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Brand squeamish? She struggled to picture that possibility and couldn’t. Unlike Corey. Maybe she could picture that so easily because she’d lived through the worst possible demonstration of his reaction to her injuries.
“You know I’ll help anyway I can,” she offered. “It’s just not my area of expertise.”
“At this point, I’m willing to try almost anything.”
“Including marriage.”
“Clearly.” He paused his ministrations. “But we were talking about your concerns. We’ve addressed my family and Toni. What else is worrying you?”
She’d always managed on her own, even her recovery from the motorcycle accident that almost cost her life. An accident that had injured her knee and hip and so badly scarred her abdomen Corey had found it disgusting to lookat.
That didn’t change one crucial fact. When her marriage to Brand ended, she’d need a way to support herself. She lifted her gaze tohis.
“What happens if this doesn’t work out?”
They’d finally arrived at the heart of the matter, and one he easily addressed. “If we decide the marriage isn’t working, I’ll make sure you have employment at Salvatores. I’ll also fund housing and your college education for you until you’ve completed your degree and are on your feet, financially. What you choose to do after that is entirely up to you. But I would recommend you remain in San Francisco at least until you have the necessary tools you’ll need to take care of yourself.”
“I—” She broke off and shook her head, her relief palpable. “Thank you. That’s more than generous.”
“Mia, I’m not going to leave you hanging.” He resumed his massage. “I’m also not going to force you to remain in a situation that’s untenable for both of us.”
The anxiety eased from her body. “Okay. Right. That helps a lot.” Brand’s hands skated higher and her tension returned tenfold. Without a word she shifted, swinging her legs to the floor and adjusting her skirts to make sure her scars were covered.
“Mia?”
She snatched a deep breath and gave him a direct look. “It’s not a pretty sight.”
“Your leg?”
She nodded. “I have some nasty scars.”
A frown formed between his eyebrows. “You don’t need to be embarrassed.”
“I’m not,” she denied with a shrug. “I’ve just found that some people react badly to the sight of them.”
He swore beneath his breath, then reached for her hand. “I’m not one of those people. And anyone who is, isn’t worth your time or attention.”
She managed a tight smile. “That’s good to know, all things considered.”
All things like when they eventually made love. She’d come close one time with the boy responsible for her injuries. Before they could, they’d been in the motorcycle accident. Afterward, Corey had taken one look at her wounds and left the hospital and never returned. Left her lying there at her most vulnerable and ghosted her from that point forward. It had been one of the worst nights of herlife.
“When you’re comfortable with me, when the time is right, you can show me. The only issue I’ll have with them is sorrow that you had to go through such a traumatic experience.”
“Okay, fair enough.” Mia didn’t know if she believed him, though his daughter also had scars he’d had to deal with. With luck, Toni’s weren’t anywhere near as bad. Still… She’d find out eventually. Not now. Wrong time, wrong place. She stood. “It’s been a long night and I suspect tomorrow will be an even longer, more stressful one. I’d like to grab a shower and turn in. You can follow suit, if you’ll give me twenty or thirty minutes.”
“I can sleep out here, if you prefer.”
She instantly shook her head. “The settee is far too small. This suite has a bed large enough for half a dozen people. Plenty of room.” She offered a quick grin. “If it helps, Ipromise not to take advantage of you.”
She left him chuckling and disappeared into the bedroom. After the fastest possible shower, she wrapped herself in one of the giant towels the hotel offered and returned to the bedroom to pull her nightgown out of her suitcase.
Her cell phone rang just then, and though she recognized the California area code, the number didn’t appear familiar. But then, what numbers did she really know? Though she’d become a citizen, she didn’t truly have any close friends or family in the United States. Or outside of it, anymore.
She picked up the phone and connected the call, half expecting a hang up or a prank call given the late hour. “Hello?” she said tentatively.
“Ms. Starr.” Intense satisfaction ran through the pronouncement of hername.
She instantly recognized the voice, panic sweeping over her.Soren. For some reason, standing practically naked in a strange room while Brand’s brother addressed her inthattone left her more exposed that she’d ever felt in her entirelife.
