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“Try telling him that.”
“I hate him so much, and I hate that I hate him.”
Julia put her arm around Cindy. “I get that, too. It’s a terrible thing to carry around. It’s always with us, even in the good times.”
“Exactly.”
“It’s not fair that he’s messing up what might be the start of something lovely for you.”
“He’s not messing it up, and for all I know, this might just be a new roommate, not the start of anything lovely.”
“Keep an open mind. You never know what might happen.”
“I don’t want to go into this new living arrangement hoping it’ll be more than that.”
“Even if you hope it’ll be more than that?”
Cindy nudged Julia with her elbow, making her sister laugh. “I like him. I think he likes me, too. Beyond that, who knows?”
“Despite my initial reservations, I can see you have genuine feelings for this guy. I really hope it turns into something amazing. You deserve that. We all do.”
“We’ll see. Thanks for the pep talk. I needed it.”
“I’m here for that any time you need it. Don’t let the dark stuff drown out the light in your life, Cin. Don’t give him that kind of easy victory. You hear me?”
“I do. Thank you for the reminder.”
“Go welcome your sexy new roommate with my permission to fully enjoy anything good that may come of your friendship with him.”
Cindy hugged her sister. “Thanks, Jules. Love you.”
“Love you more.”
“No way.”
“Yes, way. I changed your diapers. That means I love you more.”
Cindy laughed at the familiar comment. If Katie and Julia had told her once, they’d told her a million times how they’d changed her diapers, and since they were only a few years older than her, she doubted that had ever happened. She parted company with her sister, feeling a thousand pounds lighter than she had a few minutes earlier. Having family who understood in her daily life was such a blessing when the dark tried to smother the light.
Julia knew all too well what kind of damage their dad was capable of. She’d battled an awful eating disorder after hearing him tell her she was getting fat her whole childhood, when she’d never come close to being fat. He’d found a way to pick at each of them, homing in on their insecurities and working them as he tried to control them.
“Stop thinking about him,” Cindy said out loud, as if that might help her put him in the past where he belonged. “Think about the good stuff.” She rounded the last corner before her street and headed toward home, where a handsome man sat on her front stoop, swigging from a bottle of water.
Speaking of the good stuff.
He smiled when he saw her coming.
Cindy immediately added his sexy grin to the list of positive things in her life.
She is so damned pretty.That was always Jace’s first thought when he saw her, but she was even more so with the late-day sun shining on her, highlighting the golden streaks in her dark blonde hair. As she approached the small house they would share as of today, her smile lit up her face and filled him with a warm feeling of welcome.
He’d felt bad about having to reject her offer of a month trial period and had hoped that wouldn’t make things awkward between them when he got to the house today with the two duffel bags that contained most of his belongings. If there was one “good” thing about spending years in prison, it was the ability to travel light.
He had no idea what’d become of his other possessions after he was arrested. Lisa had probably tossed his stuff in a dumpster, not that he could blame her. His most prized possession was the photo of the boys Seamus had texted to him after they first connected, which Jace had printed and framed to keep on his bedside table. That was the thing he’d grab in a fire.
It occurred to him as he watched Cindy approach that he’d also grab her.
“Sorry I wasn’t here when you arrived. I ran into my sister in town and got to talking.”
