Page 74 of An Inconvenient Marriage
That was why I added, “It’s okay if you don’t want to talk about it—”
“No, I—” He shook his head, then turned his dark gaze to me. “I want to.”
An entirely different kind of warmth spread through my body, and I tried like hell not to dwell on it for too long. Because getting feelings for this man wasn’t something I could afford to do.
At all.
Ignoring the warm fuzzies trying to invade my heart and eager to hear what he had to say, I leaned my elbow on the counter and rested my chin in my palm. But Zach only shook his head.
“I’ll talk as long as you eat.”
This had me laughing. “Why are you so intent on getting me to eat?”
I honestly thought something dirty was going to come out of his mouth, but his words were far more dangerous, for my heart at least.
“I’ve been watching you. All you do is push your food around on your plate, which leads me to believe your asshole father told you that eating was a bad thing.” He cocked his head, and his eyes narrowed dangerously. “It’s not. There’s nothing more attractive than a woman who enjoys her food.”
I bit my lip, and he leaned in a little.
“There’s also nothing more empowering than being in control of your own life, Natalie. Even if you start with something small like eating until your body—not someone else—decides you’ve had enough.”
I didn’t know what to say. The types and amount of food I ate weren't even a discussion anymore. I knew when and what I was allowed to eat and I certainly knew better than to question my father when my portions had suddenly shrunk before I’d met one of my potential husbands.
It had been part of my life for so long, I didn’t even notice it was happening or that I was still doing it. But Zach was right. I was in control now.
With a small smile playing on my lips, I sat up straighter and picked up my spoon again. Zach’s gaze burned into the side of my head, and by the time I took my fourth bite, I finally couldn’t take it anymore.
Giving him a sideways glance, I gestured toward his bowl with my spoon. “Your soup’s getting cold.”
For a moment it looked like he wanted to say something, but he shook his head and tucked into his food.
“We used to have this almost every week,” he whispered after a few bites.
I was so tempted to look at him. I wanted to see his eyes when he spoke of his mom and his childhood, but I knew if I did, he’d think I was pushing away my food again.
So I kept eating.
“Back when we were still happy, my mother called this her magic soup. She made it when we were sad or when I did good in school. Sometimes she even made it on our birthdays, too. We were always so happy to have her magic soup, we didn’t know she made it because it was the cheapest thing to make.”
I hadn’t even known I’d finished my soup until I stuck my spoon in for one more bite and it came out empty. Silently pushing the bowl away, I stole a quick glance at Zach. He wasn’t eating, just staring into his food as if he was lost in a memory.
Disturbing that was the last thing I wanted to do, so I waited until he was ready to share more.
I didn’t have to wait too long.
“As happy as the vineyard made my parents, it didn’t pay very well.”
Too curious for my own good, I blurted out, “Your parents owned a vineyard, too?”
Luckily, it didn’t bother Zach. “No.” Shaking his head, he went on. “No, they worked on one.” His gaze met mine for the first time. “This one actually.”
I must have done a crappy job at hiding my surprise, because a deep chuckle rumbled through his chest.
“You already know my great-great-great-grandfather gambled this place away, but I didn’t tell you how desperately my father wanted it back. So much that he and my mother both took jobs here in hopes of eventually saving enough to buy it back from the owner.”
“I’m guessing it didn’t go as planned.”
Zach’s bitter laugh filled the room, and all I wanted to do was lean over and hug him. But something warned me not to. It took strength I had no idea I possessed, but I stayed put long enough for him to speak again.
