Page 70 of An Inconvenient Marriage
Wait? When the hell did I start referring to women as cute? What was wrong with me? Maybe Natalie wasn’t the only one who needed food.
Deciding that was the only reason for my weird-ass thoughts, I walked to Natalie and pulled her hands away from her face. I did my best to ignore the way the light shining in through the windows danced over her features or how her eyes turned a lighter shade of blue when she was embarrassed.
I didn’t look at how swollen her lips were from our kiss nor did I notice how she slightly parted them when she blinked up at me.
I didn’t take note of any of these things. At least that was the lie I told myself so I could actually speak and not pick up right where we’d left off.
“Your father has taken enough from you. I won’t let him take anything else.”
Holding her gaze, I couldn’t help but feel that I was the one doing the taking now. That my brother was right when he’d said she’d end up hurting the most.
No. I quickly shoved that feeling to the side where it belonged.
Natalie wanted a Trent-free life, and I was going to give it to her. That wouldn’t cause her hurt, it would give her the one thing she wanted, freedom.
“Thank you, Zach,” she said softly, and since I was so lost inside my thoughts, it took me a moment to realize what she was thanking me for.
Nodding once, I said, “Now that that’s out of the way, are you ready to have dinner?”
She smiled. “I think you already know the answer to that.”
Fuck me. When her smile was so big and bright and beautiful, it was impossible not to be affected by it. It was like a giant spotlight illuminating the darkest recesses of my heart. It was like an angel touching the blackest blotch on my soul and washing it clean.
She was the light to my dark.
And I couldn’t fucking keep her.
Shoving my thoughts away, I focused on the here and now. And because she was still wearing the robe, I asked, “Do you want to put on something more comfortable before we go downstairs?”
Say no. If you keep it on, it would be so much easier to remove later.
“Please.”
Not what I wanted to hear, but still her choice. “All right. I’ll be in the kitchen.”
I hurried downstairs, but before I could warm up the soup, I quickly scooped up our clothes in the living room. After folding each item, I set the stack in the laundry room and then headed for the kitchen.
The smell of hearty lentils, spicy chorizo, and peppers permeated the air, reminding me I, too, was hungry. And not just for the woman upstairs. My body wanted the comforting taste of lentil soup.
Hopefully, after I’d satisfied that particular hunger, I could satiate the other one, too.
19
Natalie
BythetimeIrounded the corner into the kitchen a few minutes later, I wasn’t just starving, I was free.
Or at least that’s what the light feeling inside my chest felt like.
I’d been keeping secrets my entire life, and until just now in the bedroom, I hadn’t realized what a heavy burden I’d been carrying. Letting go of all of it felt like nothing I could have imagined.
I knew Zach and the way he handled it all played a big part in it. And somewhere in the back of my mind, I also knew Zach had taken the news about my father a little too well. I should be worried about it, but I simply couldn’t bring myself to be.
“Smells delicious. What are you making?”
Still stirring his pot, Zach met my gaze over his shoulder. He took his time taking me in from head to toe, then curved his lips into the most sinful grin. How I didn’t end up on the floor in a melted puddle of hormones was anyone’s guess.
“Lentil soup.”
