Page 38 of Solitary Man

He shoved his fingers through his hair. “You get a sore back sitting on the bed or at the kitchen table. Can tell in the evenings.”

I nodded.

“So…” He motioned to the desk again.

“You made it?”

He nodded.

“And the bookshelf?”

He nodded again.

“For me?”

Another nod.

“You did all of this…for me?”

He didn’t nod this time, he just stared at me.

“Cash, it’s…it’s beautiful. All of it.” I put my mug on top of one of my notebooks, turned, and flew at him. He caught me instantly, and I hugged him tight, peppering his face with kisses. “I love it. I love it so much.”

His deep chuckles vibrated against my chest, and I loved that, too. He carried me to the desk and set my butt on the varnished top.

“Glad,” he said gruffly.

There was an old, worn leather chair behind it. It looked well loved. “Where did you find the chair?” I ran my fingers over the buttery soft leather.

“It was my mom’s.”

His expression was carefully blank. Always keeping his feelings locked away. The only time I got more out of him was when we were naked. It bothered me. I’d been here for three weeks now. No, that wasn’t that long, but I assumed after he felt more comfortable around me, he’d start to share, even just a little.

I rested my hand on his chest. “Thank you, I’m honored you’d let me use it.”

“It’s yours,” he said just as gruffly.

He stood back and let me climb down and try it out. Oh yes, it was incredibly comfortable and the perfect height for the desk.

I flipped my laptop open.

He moved my drink closer to me, and I quickly grabbed the notebook and put it under it. No way did I want mug rings on my gorgeous desk. I smiled up at him.

His amazing blue eyes scanned my face. “I’ve got some work to do.”

“Okay,” I said. I didn’t want him to go, but instead of saying that, I said, “No one’s ever done anything like this for me. Not ever.”

My parents had occasionally sent me gifts from their travels, but they didn’t know me, had never known me. There’d been no love, no meaning behind the things they sent. Just a way to assuage their guilt.

His nostrils flared and his chest expanded, then he dipped his chin and walked out.

I took in my beautiful new office and blinked rapidly. So much thought had gone into every detail.

I looked back to my laptop, opened my work in progress, and started to write. When I was in the city, I’d struggled. Stress and fear had made it impossible to get the words down. But here, with Cash, they were flowing.

I glanced up from my work and did a double take at the time. I’d been at it for three hours. There was a muffin and a cup of tea beside me, and the heater had been turned on in the corner of the room. I’d been so in the zone, I hadn’t even noticed Cash walk in. I glanced out the window. He was walking across the field, back to his workshop.

I took a bite out of my muffin. I’d made them yesterday. They weren’t half bad. I was no culinary goddess, but at least I was improving. While I sipped my drink, I filed away my notebooks in the bottom drawer, grinning to myself when I found the emails Cash and I had exchanged, the ones I’d printed off. I’d planned to scrapbook them before I came, a memento for us both, but hadn’t gotten around to it.