janey’s room, the bathroom and her office and then moved on to her bedroom. It suddenly felt too intimate having him run his fingers over her things, even though he’d already been through her room before. She lingered at the door, deciding not getting too close was the best choice at the moment.
He leaned forward, checked the lamp on her side of the bed. Then he crouched down and examined her bedside table. When he stood, she watched far too closely the way he moved. His long legs, lean body…broad shoulders. Her throat went dry.
She gave herself a mental kick. This was beyond ridiculous. He hadn’t mentioned a significant other but that didn’t mean—
“You didn’t ask—” he leaned against her dresser and studied her “—if I was with anyone.”
For two beats she struggled to figure out how to respond. “I figured if you wanted me to know you would tell me.”Perfect.
“In case you wondered, the answer is no. I was engaged once, years ago, but that didn’t work out. We’re still friends, but she’s married to someone else and has two cute kids.”
Brenda wondered what woman in her right mind would toss this guy aside. But then she barely knew him. He might not be… What was she thinking, of course he was. He was really nice, inordinately handsome. Ugh.Stop!
He pushed off the dresser and started her way. Her breath caught. Okay, enough of this fantasy. She recognized the need for distraction, but this was not the way to assuage all the emotions twisting inside her.
The doorbell sounded, and she had never been so relieved in her life. She headed that way. “Must be the pizza,” she called out as she practically ran.
Somehow Ben reached the door before her and took care of the tab and the tip.
