When Darkness Ends (Moments in Boston #3) - Marni Mann Page 0,16
nothing like them.” His thumb circled around and locked between two of my fingers. “I don’t want to distract you from your goals. I want to encourage you to reach them.”
I felt the tightness move into my throat as I whispered, “That’s what scares me the most.”
Eleven
Before
Ashe
I hadn’t thought it was possible to find a woman as beautiful on the inside as she was on the outside.
But that was Pearl.
Purging her fears over six slices of pie.
As I took in each layer she’d revealed to me, I was inspired to show her more—more flavors for her to taste and more restaurants for her to sample different cuisines, finding new foods to fall in love with. And the whole time, in the back of my mind, I couldn’t stop thinking about the restrictions she had set.
There was only one way to get past them.
“I want to meet her,” I said.
She’d been staring at her coffee, her hand gripping the mug with my fingers on top of hers—a grip I had no intention of releasing.
She finally looked up. “Who?”
“Your grandmother.”
She shook her head. “I’m extremely protective of her.”
“You think I’d hurt her?”
“No, Ashe.” She turned silent for a moment. “I just don’t let anyone have access to her.”
I rubbed my thumb over the tops of her knuckles. “Maybe that will change the more you learn to trust me.”
Within a few seconds, she was pulling her hand away, lifting the spoon to finish the rest of the peanut butter slice. “You seem pretty confident you’re going to break through my boundaries.”
“I just know who I am, Pearl. I know what I can offer you. And I know you don’t believe this yet, but I’m not like all the others.”
“You’re right; I don’t believe it because no man—especially one as good-looking as you—is trustworthy.”
I laughed.
Her stare started at my forehead, gradually lowering to my chin. “You’re a lethal combination. If I were smart, I’d push myself out of this booth and flee for the door.”
This time, I gripped her wrist, a part that felt so delicate as I rubbed the inside. “You never have to run when you’re with me.”
As she gazed down, she rested the spoon on the edge of the plate. “Thank you for coming tonight. Gran is the only person in my life who has ever shown up to anything … aside from you.”
“That’s going to change.” I grinned as I thought of Dylan sitting beside me during her next play. “You’re now going to have a whole cheering section—as long as you’re okay with that.”
I watched her take several deep breaths.
“Honestly, I don’t know what I’m okay with. This is a lot.”
“We’ll go as slow as you want.”
“That’s still very confident of you to say.” She turned silent as she looked at the leftover pie, and then she drained the rest of her coffee before she added, “I really should go.”
She’d given me more time and insight than I’d expected from her tonight, so I called over the waitress and asked for some boxes and two coffees to go. Before she left to grab my requests, I told her to hold on, and I glanced at Pearl.
“What’s Gran’s favorite flavor of pie?”
She shrugged. “I don’t know if she’s had any besides pumpkin.”
“We’ll also take a slice of peanut butter to go.”
Pearl waited for the waitress to leave before she said, “You’re too much.”
“This is just who I am—you’ll see.” I pointed at the half-eaten plates. “You should bring home all the leftovers too.”
“You’re sure?”
“Positive.”
The waitress returned with several Styrofoam containers, and I helped Pearl pack it all up into the plastic bag the waitress had left for us when she brought our coffees and the check.
I handed the waitress my credit card as Pearl said, “Thank you.” The warmest smile reached her eyes. “For dragging me out and forcing me to celebrate—something I don’t normally do. And for taking me here and stuffing me full of dessert.” She held the box that contained Gran’s slice. “For this too. It means the most.”
“You’re welcome.” I knew my grin matched hers. “You’ll have to let me know if she likes it.”
“I promise she will love it.”
I signed the credit card slip, and we got up and went outside. Standing by the door, she looked in both directions of the street, as though she was getting her bearings.
“Can I walk you home?”
Her eyes returned to me. “No.”
I had known it was a long shot, but it was still worth a try. “Then, I’ll