‘What are you saying?’
‘I’m saying...’ I lift my chin a fraction, uncaring that the quilt has fallen to my waist and that his eyes flit down, resting for a second too long. ‘Give me a chance to prove myself to you.’
‘You don’t need to prove yourself to me.’
‘Don’t I?’
He hesitates, but I see the answer in his eyes and I can’t blame him. With parents like his, his ex-fiancée, people who want him for his wealth and status, not to mention what I did, he’s bound to mistrust me.
‘Whatever the case, you’re a busy man. You have a company that occupies you full-time and I sense you’ve been running this place for a while too. I don’t have the same responsibilities, but I do have the freedom and the desire to carry on Katherine’s legacy...help children like I once was.’
He faces me head-on, his brow furrowed once more, and that naked torso is on full display as he folds his arms and his biceps bulge—
Focus, Summer! Eyes up!
‘You mean fostering?’
‘No... No. I know I’m not in the right place for that—not yet.’
Though never say never...
It’s not something I’ve ever considered—not with how transient my life has been. But aren’t things different now...? Might it be an option...one day?
‘Then how?’ he asks.
One step at a time, I tell myself.
‘By giving back to the local community. Volunteering. Carrying on the fundraising events she used to run.’
‘Like the Halloween Fairy Tale Ball?’
I smile. ‘Yes, like the Halloween Fairy Tale Ball.’
He nods.
‘You agree?’
‘It’s an idea...although it’s a lot of work—organising such affairs, I mean.’
‘I’m not afraid of hard work, Edward.’
‘No, I don’t suppose you are.’
He stares at me and I wish I could see inside his head...see whatever thought it is causing his eyes to shine back at me. I like that look. I want more of that look. It makes my heart skip, my body warm.
And, oh, God, there you go again. Boundaries—you need boundaries.
‘Goodnight, Summer.’
He starts to move off and I stall him again. ‘Edward?’
‘Yes?’
Nerves almost get the better of me, but I clench my fists. This is important. I need to draw a line in the sand and make it clear—for my benefit as much as his.
‘This house is big enough for the two of us to live our lives, yes?’
‘Yes.’ It’s part-impatience, part-resignation.