Broken Open. Lauren Dane

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СКАЧАТЬ keep from confronting my shit. And then I had so much noise and nothing but time so I found some silence and it wasn’t until then that I could really do the work.”

      “Talk about self-aware.”

      “Therapy.”

      “Ah. Well.”

      “I see you know what I mean.” The moment he said it he wished he could recall the words immediately.

      “I’m sorry. I forgot. It was careless.”

      She blew out a breath. “It’s all right. I promise. In this case, though, I had therapy when I was a kid. Before I knew Eric even existed. I was nine. There was an accident on a field trip. Our van flipped and ended up in a river.”

      Her voice had gone faraway.

      “Two of my classmates and one of my teachers died. I’d been motion sick and the window had been open so I wouldn’t throw up. It’s how I got out so fast. Anyway, my parents made me go to a psychologist to deal with the nightmares and the grief counseling stuff. Wow, I’ve made this rather heavy. I’m sorry to be a buzzkill.”

      Buzzkill his ass. She was incredible. He made a disapproving sound as he pulled up the drive to the large Victorian Tuesday shared with Natalie. The motion sensor lights flooded the front of the house, exposing pretty front gardens and a porch with furniture that invited you to sit.

      He keyed the car off and turned to her. “So we both found our silence it looks like.”

      She nodded. A shadow across her features meant he couldn’t see her expression very well. “And owned our loneliness, huh?”

      Maybe so, but he didn’t have to be alone right then and neither did she.

      He ignored her rhetorical question. “Let me walk you in. Make sure everything is all right.”

      “Is this a pity good-night hand squeeze for the widow?”

      Holding back an annoyed snarl, he got out and circled to her side, opening the door and helping her to her feet.

      He moved in close. “Is that what you want from me, Tuesday? Pity? I can give you pity at a coffee shop in broad daylight. I can send you a book about grief but I’m betting you’ve written one of your own.”

      Her gaze flicked up, snagging on his. Defiant. Good. He didn’t want her afraid or cowed; he wanted her to know who he was and want him anyway.

      She licked her lips and then shrugged. “I want you to touch me and never make me think you feel sorry for me. People die, Ezra. It happened. It happened when I was nine and it happened four years ago. I’ll die. You’ll die. It’s what we’re born to do. I don’t need your pity. I need your dick.”

      He barked a laugh, surprised. She clearly didn’t want to go into it any deeper right then so he let it go because he knew what that felt like. “I think I can manage that.”

      “All right then.” She linked her arm through his and walked, her heels dangling from a fingertip as they headed up her front porch steps.

      Ezra was sure the house was fine; they had good locks and security. It wasn’t really that he had to walk her in, or that he was concerned for her safety. Sharon Hurley’s sons might have been an unruly handful at school, but they always opened doors for people; they said please, thank you, sir and ma’am; and they walked their dates to the door. Hurleys had a protective streak when it came to people they considered theirs.

      Theirs. She was his brother’s girlfriend’s best friend. And he considered Tuesday a friend. So that’s what it was. Nothing more.

      Ezra paused at that for a moment but let it pass.

      He wanted to be with her. Alone in a place he could lay her out and enjoy her awhile. Natalie would be with Paddy so they’d have the house all to themselves where they’d be far less likely to be interrupted by someone whose last name ended in a Y.

      Tuesday turned to him as he heard the snick of a lamp turning on. The main living area warmed with a golden glow. He’d been there before with Natalie, but this was the first time he’d been inside, alone with Tuesday. It was a nice enough place but he wasn’t there to look at the furniture.

      “The smile on your face?” One of her brows slid up. “Should I be delighted or worried?”

      “All my smiles when it comes to you are ones that should delight you.”

      “Wow. That’s a really bold statement, Ezra.”

      “I’m full of bold statements, beauty.”

      She hummed as she dropped the shoes and then headed to him, not stopping until one of her hands rested on his chest. “I think I’m going to like finding out. Come upstairs. I’ll show you my side of the house.”

CHAPTER FOUR

      SHE TOOK HIS hand and led him through the house and kitchen. “Nat and I each occupy half the upstairs. My entry is back here.”

      Her stairs led up a spiral case that was mainly windows. Even better, he realized as he looked up and up, the highest panes were stained glass.

      “Is that as pretty as I think it could be when the light hits it just right?”

      She indicated the area with a wave of her hand. “Yes. It lights this whole space with blues and reds. Those panels were the original. The people who sold the house to Natalie had taken them out and replaced them with clear glass. We found the stained glass in the shed out back. Not even a hairline crack. It’s amazing but they were in perfect condition.”

      Once they walked a few steps in, he slid into what was, without a doubt, Tuesday’s innermost world. Though the elegance and classic lines weren’t a surprise, he found this space—her private space— unexpectedly soft.

      The furniture in her realm was more formal, in curves and swoops. He didn’t know what the style was called, but he liked it. Decorative moldings and a chair rail defined the walls without overtaking the space. Soft blues and yellows complemented a seating area with a small love seat and table. Bookshelves had been built along one wall, framing the window where a chaise sat with a throw tossed on the back and an e-reader on the side table.

      The imagined peace one would feel just lying there reading on a lazy afternoon tugged at him, made him hungry for it. It had been way too long since being lazy had been a luxury he’d allowed himself.

      “Reading nook?”

      She nodded. “When I came up here the first time, this part of the house had been empty. Natalie didn’t have enough furniture to fill it up and she’d really only been living in her half of the upstairs. Anyway. I got up here and it was afternoon. The light slanted across the floors just right and I knew this was a place I should be. I read a lot. I like reading in bed but sometimes I want to sit in my window over there, cover my legs with a blanket and read while it rains.”

      “I have a library at my house. It’s part of my home studio and practice space. But I’m with you—I like reading in bed.”

      She СКАЧАТЬ