Read Online Dream of Me: A Sweet Contemporary Romance by Delaney Cameron - Free Book Online
Authors: Delaney Cameron
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way off, she heard his departing footsteps and the slam of the front door. Aubrey sat where she was for a long time, not able to move or think, her mind curiously numb. Then like a coil being released, she bolted up the stairs to her room. Corbin’s comments regarding Richard floated through her head. Was he never wrong about anything?
She sank down onto the bed, humiliation and shame washing over her. She thought Richard liked her. How could she have been such a fool?
* * * *
Someone was gently brushing the tangled hair away from her face. Eyes swollen from crying slowly opened. Corbin was bent over her, and the tender look on his face robbed her of speech. She hadn’t thought he could look like that.
“Aubrey! Are you all right?” When she just continued to stare at him, he gave her a little shake. “Say something! What happened?”
She could never tell him what passed between her and Richard. Never in a million years. “You’re back early,” she managed in a pathetically weak voice.
He ignored this. “Stop playing games and tell me why I arrived home to find my front door standing open and my usually self-contained employee in bed, looking like she cried herself to sleep.”
“The door was open?” she asked huskily. She heard Richard slam it shut.
“Yes.” He stood abruptly, looking like a man at the end of his rope. “Are you going to answer my other question?” he asked softly.
“There’s nothing to tell.”
Disappointment flared in his eyes for a moment before his face relaxed into its more usual lines of indifference. “Or nothing you want to tell, is that it?”
Aubrey sat up and tried to restore some order to her appearance. Behind a curtain of hair she answered him. “However you want to put it. I don’t want to discuss it.”
“Then we won’t discuss it. I can probably figure out what happened anyway.” He walked toward the door. “Since that’s not my umbrella in the stand by the door, and you only know one other person here, the clues are pretty simple to follow. I apologize for disturbing you.”
After a shower, which in some part calmed her nerves and made her feel better, Aubrey crawled into bed. Instead of sleeping, she laid awake for hours wondering how in the world she was going to face Corbin in the morning. As much as the experience with Richard shocked her, that wasn’t what bothered her the most. It was the fact that Corbin had found her in such a state. She would have given anything to keep that incident from him.
* * * *
Surveying the sunny sky visible through her window with scant appreciation, Aubrey knew nothing would erase the embarrassment of yesterday. Not only had she made a fool of herself, but she’d also further complicated her precarious relationship with Corbin. Somehow she must put it behind her and hope he would do likewise.
Long before she reached the kitchen, the appetizing smell of bacon told her Corbin was already downstairs. He gave her the briefest of greetings before returning his attention to the pan on the stove.
“I hope you like scrambled eggs,” he said into the uncomfortable silence.
“Yes, I do, thank you.”
Taking a plate from him, she watched as he poured two cups of coffee, and then took the seat opposite her. Not able to stand the tension between them, she ventured what she considered to be a safe topic. “How was your trip?”
“Very productive. I met with the owner of a string of bed and breakfast inns in the northeast. He recently purchased three others that require major renovation. I’ve never worked so far from home before, but I like the challenge of doing something in that part of the country. In the meantime, I told him I’d put together a bid package. Obviously, I’m not the only company he’s considering.”
“How did he hear about you?”
“Through a mutual friend. If he accepts my proposal, we’ll get to do some traveling.” At her blank look, he continued. “We would move operations up there –
She sank down onto the bed, humiliation and shame washing over her. She thought Richard liked her. How could she have been such a fool?
* * * *
Someone was gently brushing the tangled hair away from her face. Eyes swollen from crying slowly opened. Corbin was bent over her, and the tender look on his face robbed her of speech. She hadn’t thought he could look like that.
“Aubrey! Are you all right?” When she just continued to stare at him, he gave her a little shake. “Say something! What happened?”
She could never tell him what passed between her and Richard. Never in a million years. “You’re back early,” she managed in a pathetically weak voice.
He ignored this. “Stop playing games and tell me why I arrived home to find my front door standing open and my usually self-contained employee in bed, looking like she cried herself to sleep.”
“The door was open?” she asked huskily. She heard Richard slam it shut.
“Yes.” He stood abruptly, looking like a man at the end of his rope. “Are you going to answer my other question?” he asked softly.
“There’s nothing to tell.”
Disappointment flared in his eyes for a moment before his face relaxed into its more usual lines of indifference. “Or nothing you want to tell, is that it?”
Aubrey sat up and tried to restore some order to her appearance. Behind a curtain of hair she answered him. “However you want to put it. I don’t want to discuss it.”
“Then we won’t discuss it. I can probably figure out what happened anyway.” He walked toward the door. “Since that’s not my umbrella in the stand by the door, and you only know one other person here, the clues are pretty simple to follow. I apologize for disturbing you.”
After a shower, which in some part calmed her nerves and made her feel better, Aubrey crawled into bed. Instead of sleeping, she laid awake for hours wondering how in the world she was going to face Corbin in the morning. As much as the experience with Richard shocked her, that wasn’t what bothered her the most. It was the fact that Corbin had found her in such a state. She would have given anything to keep that incident from him.
* * * *
Surveying the sunny sky visible through her window with scant appreciation, Aubrey knew nothing would erase the embarrassment of yesterday. Not only had she made a fool of herself, but she’d also further complicated her precarious relationship with Corbin. Somehow she must put it behind her and hope he would do likewise.
Long before she reached the kitchen, the appetizing smell of bacon told her Corbin was already downstairs. He gave her the briefest of greetings before returning his attention to the pan on the stove.
“I hope you like scrambled eggs,” he said into the uncomfortable silence.
“Yes, I do, thank you.”
Taking a plate from him, she watched as he poured two cups of coffee, and then took the seat opposite her. Not able to stand the tension between them, she ventured what she considered to be a safe topic. “How was your trip?”
“Very productive. I met with the owner of a string of bed and breakfast inns in the northeast. He recently purchased three others that require major renovation. I’ve never worked so far from home before, but I like the challenge of doing something in that part of the country. In the meantime, I told him I’d put together a bid package. Obviously, I’m not the only company he’s considering.”
“How did he hear about you?”
“Through a mutual friend. If he accepts my proposal, we’ll get to do some traveling.” At her blank look, he continued. “We would move operations up there –
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