Read Online Chain of Title by Robyn Roze, Peg Robinson, Patricia Schmitt (pickyme) - Free Book Online Page B
Ads: Link
discussed the banalities of divorce, not the specifics, and looking back,
Sean had shown no interest in the man she was divorcing. She picked up a
napkin and dabbed at her mouth before placing it on her plate and settling back
in her chair. She was full.
“Frank is sixty-five.”
Sean’s jaw dropped before he could contain his reaction or even say anything. “It
didn’t seem like a big deal at the time. He’s never looked his age, and he’s
always stayed physically fit. But when I think about the fact that my daughter
is the same age I was when I married Frank, I sure as hell wouldn’t be happy if
she told me today that she wanted to marry a forty-year-old man.”
If she was honest with
herself, Shayna knew why she had married Frank. Oh, it wasn’t his money. He
didn’t have much when they met and later married, but he enjoyed a lifestyle
that was beyond his means nonetheless. Eventually, during their marriage, his
means caught up with his high-end tastes. No, she was wiser now, and she
understood that she had married him to stem the desperate grief that had
threatened to consume her back then. He had enabled her to avoid what she
didn’t want to face—herself, alone.
“You’ve told me your mom
wasn’t around, but your dad couldn’t have been happy, was he?”
Shayna’s eyes trailed off
into the distance, back in time. Ben Montgomery—Big Ben as the locals
affectionately called him—closer in age to Frank Chastain than she was. No, he
couldn’t have been overjoyed, but he never said otherwise. After what had happened,
he just wanted his little girl to be happy, taken care of, loved. It was
obvious even to her dad that Frank was crazy about her.
“He never said he wasn’t.”
Shayna’s focus skipped back to Sean, who was clearly trying to reconcile this
new information. “I wish that he had, maybe. I don’t know if it would’ve made
a difference, though.”
She glanced across the dark
blue titan of lakes. “I had to grow up faster marrying someone that much
older. Frank was a grown man—playtime was over for him. He was unhappy in his
career and wanted to start his own business. So, we didn’t really have free
time. When we weren’t working in the business, we were entertaining in our
home, attending the right events, rubbing shoulders with the right people, traveling to the right destination spots. We were constantly busy. He’s one of those people who doesn’t need much sleep. He always said
there’d be plenty of time for that when he’s dead.” She snorted softly. “He could
never live the way I have for the last three years. No daily agenda. No plan.
No minute-by-minute itinerary.”
Sean sat staring
contemplatively at her, clearly assessing the woman across from him.
“So, what business were you
and your ex in?”
Shayna sighed softly. “Ever
heard of CCL Properties?” Unless Sean Parker lived under a rock, she knew he
had.
“Uh, yeah,” he said
dumbstruck, looking at her skeptically. “They’ve pretty much developed Mt.
Pleasant and single handedly renovated and revitalized the downtown. The
building my loft is in just to name one.” The expression on his face said, “That
can’t be you.”
“ Chastain , Coombs, and
Logan,” she enunciated.
His brows shot up and he
rubbed his palm against his jaw line as he tried to piece everything together.
He was probably thinking the same thing that most people did, including
herself, when a younger woman married an older man.
“There was no CCL
Properties when I married him, Sean. I’m not a gold digger.”
He sat up quickly. “No! I
never thought that, Shay. I just wasn’t expecting—”
Shayna stood, effectively
cutting him off, and started to fill the serving trays with the remnants of
their breakfast. Sean stopped her, encircling her wrists with his hands and
pulling her away from the table to stand in front of him.
“Look at me,
Sean had shown no interest in the man she was divorcing. She picked up a
napkin and dabbed at her mouth before placing it on her plate and settling back
in her chair. She was full.
“Frank is sixty-five.”
Sean’s jaw dropped before he could contain his reaction or even say anything. “It
didn’t seem like a big deal at the time. He’s never looked his age, and he’s
always stayed physically fit. But when I think about the fact that my daughter
is the same age I was when I married Frank, I sure as hell wouldn’t be happy if
she told me today that she wanted to marry a forty-year-old man.”
If she was honest with
herself, Shayna knew why she had married Frank. Oh, it wasn’t his money. He
didn’t have much when they met and later married, but he enjoyed a lifestyle
that was beyond his means nonetheless. Eventually, during their marriage, his
means caught up with his high-end tastes. No, she was wiser now, and she
understood that she had married him to stem the desperate grief that had
threatened to consume her back then. He had enabled her to avoid what she
didn’t want to face—herself, alone.
“You’ve told me your mom
wasn’t around, but your dad couldn’t have been happy, was he?”
Shayna’s eyes trailed off
into the distance, back in time. Ben Montgomery—Big Ben as the locals
affectionately called him—closer in age to Frank Chastain than she was. No, he
couldn’t have been overjoyed, but he never said otherwise. After what had happened,
he just wanted his little girl to be happy, taken care of, loved. It was
obvious even to her dad that Frank was crazy about her.
“He never said he wasn’t.”
Shayna’s focus skipped back to Sean, who was clearly trying to reconcile this
new information. “I wish that he had, maybe. I don’t know if it would’ve made
a difference, though.”
She glanced across the dark
blue titan of lakes. “I had to grow up faster marrying someone that much
older. Frank was a grown man—playtime was over for him. He was unhappy in his
career and wanted to start his own business. So, we didn’t really have free
time. When we weren’t working in the business, we were entertaining in our
home, attending the right events, rubbing shoulders with the right people, traveling to the right destination spots. We were constantly busy. He’s one of those people who doesn’t need much sleep. He always said
there’d be plenty of time for that when he’s dead.” She snorted softly. “He could
never live the way I have for the last three years. No daily agenda. No plan.
No minute-by-minute itinerary.”
Sean sat staring
contemplatively at her, clearly assessing the woman across from him.
“So, what business were you
and your ex in?”
Shayna sighed softly. “Ever
heard of CCL Properties?” Unless Sean Parker lived under a rock, she knew he
had.
“Uh, yeah,” he said
dumbstruck, looking at her skeptically. “They’ve pretty much developed Mt.
Pleasant and single handedly renovated and revitalized the downtown. The
building my loft is in just to name one.” The expression on his face said, “That
can’t be you.”
“ Chastain , Coombs, and
Logan,” she enunciated.
His brows shot up and he
rubbed his palm against his jaw line as he tried to piece everything together.
He was probably thinking the same thing that most people did, including
herself, when a younger woman married an older man.
“There was no CCL
Properties when I married him, Sean. I’m not a gold digger.”
He sat up quickly. “No! I
never thought that, Shay. I just wasn’t expecting—”
Shayna stood, effectively
cutting him off, and started to fill the serving trays with the remnants of
their breakfast. Sean stopped her, encircling her wrists with his hands and
pulling her away from the table to stand in front of him.
“Look at me,
Similar Books
