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“I guess you want to end things between us, now that you know the ugly truth.” She had shrugged. “Not that this was a thing anyway.”
“I am in love with you.” He had felt it before and had delayed saying it, thinking it was too soon.
“You are out of your damn mind. Aren’t you too smart to mistake a very good roll in the hay for the word you just said?”
He had smiled at that. “I am in love with you.” He had repeated it slowly and felt the power of it burning through his body. “And I am not going anywhere. You are stuck with me.”
She had avoided him for a week and he had allowed it. Then he had turned up outside her apartment building and waited for her to appear. “I am prepared to create a scene,” he had warned. “But I know for damn certain that we are going to talk.”
She had stomped in, ignoring the curious looks cast their way as they made their way past the concierge and up to her rooms. She had refused to talk to him and stared straight ahead without looking at him.
It had amused him until she told him as soon as they entered her living room that she wanted him out of her life. “I know you are accustomed to getting what you want, but this time it is not going to happen.”
“Let me tell you how this is going to go.” He had proceeded by hauling her into his arms and taking her right there on the floor.
She stirred slightly and he soothed her by running his hands up and down her back. Loving her had changed him completely.
Chapter 3
She visited the place she had called home for many years. It could not be helped or so she told herself. She had made the monumental decision. She was off the contraceptive and was on the verge of becoming a mother.
The way he made love to her, every chance he got, meant that she would be carrying his seed inside her very soon. She had told him that she was ready and was trying to convince herself she was.
She wanted a child by him, a son or daughter who favored him, who inherited that determined streak, that capacity to love. She wanted that for the child. She was not certain what he or she would inherit from her.
She had not said anything to him this morning about coming here, because he would have had something to say about it. The man was so protective that it was annoying or endearing, depending on how one looked at it.
She sat in the car and stared at the small red brick house, long fingers tapping on the steering wheel. It had been renovated, somewhat. Someone, no doubt the family who lived there now, had put up a white picket fence. And there were big red posies hanging from baskets on the porch.
It was almost Christmas and there were pepper lights hanging around the roof. She had never had anything like that. This building had been a house of misery and pain for her and David. Especially her. She had shielded her brother by taking the brunt of their father's brutality.
Taking a deep breath, she exited the car and walked up to the gate. It was not yet ten and the neighborhood was quiet. It had always been a quiet area, except inside their house.
She had wondered if the neighbors knew what was going on and chose not to poke their noses in. It was a distinct possibility. Pushing the gate open, she walked up the cobbled driveway, stopping at the steps as a woman bustled out.
The scent of baking hit her nostrils as soon as the door was opened. Yes, it was different here, this was indeed a home.
"May I help you?" The woman was wearing casual leggings and a thick red sweater, over which she had tied on a cheerful looking apron with red and green leaves patterned over white. Her unruly black curls were pinned on top of her head and there was a smudge of flour on her left cheek.
"I am sorry to bother you." Remi thought strongly about turning around and going back to her car. "I used to live here."
"Oh." The woman came down the steps. "I know you."
"I imagine you do."
"You are together with that gorgeous hotelier, Wade Bramwell."
"Yes."
"Would you like to come in?"
"I don't want to intrude."
"Nonsense. My name is Sheila Brown. The husband and kids are out for the morning, picking up last minute items." She gestured to the porch. "We are having his folks and mine over for the holidays, so it is going to be a crush."
She led the way up the steps and straight into complete warmth and coziness. The scent of baking permeated the air, making her feel as if she had stepped into a bakery. Remi could detect cinnamon and something else she could not identify.
"Your Christmas tree is huge," she commented as they stepped inside.
