Read Online Her Charming Heartbreaker by Sonia Parin - Free Book Online

jet off to the other
side of the world at the drop of a hat—”
    “It would only be for a
few days.”
    “You don’t seem to
understand. Responsibilities aside, I don’t see what good a visit
from me would do.”
    “Plenty. He sees the
accident as his wake-up call. He doesn’t want to live with
regrets.” Theo dug inside his pocket and drew out the velvet case
he’d been carrying around all this time. He didn’t know if the ring
had been meant as a token gift for the time Claire had spent with
Jon Kendrick, or if he’d planned on taking the relationship a step
further, he only knew his father’s heart had been in the right
place.
    “Mom.”
    Claire gave an
impatient shake of her head. “I told you to stay in the car,
Ben.”
    Theo’s gaze zeroed in
on the boy who’d stepped out of the car and was leaning against it.
Hearing his mother’s order, the boy threw his head back and huffed
out a breath.
    Theo’s fingers
tightened around the velvet case he’d planned on giving Claire as
proof that Jon Kendrick had also had feelings for her. “You didn’t
say anything about being married.” Or having a child. This changed
everything. And not for the better.
    “I told you I couldn’t
just up and leave and I meant it.”
     
    * * *
     
    Eddie had two more
stops to make before she could go home and curl up under the covers
to enjoy a well-earned pity fest. She tipped back the bottle of
water until the last drop slid down her throat. Pushing her
sunglasses back in place, she emerged from the car, opened the
trunk, and retrieved Mrs. Larson’s dinner. Once a week she made the
rounds, visiting Eden’s elderly to drop off their meals and menu
request forms for the following week. Everyone knew better than to
engage her in conversation because that would make her late for her
next stopover and invoke the wrath of the next person, so everyone
made sure to stick to bare essentials.
    “Still single?”
    “Hello, Mrs. Larson.
And yes, I am. And... I’m loving it.” Now was as good a time as any
to start getting used to it. The more practice she got, the better
she’d become at pretending.
    “My grandson is
visiting next week. I’ll expect you for afternoon tea at three
o’clock sharp.”
    “Thank you, Mrs.
Larson. I’ll be here.”
    “And wear a dress.”
    With a wave goodbye,
Eddie pushed herself into a trot. It would be nice to catch up with
Jimmy Larson. After their afternoon tea, he would take her to
dinner as a thank you for bailing him out yet again. Something to
look forward to, she thought.
    On her last stop, Mrs.
Kenny was waiting for her on her front porch. “Did Betty Larson
invite you over for afternoon tea? Her grandson is coming for a
visit.”
    “She sure did.”
    Eddie laughed under her
breath. Everyone, including sweet Mrs. Larson, knew Jimmy was gay.
Yet every time her grandson came to visit she would extend the
invitation, and not out of malice. Mrs. Larson simply thought Eddie
needed practice wearing a pretty dress and having someone paying
attention to her. And so every three months when Jimmy drove up
from Melbourne to visit his grandmother, Eddie dove into the back
of her wardrobe and pulled out one of her two dresses.
    At least she got a good
dinner out of it too.
    Moments later, she was
back in the car and driving home. Maybe she’d do some online
shopping and get something new for Jimmy’s visit or borrow
something from Sophie, she thought swearing under her breath as a
car pulled on to the road ahead of her, gravel spitting behind
it.
    Without looking, she
knew the house belonged to Claire Muldoon. And since no one in Eden
drove a red convertible, the car could only belong to one
person.
    “I’m developing an
intense dislike for Murphy and his Law,” she said. Slowing down,
she tried to put some distance between herself and the object of
her increasing anxiety.
    That morning’s
breakfast was a bit hazy but she still managed to recall her
reaction to hearing Theo say he