Stormy Surrender - By Nicole Andrews Moore Page 0,57
the way she thought sometimes.
“Well, for someone to have taken the time to have selected those windows, that trim, the transoms and doors…to have planned and imagined a life that now wasn’t happening…that’s sad.” She sighed. “I’ve never been one to take advantage of someone’s loss. It doesn’t feel right. Why can’t everyone have their dreams?” She was staring at him across the hood with sad brown eyes.
“Not everyone gets what they want.” He shrugged. He had pondered that same question more nights than he cared to admit. And still, he had yet to discover a satisfactory answer. Why couldn’t he have his dream?
“I saw this quote once. I don’t know who said it or wrote it or where it came from, but it made a lot of sense to me. It was something about how what kept people most often from truly being happy were that they couldn’t let go of the way they thought their life was supposed to be and embrace the good in the life they had.” She stared at him for a moment. “It spoke to me.”
“It spoke to you,” he smiled and she could tell he was trying to tease her. “What did it say?”
She chuckled. “It said, ‘pay attention, dumb ass, this is important!’” And she walked behind the vehicle to meet him on the passenger side where the sticker was. “Huh. I like this. It’s the perfect size. It’s not fancy…”
“It’s a hybrid,” he pointed out, “so you can pat yourself on the back for doing your part to save the world.” He rested an arm around her shoulders.
She didn’t know if this affection came naturally to him, but after years of a loveless marriage, she was relishing it. She wrapped her arm around his waist at first satisfied with that, but then it wasn’t enough and she wrapped both arms around him. She buried her face in his chest and inhaled deeply. There was something about his scent that she wanted to imprint on her brain. She just needed to be able to access that memory for later use, this memory of time when she felt safe, a time when she felt at home.
The worst part was that he felt so comfortable that it made him uncomfortable. There was no way he should feel this at ease with her. He never felt this relaxed with anyone. Ever. It had always been a joke with his family. Where did you fine Joe in the family pictures? Oh, he would be off in a corner by himself. He would be on the far outskirts of group photos. And if he couldn’t feel at peace with his own family, was it any wonder that he had trouble interacting with the rest of the world? Here was Marti. She had been a boil on his behind since the moment they met…before they met actually. She had cost him a week of free breakfasts. She fell into him from the stairs. Why…if she had been three times her size, she might have crushed him. Of course, instead she was average build, average height, and before him average wardrobe and hair.
Marti was the complete opposite of Finn. She was never going to be the woman that was the life of the party. She was never going to strive to be the center of attention. She didn’t need life to be dramatic and exciting. She was someone who was just content to be. She could sit quietly by the fire with him and never ask who else was coming over or when the party was going to start. Because of how easy she was…he shuddered when he realized she really was easy to be with…he was more himself than he had ever been. That, after a week, was frightening.
Slowly, he pried her arms off of him, acting like he wanted to take a closer look at the vehicle. “The price is reasonable. Want to have them take a look at the Vue and see what we can do?”
Already, Marti was giddy. They hadn’t even struck a deal yet. He sighed. “Okay, first of all, let me teach you how this works.”
She made a serious face that made him want to chuckle and wrap her up in his arms again. That woman…she sure did know how to make him smile…and curse…and think about all kinds of things he was happier never considering.
He began again while shaking his head, “The first rule is you aren’t committed.”