AllFreeNovel
Share Us
He almost smiles. “You’re so young,” he says, trailing his finger down my face. “You really have no idea how nasty divorces can be do you?”
He knows I don’t. My husband is dead. I shake my head.
“I’m in love with you, Isobel. But I can’t lose everything.”
“Then don’t.”
This sets him off. He throws up his hands. He wants me to concede, to tell him I understand. He wants me to make it easy for him. He doesn’t know me. “What am I supposed to do?”
I mimic his shrug. “Be with me.”
“It’s not that simple.”
“Nothing is.” He appreciates the truth.
“I need to know I can trust you.”
I don’t know what he wants from me. He loves me. He loves me not. “Of course, you can.”
“Do you want children Isobel?”
“I don’t know,” I say. My voice comes out shrill. I hate the way it gives me away when I lie. “I haven’t given it much thought…”
“I need you to,” he tells me earnestly. “I also need you to think about how far you’re willing to go for love—for us.”
“I think if we just talk to her—if we just tell her the truth—she’ll understand. It’s not like we meant for this to happen.”
“You don’t know Josie.”
I don’t know what he means by this. But I know enough to know she has a lifestyle I’d want to hang onto if I were in her shoes. Literally.
“She’ll never let me go that easy.” He presses his lips together. “She’ll never let me off the hook.”
“What do we do?”
He doesn’t answer immediately. I can see the wheels turning. “You leave that to me,” he says when I reach for his hand. He doesn’t pull away. “For now— I want to make love to you one last time.”
I climb in the backseat. He follows. He’s soft and tender and desperate and so full of shit.
I cry afterward. It takes a lot. But I manage. “This can’t be our last time.”
Grant wipes the tears from my eyes. “Then let’s do something crazy.”
“Like run away together?” I ask buttoning my jeans. I realize afterward how stupid this sounds and I wish I could take it back.
He shakes his head. “No,” he says. “Something else.”
I raise my brow and wait for him to tell me more. “Can I trust you Isobel?”
“I told you, you could,” I scoff. This is getting annoying. I hate needy men. “I’ve said it a million times.”
He narrows his gaze. “Good,” he says. “Now, I’m going to have to ask you to prove it to me.”
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Josie
“I’d like an Americano, please,” I say. I stumble on the last word. She doesn’t deserve niceties. Old habits die hard. She nods in confirmation and I can see in her expression, she knows I know. How strange to know that someone you’re so close to can have a life without you. I wonder what he’s told her about me. I shouldn’t wonder these things. At this point, it’s futile.
