Read Online Mad enough to marry by Christie Ridgway - Free Book Online
Authors: Christie Ridgway
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emotion to confront. "I know that," he said. "But you need to know something too. There's no reason to throw my offers of aid back in my face or even make elaborate bargains in order to take what's freely given."
She bUnked at him. "You mean you'll allow me to stay here without letting you keep Elena in BedT^
Fm an idiot, he thought. / walked right into that one. "No," he repUed flatly. "The painting stays where it is."
She sniffed, that one little sound letting him know what she thought of him.
His tension tightened a notch and he worked hard not to let it show. Reasonable, he reminded himself. Rational. * 'Elena, sometimes you make it damn hard for a guy to do you a good turn."
Her gaze was on the papers she was folding. **Maybe Vm out of practice. Not all that many have come my way."
"Guys or good turns?" The first he wouldn't believe; he didn't know about the second.
**What Fm trying to say is that I'm used to doing for myself."
**I get that. You're independent."
Shaking her head, she stuffed another envelope and moved on to the next, her movements efficient and automatic. '*You don't get it. What I mean is, I have only myself to depend upon. And Gabby is depending on me too."
Logan's fingers stilled. ''There's just the two of you?"
"Yes." She went about folding and stuffing as if they were talking about the weather instead of what she'd weathered in her life. "When I was sixteen my mother died and we moved from L.A. to Strawberry Bay to live with my grandmother. Then Nana passed away two years later and I was given custody of Gabby. I already had my job at the community college and I'd been paying the bills out of my salary for months."
He tried wrapping his mind around what she'd said. "You've taken care of your sister by yourself since you were eighteen and she was...what?"
'*Nine." She looked up quickly, giving him a glare. "And we've done just fine, by the way."
*1 know that. Fve met Gabby. She's pre-med." He added that last bit because he knew it meant so much to Elena.
**Pre-med." Almost smiling, she nodded. *'We did it."
Logan thought over what Elena had said. She didn't accept help well because she hadn't often been offered it. But the truth was, she'd have a blocks-long line of men queued up to fulfill her slightest fancy if she wished it. She was that beautiful.
But she scared them all off.
She hadn't scared him. Not eleven years ago, anyway.
Logan closed his eyes, guilt tasting metallic in his mouth. **Elena..." He opened his eyes. '*We need to talk about that night."
Her gaze flew to his, surprise and something almost fearful on her face. *'That night?" she echoed.
'^Senior prom," he clarified, and saw her relax a little. He knew why. He didn't want to talk about the night they'd first met either. It had been a week before the senior prom and of all the things that were between them, that was the one he'd never examined or tried to explain.
Maybe because he knew he couldn't. Shouldn't. Whatever.
He reached out to put his hand over hers. Her fingers stilled, but she didn't look up at him. '*You don't
know how much I wish I could redo everything about the senior prom," he said.
She kept her eyes down. "Everything?"
She meant the fact that he'd invited her that night. **Maybe," he said, knowing he had to be honest. **Maybe if I could, Fd take that back too."
She nodded once.
He scooted his chair closer so that he could lift her chin with his free hand. *'Not because I didn't want to share that night with you. But because I hate myself for the way it turned out, for hurting you."
As he'd expected, her gaze jumped to his. **You may have humiliated me, but you never hurt me."
*'Cc«ne on—"
*'You come on. Come on to the fact that I'd just lost my mother and been forced to start a new high school nearly at the end of the year. Come on to the fact that I was sixteen, new in town, and the hottest boy at my new campus invited me to his senior prom. Me."
*'When I met you at that
She bUnked at him. "You mean you'll allow me to stay here without letting you keep Elena in BedT^
Fm an idiot, he thought. / walked right into that one. "No," he repUed flatly. "The painting stays where it is."
She sniffed, that one little sound letting him know what she thought of him.
His tension tightened a notch and he worked hard not to let it show. Reasonable, he reminded himself. Rational. * 'Elena, sometimes you make it damn hard for a guy to do you a good turn."
Her gaze was on the papers she was folding. **Maybe Vm out of practice. Not all that many have come my way."
"Guys or good turns?" The first he wouldn't believe; he didn't know about the second.
**What Fm trying to say is that I'm used to doing for myself."
**I get that. You're independent."
Shaking her head, she stuffed another envelope and moved on to the next, her movements efficient and automatic. '*You don't get it. What I mean is, I have only myself to depend upon. And Gabby is depending on me too."
Logan's fingers stilled. ''There's just the two of you?"
"Yes." She went about folding and stuffing as if they were talking about the weather instead of what she'd weathered in her life. "When I was sixteen my mother died and we moved from L.A. to Strawberry Bay to live with my grandmother. Then Nana passed away two years later and I was given custody of Gabby. I already had my job at the community college and I'd been paying the bills out of my salary for months."
He tried wrapping his mind around what she'd said. "You've taken care of your sister by yourself since you were eighteen and she was...what?"
'*Nine." She looked up quickly, giving him a glare. "And we've done just fine, by the way."
*1 know that. Fve met Gabby. She's pre-med." He added that last bit because he knew it meant so much to Elena.
**Pre-med." Almost smiling, she nodded. *'We did it."
Logan thought over what Elena had said. She didn't accept help well because she hadn't often been offered it. But the truth was, she'd have a blocks-long line of men queued up to fulfill her slightest fancy if she wished it. She was that beautiful.
But she scared them all off.
She hadn't scared him. Not eleven years ago, anyway.
Logan closed his eyes, guilt tasting metallic in his mouth. **Elena..." He opened his eyes. '*We need to talk about that night."
Her gaze flew to his, surprise and something almost fearful on her face. *'That night?" she echoed.
'^Senior prom," he clarified, and saw her relax a little. He knew why. He didn't want to talk about the night they'd first met either. It had been a week before the senior prom and of all the things that were between them, that was the one he'd never examined or tried to explain.
Maybe because he knew he couldn't. Shouldn't. Whatever.
He reached out to put his hand over hers. Her fingers stilled, but she didn't look up at him. '*You don't
know how much I wish I could redo everything about the senior prom," he said.
She kept her eyes down. "Everything?"
She meant the fact that he'd invited her that night. **Maybe," he said, knowing he had to be honest. **Maybe if I could, Fd take that back too."
She nodded once.
He scooted his chair closer so that he could lift her chin with his free hand. *'Not because I didn't want to share that night with you. But because I hate myself for the way it turned out, for hurting you."
As he'd expected, her gaze jumped to his. **You may have humiliated me, but you never hurt me."
*'Cc«ne on—"
*'You come on. Come on to the fact that I'd just lost my mother and been forced to start a new high school nearly at the end of the year. Come on to the fact that I was sixteen, new in town, and the hottest boy at my new campus invited me to his senior prom. Me."
*'When I met you at that
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