AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“No one could live up to her standards—not even she was capable of such a feat. She had one surgery after another, even though I begged her to stop. We went as far as to ban her from our clinic.”
“Did she die during a procedure?”
He gravely nodded. “The idiot surgeon punctured her lung during her last abdominoplasty.”
She was so thin in her pictures. What did they have to tuck?
“That’s terrible.”
He swallowed hard. “When the doctor told me there was nothing else they could do for her, I cried—because I couldn’t cry over her the way a husband should. I felt relieved more than anything. Like my time in hell had finally come to an end.”
“Oh, Patrick.” My heart broke for him.
He took my hand and kissed the palm. “A lot of it is a blur. I let her parents say whatever they wanted to about her death and our family. They had trained her well in the art of merciless means to obtain your desire. They’d sell their souls to save their reputations if necessary. My focus was on finding a new place for my children to live where they can hopefully heal and process. Maybe forgive their father for allowing them to grow up in such a volatile environment.”
“I don’t know Rory and Bridgette well, but it’s obvious they love you.”
“I appreciate you saying that. I know I have a lot to answer for. I just couldn’t risk her taking them away from me,” his voice broke. “And given the chance, she would have—because the world bought her story. I bought her story,” he lamented.
I blinked and blinked. Hearing him talk was like watching one of those documentaries about a psychotic killer that lived next door, where everyone believed they were a great person and were shocked to find out they were chopping up bodies in the basement. Maybe Nina didn’t kill anyone, but she obviously had no problem imploding lives. “I almost feel violated, knowing we were all so taken in by her. I’m so sorry. I wish I could make it better.”
“You are making it better. I don’t believe it’s a coincidence we ended up here. It wasn’t this place that called to me.Youcalled to me.”
While I loved that thought ... “You didn’t even know I was in Fair Hollow when you decided to move here.”
“It doesn’t matter. My soul knew.”
“You and Charlotte and George will get along famously.” I grinned.
“Why is that?”
“They believe the inn calls to soul mates.”
“You don’t?”
“I’m not sure anymore.” Soul mates—that’s a scary thought. It bothered me that one person like Nina could, unbeknownst to me, change the direction of my life, causing me to miss out on my possible soul mate.
“So, you’re saying you do believe.” He inched closer, his lips teasing mine.
I gazed at Patrick with wide-eyed wonder, still amazed he was here. “Perhaps you will make a believer out of me,” I purred.
“I will do my best.” His lips skimmed mine, taking only a taste.
“Patrick, I don’t want Nina to ever steal another thing from you and me, or your children. Let’s make this the most amazing Christmas your children have ever had.”
He winced upon hearing the wordChristmas. “I don’t know if that’s a good idea.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “Too many bad memories.”
I grabbed his shirt and tugged him toward me. “I seem to recall a memory or two of us under the tree and then in the hot tub. I would say they were awfully merry and bright memories.”
He shivered and coughed. “Are you saying you would like a reenactment?”
“I think you could use some Christmas cheer.”
“Isabelle,” he groaned. “You are very tempting.”
“Your kids need this. I mean, not the hot tub and, you know, the stuff we did under the tree, but all the other Christmas things,” I fumbled.
Patrick chuckled. “Yes, I don’t think my children would appreciate knowing all thestuffwe did.”
