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‘Hmm?’
‘If not an optimist, are you happy, at least?’
I stare back at her for a long moment, surprised by her probing question and the way I feel like she should already know the answer...but then how can she? We don’t know each other any more.
‘I’ve achieved what I set out to in business. I dominate the industry. I work for my own satisfaction. I do what I want, when I want. When the only person you can disappoint or be disappointed by is yourself, life becomes much simpler. Don’t you think?’
‘Simple and straightforward...’ she reaffirms for me. ‘There’s a definite truth to that.’
‘And you? Are you happy?’
Her lashes flutter. There’s a subtle dance flickering in the depths of her eyes—or is it just the flames of the fire...the candles...?
‘I’d like to think so.’
She’s not sure, though. There’s too much hesitation, too much thought.
‘There’s been no one else since Analise, then? No one serious?’
I straighten. Maybe I should have expected her to dig deeper into my personal life, to push back, and the answer is simple enough, so why I don’t give it to her straight is beyond me.
Liar.
‘According to the press, there have been many...’
‘But according to you...?’
‘No, Summer.’ I meet her eye, take up my cutlery and stab at my food.
There’s been no one because you broke me. Analise didn’t even fracture the surface because there was nothing left to break.
‘I had a narrow escape,’ I permit myself to admit. ‘And I have been grateful for it ever since. My life is my own and I prefer it that way.’
She nods slowly, and I think she’s about to leave it alone...but then, when did Summer ever leave me in peace?
‘What happened to all your dreams of getting married, Edward? Of having children?’
I’m so relieved that my fork hasn’t quite made it to my mouth. ‘They were the dreams of an inexperienced foolish youth.’
‘But what happens to your gran’s legacy if you don’t marry and have children?’
‘I don’t know, Summer. You tell me, since it’s a problem we now face together.’
She opens her mouth, closes it again, her frown turning her delectable lips down...lips I really don’t want to be focusing on...
But has she not even considered it? The future implications of Gran’s wishes and how bound together we are now?
‘So it is...’ she murmurs.
So it is...
No fight, no clever retort, no denial...
As if you really want one.
