Total pages in book: 173
Estimated words: 174632 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 873(@200wpm)___ 699(@250wpm)___ 582(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 174632 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 873(@200wpm)___ 699(@250wpm)___ 582(@300wpm)
“I’m just worried about you. Who looks after you while you’re looking after everyone else?”
Hell. She was so sweet that he wanted to gather her into his lap and hug her tight. He wanted to kiss her. To claim her.
But she’s not yours.
Perhaps she could be, though. If you just took a chance. If you asked Ian and Jack if they’d take you back.
Fuck. Was that what he wanted?
“That’s really kind, sweetheart. But you shouldn’t worry about me. I see you got some new boots.”
Yeah, he was trying to deflect the conversation away from him.
“Huh? Oh yeah. Ian and Jack got them for me.”
“They did?” They’d been buying her a lot of things lately.
“I tried to tell them that they should take them back. That they shouldn’t be spending their money on me.”
“You tried to give them back?” he asked, surprised. Elizabeth had always expected him to pay for everything. And she’d never try to give a gift back unless she didn’t like it. “You don’t like them?”
“What? No! I love them. They’re wonderful. But I know they were expensive. Still, they said either I accepted them or they would give them to you for your birthday.” She giggled.
He shook his head. “Of course they did.”
“They’re very stubborn,” she said.
He cleared his throat. He needed to talk to her about her uncle while he had her alone.
“How long have you worked for your uncle?”
“A few years.” She was nibbling at her pizza and he felt the urge to pick it up and feed it to her. Hadn’t she said she was hungry? She’d taken a bite so quickly that she’d burned herself. So why was she only nibbling now?
“You’ve always been interested in photography?” he asked.
“No, not at all. Uncle Willy gave me this job because he felt sorry for me.”
Jameson frowned. “What? Why would he feel sorry for you?”
“I was jobless and living with my parents. I cut a pretty pathetic figure. But Uncle Willy has always taken care of me.”
Why couldn’t she get a job?
“I think I should be getting home. Uncle Willy will be worried about me.” She frowned slightly.
“Maggie, we need to talk some more about your uncle. Have you been thinking about his future care? When I asked if you had family help before you didn’t reply. This is a lot to take on alone.”
And he was worried about her.
Despite having rested most of yesterday, she still looked tired. Frazzled. As though the weight of the world was on her shoulders.
“Oh. Is this why you wanted to eat together? You wanted to talk to me about my uncle’s care and condition.” She glanced away but not before he saw the betrayal on her face. And the way she was blinking rapidly.
Fuck. This wasn’t the way this talk was supposed to go.
“I want to go now,” she whispered.
“Maggie, no. That’s not why I wanted to eat lunch with you. I mean, I did want to talk to you . . .”
Stop rambling, Jameson. A St. Bede always shows confidence.
Great, now his mother was lecturing him in his head.
“You need to face these questions at some stage. Hiding from them won’t make them go away.”
She flinched, and this time, he saw how glassy her eyes were.
Bloody hell.
He sucked in a breath, needing to say something to soothe her. He was usually more thoughtful than this. Before he could think of what to say, though, she’d gathered herself, straightening her shoulders.
“You’re quite right. I need to start thinking about these things. Thank you for lunch and the tests. I’m sorry it was all a waste of time.”
“What’s going on here?” Ian snapped, suddenly at the table. “Maggie, what’s wrong?”
“Nothing is wrong, but I would like to go home,” Maggie said quietly. “Can we leave?”
Ian looked at him and then down to her uneaten pizza.
“You haven’t eaten your pizza,” he said.
“I’m not hungry anymore.”
“Why isn’t she hungry anymore?” Ian turned to him. “And why does she look like she wants to cry?”
“Ian, I’m all right.” Reaching out, she placed her hand on his. “I-I just need the bathroom before we go.”
Fuck. Jameson watched them walk off and knew that he’d messed up. He’d promised her a treat and all he’d done was upset her.
Asshole.
Maggie stepped into the bathroom. She felt hot and upset. Her skin was itchy, her stomach nauseous.
Hiding from them won’t make them go away.
Monkeyballs.
Her head was thumping and her hip ached. At least she hadn’t truly hurt it.
“Are you all right?”
She jumped.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you.”
She glanced over at the older woman standing there. She was dressed in a linen jumpsuit, with long, straight dark hair.
“I didn’t realize anyone else was in here. Sorry,” she muttered.
“It’s all right, dear. You look upset. Is something wrong? Do you need help?”
“Oh no. It’s just I was told some truths that I didn’t want to hear.” She gave the woman a mediocre smile.