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She flashed him a tense smile. “Another time, another place, Roberto might have been a great dad. We were young, virtually kids.”
“Mmm.” He growled disapprovingly. “But you were the kid that got left holding the baby, literally.”
“And now I’m the parent who gets all the joy. Maxie is a great kid. I can’t imagine my life without him.”
“So you think you’ll stay here? In Wadeford?”
Katie immediately saw where the line of questioning was going and her heart soared, before she had a chance to restrain it. Could it be that he was still trying to instigate a more serious relationship? She bit down on her lip before admitting, slowly, “This is our home.”
“But what about photography? Isn’t that something you still want to pursue?” And now, with Maxie puttering out into the cove, and no one else around, he took her hand in his, lacing their fingers together tightly. The small gesture made her smile.
“Yes. But I have to do what’s best for Maxie.”
“You’ve never thought about selling the Bed and Breakfast and moving somewhere else? So that you can pursue your dreams?” He hated himself for asking, given that he was the one trying to buy her house from her and she had no idea about it. But overridingly, he was genuinely interested in what made her feet so stuck in the mud when it came to his more than generous purchase offer.
“I’ve thought about it,” she said honestly. “I actually received an approach a little while back, from someone interested in buying my place. I thought about it long and hard, and decided it just wouldn’t be right for us.”
He frowned, pushing aside the guilt at his own duplicity. “Why not?”
When she shrugged her slender shoulders, her dark hair rippled in response. “This is the only home Maxie’s ever known. He has no one but me, and my mum – who he hardly ever sees. No brothers, no sisters, no cousins, no aunts, uncles, and no dad. But he has great friends in Wadeford, and I think it would be too great a wrench to rip him out of all that.”
Marcus felt the strength of her argument. He’d never sacrificed anything he wanted for another human being though, so it was difficult to fully relate to it.
“He’s a good kid. He’d be happy anywhere you were happy.”
“I know. Maybe it’s that I’m happy here, too. This was my aunt’s business, and I feel like I’m doing her proud by working so hard to make it a success.”
David understood the pressures of self-motivation. He had driven himself so hard through his twenties that he’d had no time for anything else. “Can I be honest with you?”
“After what I said to you yesterday? I think you owe me.” She titled a wry smile at him and was rewarded with a beaming grin.
“I know you inherited Wadeford House. And you’re doing a great job. But some inheritances can be albatrosses around your neck.”
“What do you mean?”
“Just that instead of being financially enabled to raise Maxie and pursue your dreams, you’ve been shackled with a big old building that requires constant maintenance and sucks all your energy. If you could write your life, is this what you’d be doing?”
She looked out toward the horizon, thoughtfully. “I don’t know,” she said finally.
Marcus watched the play of emotions across her face. He would have never suggested it except that he truly believed she had bitten off more than she could – or needed to – chew. His desire to purchase the property was irrelevant. At that point, he didn’t even care if she sold to him or not. But he wanted her to be happy, and living her dream. Her photographs hung on the walls in the accommodation. She was truly talented. He didn’t doubt she could make a success of herself if she were at liberty to give it the time required. Maybe there was even some way he could help her?
Her laugh was self-mocking. “I just concentrated so hard on building the business that I never really thought about alternatives.”
“You said you received an offer?”
She nodded. “The idea of selling, not knowing what to do with my life, makes me jumpy. Uneasy.”
“I can understand that.”
“When Maxie was little, the B&B was the perfect job. I could work around his naps, and always have him with me. But now that he’s at school, I guess I do have some more options.”
“It would be a waste of your talent to not even try.”
“I need to give it some more thought,” she said with a shrug and Marcus let it go, not wanting to seem too invested in the outcome.
“I guess not having kids has left you free to follow whatever dreams you want. Like travel.”
The cold ache spread through his chest, as always, and for the first time, he heard himself tell someone what had happened. “Veronica was pregnant once.”
