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"I’m sorry." He whispered hoarsely.
"Sydney Randall, you’re about to piss off a very sick woman. There’s nothing to apologize for as I keep telling you."
Bringing her hands to his lips, he kissed them. "I’ve asked you to marry me."
"And I said no." She smiled at him, love glowing in her golden-brown eyes. "We’re exactly where we should be. We’ll leave this to the young people. Our time for that sort of thing has passed. It's their time now."
Chapter 2
"You look more shabby than ever. A rich guy like you can’t afford a barber?"
He wanted to tell her she was even more exquisite than he remembered, but he knew how that would go. So, instead, he grinned and dragged one hand through his tangled almost shoulder length blonde hair. "I happen to like it the way it is. Something smells good."
"Beef stew and take off those boots at the doorway."
"Yes, Mother." With a grimace, he did as he was told.
"How was the journey?"
"Solitary and kinda satisfying." He wandered into the warm, cozy kitchen and sniffed the air. She was wearing leggings and a thin sweater. Her thick curls were piled on top of her head and she wasn’t wearing makeup or any jewelry. It amazed him she could be so beautiful without any sort of enhancement. "You baked?"
"I was in the zone. Pour me some of that wine, will you?"
"Always at your service." He said mockingly as he popped the cork and poured some into a glass.
"You’re such a prick."
"And you’re still the same bitch I’ve known for years." He handed her the glass and watched as she took a sip.
"That’s what I aim for." Putting aside the glass, she went back to chopping vegetables for the salad. "How’s your Dad?"
"Great."
Dumping the chopped lettuce into the bowl, she reached for the tomatoes. "I suppose we should talk about the elephant in the room."
"Before we eat?"
"Yes." She finished with the tomatoes and started on the apples. "I have to get it out of the way. It's absurd."
"I agree."
She gave him a sharp look. "Yet you want to go through with it? What happened to the bimbo you were seeing in England?"
"She’s a sweetheart and we broke it off."
"Why if she was such a sweetheart?"
"She wanted more than I could give her."
"Marriage?"
"Something like that."
She finished chopping and went to get some herbs. Popping a slice of tomato into her mouth, she offered him a piece. "Boy, this is crazy."
"So you keep saying."
"We’re more like siblings than anything else."
