AllFreeNovel
Share Us
‘It’s beautiful. So warm and welcoming... Oh, I do envy you living here, Mac. It must be marvellous!’
There was no doubt that she was telling him the truth and Mac’s nerves evaporated in a rush of pleasure. He had no idea why it meant so much to hear her praise his home but it did. He laughed out loud.
‘I was worried in case you hated it,’ he confessed as his confidence came surging back. ‘After all, it is rather different from what you’re accustomed to.’
‘And that’s why I love it so much,’ she said simply. ‘You can keep all your architectural gems as far as I’m concerned. I much prefer somewhere like this—a real home.’
She sat down on the old couch that he had spent so many hours reupholstering and smiled up at him. Mac felt himself melt as relief washed over him. Bella liked his home—she genuinely liked it! He wanted to leap up and punch the air in triumph even though he knew how stupid it was.
‘Thank you, although you’d better not be too lavish with the compliments or I’ll get a swelled head,’ he said, trying to joke his way through such a truly amazing moment. ‘Not a good idea in a place as small as this!’
‘Not small—compact. Or maybe that should be bijou if you prefer estate agent speak.’
Her smile was gentle, making him wonder if she had guessed how nervous he’d felt, but how could she? Bella had no idea that he had always felt at a disadvantage around her in the past, thanks to his background. He had gone to great lengths to hide his feelings and had thought that he had succeeded too. Thankfully, he no longer felt that way. The passage of time had given him the confidence to accept himself for who he was, which was why it was all the more surprising that he had been worried about her reaction.
‘Hmm, I’m not sure if most estate agents would class it as that,’ he replied lightly, not wanting her to guess how disturbed he felt. He hadn’t realised that she understood him so well, hadn’t thought that she even cared enough to try. And that thought was the last one he needed when he and his libido were having such a hard time sorting themselves out.
‘Right. I’ll make us some coffee.’
He hurriedly set about filling the kettle. Opening a cupboard, he took out a couple of mugs and placed them on the worktop. There was fresh milk in the tiny fridge and sugar in the jar so he fetched them as well. By the time he had done all that, he was feeling far more in control. Maybe it had come as a surprise to discover that Bella knew him rather better than he had thought she did, but he wasn’t going to allow it to throw him off course. Maybe he did want to hold her, kiss her, do all sorts of things to her he had never even contemplated before, but he wasn’t going to forfeit their friendship for a night of rampant sex. Bella was too important to him; he cared too much about her. And not even what Tim had told him could change that.
It was a moment of revelation, a light-bulb moment that suddenly made everything so much clearer. He may have accepted what Tim had told him. He may even have been hurt and angry about what Bella had done, but he still cared about her. And he always would.
* * *
‘Thank you.’ Bella accepted the cup of coffee. It was too hot to drink and she set it down on the table in front of the couch.
Everything was scaled down to fit, yet, surprisingly, it didn’t feel cramped. She found herself comparing it to the vast amount of space in her rented apartment and realised that she much preferred it here. In fact, she had never felt so at ease in any of her previous homes, not even the house she and Tim had started their married life in.
Tim’s parents had insisted on buying the elegant Georgian town house for them as a wedding present and her parents, not to be outdone, had insisted on furnishing it. However, the designer-styled rooms with their expensive furniture and luxurious fabrics couldn’t hold a candle to this place, she decided. The house had been more an expression of wealth than a real home and it was a relief not to have to live there any longer.
The thought immediately made her feel guilty. It reminded her of how relieved she’d been when she had finally plucked up the courage to leave. It had taken her months of soul-searching before she had reached her decision and it still hurt to know that she had broken her marriage vows, even though she’d had no choice. Tim’s behaviour had become increasingly erratic by that point; he had become a danger to his patients as well as to himself. Leaving him had been the only thing she could think of to shock him into seeking help and it had worked too. But did Mac understand that? Did he understand just how hard it had been for her to break her vows? All of a sudden Bella knew that she needed to find out.
