Read Online Distracted by her Virtue by Maggie Cox - Free Book Online Page B

realistic. Maybe what I need to do is just sell it and buy something a lot smaller and more manageable for Charlie and me.’
    Jarrett could hardly believe what he was hearing
. But even as his heart leapt at the possibility of making an offer to Sophia to buy High Ridge from her—the house that he’d long dreamt of owning—in all conscience he found he suddenly
couldn’t
. It was already clear as crystal to him that she was looking for a safe haven from her painful past, and right now he intuited that this historic old house was
it
. She’d had family here … blood ties. That sense of an ancestral link, of familial continuity, more importantly of
belonging
, must be important to her and Charlie right now, given their situation.
    Wasn’t that why Jarrett himself had made his permanent home here? Just so that he could be near his sister? Because at the end of the day there was no one else who cared if he lived or died. Despite their sometimes vociferous differences of opinion, and her perhaps not-so-flattering speculation on his intentions earlier today, he firmly believed that family was important.
    If his competitors ever learned that he hadn’t leapt at the chance to secure High Ridge Hall, he didn’t doubt they would seriously think that he’d lost that renowned single-minded steely edge that had helped make himone of the wealthiest landowners in the county. But right then Jarrett didn’t care. For maybe the first time in his life he was genuinely considering someone else’s wellbeing above his own. The truth was that Sophia Markham had
disarmed
him. The defences that he’d kept stoically intact for so long were swiftly and devastatingly crumbling every time he saw her …
    ‘Jarrett? Did you hear what I said?’
    ‘Hmm?’ Distracted because his feelings had stolen a march on him, he stood up and crossed to the now blazing fire. ‘If you want to make a home here for you and Charlie, then in my opinion I don’t think you should give up on the idea of keeping the house simply because of finances. In the meantime I could make you a loan, if that would help? Then you wouldn’t be reliant on getting more photographic commissions straight away. You could take your time sourcing more work. You could also pay for some of the essential repairs and renovation to be done on the house.’
    Turning back to survey his companion, he didn’t expect to find her expression so crestfallen. The glitter in her beautiful eyes immediately alerted him to the fact that she was crying. Jarrett’s mouth dried in alarm.
    ‘What on earth’s the matter?’
    ‘Even presuming that you can afford to make such a substantial loan, why would you do that for me?’
    ‘Because I want to.’ He shrugged, knowing there was no point in pretending otherwise. ‘I want to help you in any way I can. Trust me … I can more than afford it.’
    ‘You barely even know me.’
    ‘You keep saying that. But I’ve got great hopes that you
will
let me get to know you better, Sophia.’Wondering how on earth he managed to contain the inflammatory urge that scorched through his blood right then, to haul her to her feet and kiss her, to taste the sweetly seductive strawberry lips that had unwittingly been taunting him all day, every time he so much as glanced at her, Jarrett exhaled a frustrated sigh. ‘Then you won’t be able to use the fact that we don’t know each other well enough as an excuse.’
    ‘No, Jarrett.’ Firmly wiping away all trace of tears with the heel of her hand, Sophia rose to her feet and approached the mantelpiece. Leaving her mug of tea on the white marble shelf, she crossed her arms over her navy wool cardigan and turned to face him. ‘I absolutely won’t accept a loan from you. I either find my own way to finance this place or I
don’t
.’
    ‘It’s admirable that you’re so determined … but if you love this house as much as I’m guessing you do then it makes sense to accept some help when it’s offered,