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It was so odd. One smile from Celia felt precious to him. Emily had smiled often up until her diagnosis, and most of the way through her last years. Grinning was her normal expression, and he’d taken it for granted.
Trenton knew Celia would shower for the night before heading to bed. He went to his own room, settling in, resting his head on his pillow. It was late. He should have been asleep already. Instead, he rolled to his side, then to his back again. When the faint click of her bedroom door closing came, he realized he’d been waiting for it.
Celia was always quiet, but he’d still noticed she often woke in the middle of the night, or possibly didn’t sleep. Most of the time, she’d go for water and then return to her room. He’d gone out a few times only to see the light on in the guest bedroom. She’d seemed to want privacy instead of company.
He told himself to sleep, trying his other side. After the passage of time, he sighed and tossed off the covers. There was no click when he opened his door. He’d gotten good at pulling it just right when sleep had been so precious to Emily.
Trenton had only gone a few steps when he saw her. Celia hadn’t heard him, but instead stared out the glass doors at the moon above the city. She wasn’t dressed to entice in any way, not in the shirt and shorts combo she wore. Only the shirt was too big, and the sleeve had slipped down to reveal the pale skin of her shoulder in the moonlight. Her feet curled up beside her appeared delicate, despite the fact that she’d been on them for hours. She stared down at something in her hand, and the stillness in her face edged him closer.
“Is everything all right?” he asked softly.
Her hand clenched tight around the paper she held, as if hiding it from view. “Yes.” She wasn’t one to force a smile. “Sorry to wake you.”
“You didn’t. I was thirsty.” It was a lie, but also not a lie. She couldn’t be responsible for waking him when he hadn’t been asleep. His hands clenched at his sides. “You really don’t need to apologize to me.”
A mixture of thoughts flashed in those dark eyes, all ones he couldn’t follow. “Well, good night again,” she said, turning and padding toward her room.
Trenton watched her disappear before returning to his own room.
Chapter 17
Celiahadn’texpectedTrentonto be gone in the morning, though a part of her was relieved. It would have been the first full day they were home together. Malcolm closed the tavern every Sunday—not for religious purposes, but because he believed it was important to take a full day off each week.
Trenton hadn’t had work, or so he had initially said, but the note he’d left under the smoothie he’d made for her mentioned running to the office.
She shouldn’t have left her room the night before. Considering her counseling options had made it hard to sleep. It helped her to talk about her past to strangers. To voice the concerns over the biological patterns she’d seen in herself. She used counseling to help identify the warning signs that her symptoms were getting worse.
She’d never blamed her mother for the things she’d done. Between one moment and the next, her mother would forget. No, the injuries had happened because her father had often denied what was happening. That was the one thing Celia refused to do, deny her inner instability.
Trenton hadn’t seemed to notice yet. He cared about everyone equally, as if worrying for others was normal. She’d been the one to avoid him, pretending to sleep in during the mornings until he’d left for work. The man had no idea how appealing he was. Even at the tavern the night before, he’d completely ignored the women who were clearly interested in him. Instead, he’d been watching her with that concerned look he got sometimes.
Celia wished she could get him to stop doing things for her. First letting her stay and acting like she was ridiculous to push to pay rent. Plus the smoothies he made for her every morning, picking her up from her shifts every night, the care with which he’d bandaged her, and the concern over her sleepless night. It was stacking up way too high.
She took her smoothie back to her room, spreading out the tips she’d earned that. She highly doubted that Trenton would actually give her a figure for rent, so she carved out what she thought would be fair. It still left her some extra.
She knew she should probably save it. She couldn’t stay with Malcolm’s friend forever. Another sip of the smoothie gave her an idea she couldn’t quite shake. Trenton liked healthy foods, and there was one of those organic supermarkets not too far from his condo. Celia wasn’t the best cook, but she could chop up a salad or something and treat him to lunch.
The soft, surprised smile she imagined him wearing made her happy. She downed the rest of the smoothie, shoving her money into her pocket before returning to the kitchen to rinse out the glass. She’d always been big on everything having its place. The calm routine of it as a child had seemed to help on her mother’s good days. It had been nice to find out that Trenton treated his place the same way. If he’d been messy or cluttered, she would have probably driven him crazy.
Well, not crazy, she told herself with a wince. Maybe bothered him to distraction, if that was even possible. The man was too focused for his own good.
The only time he tripped over himself was when he talked about his wife. He’d obviously loved her very much.
Celia checked the clock. She had plenty of time to scrape together lunch for the two of them. Trenton’s note had mentioned picking up some documents, so he likely wouldn’t be long.
She patted her pocket, which held not only her money but also the spare key Trenton had given her. Even when she was home, she carried it. She’d had plenty of places on her own, so it wasn’t like it was her first key. Still, it was the first place she’d stayed in with another person since she’d moved out on her own. It wouldn’t last forever, but the reminder that she was handling it well made her happy.
At the supermarket, she grabbed a hand basket to keep her selections light. She didn’t have to do anything fancy, just healthy. Trenton liked to eat more vegetables than the normal man. A salad would be perfect.
She hadn’t brought any bags, so she felt she deserved to be conned into one of the reusable totes. Trenton would probably find that environmentally friendly. Happy with her purchases, she headed to the automatic doors at the entrance.
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” a voice said.
Celia froze, clutching the bag in her hand as she turned to her former fiancé. Daniel was alone, at least. She nodded and started to move past him.
His hand encircled her arm, halting her. “What are you still doing here, Celia?”
Frowning, Celia reluctantly raised her gaze. “I don’t need to explain myself to you.”
