Total pages in book: 121
Estimated words: 122550 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 613(@200wpm)___ 490(@250wpm)___ 409(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 122550 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 613(@200wpm)___ 490(@250wpm)___ 409(@300wpm)
Regent frowned.
“It keeps losing my work or won’t open the right document. It’s so slow. But it’s fine. It’s all I have right now. And maybe I should just use pen and paper for a while. I need to get some, though.”
“Pen and paper?”
“Uh-huh, and some sticky notes. I love sticky notes.”
“I think we can arrange that,” he murmured. “Now I have to go make some calls. I’ll meet you for dinner in an hour? Is that enough time to get ready?”
“Sure!” She only needed five minutes.
Leaning down, he lightly kissed her and all of her worries disappeared. Perhaps he was shy about touching her in front of others. Their relationship was still new, so she got it.
Well, sort of.
Not really, since she wanted to touch him all the time. But not everyone was like her.
37
When she arrived in the dining room an hour later, Jilly realized that she should have used her other fifty-five minutes a bit more wisely.
Candles had been lit around the room, and the table had been laid with gorgeous cutlery and dining ware. There were even cloth napkins.
Things were classy when cloth napkins were used.
She glanced down at herself. She’d washed her hands and changed her top since she’d gotten some of the mayonnaise from her sandwich at lunch.
“I need ten more minutes,” she said as she turned to race out of the room.
“Freeze,” Regent said firmly.
She froze. Darn it.
“Turn around and come here.”
With a grumble, she turned and moved toward where he sat at the head of the table. “I didn’t realize it was a dress-up dinner!”
“Dress-up dinner?” he asked.
“Yes, a dinner where you dress up. It really will only take a few minutes to get ready. I’m so sorry. I’ll be better prepared next time, I promise!”
“Hey, Jilly, it’s okay.” He grabbed her hips and lifted her onto his lap. “Breathe. Just breathe.”
She couldn’t believe she’d messed up so spectacularly. “I’m sorry.”
He turned her so she straddled his lap. “Stop, Jilly.”
“I just . . . I didn’t realize.”
“Okay, what is going on here? You’re shaking. You have done nothing wrong.”
She shook her head. No. She had! She had!
He drew her back and cupped her face between his hands. “Jilly. You. Haven’t. Done. Anything. Wrong.”
A small sob escaped.
She hadn’t done anything wrong.
“Say it,” he said firmly.
“I haven’t done anything wrong.”
But she was acting like an idiot.
He cupped her face between his hands. “I hope to hell that I haven’t made you so scared of me that you’re shaking like a leaf.”
“What? No!” she cried. Then she groaned. What was she doing? What was wrong with her? “No, it’s not you. Father . . .” She closed her eyes and concentrated on breathing. “When he was home, he insisted on having formal dinners and we had to be perfect in every way. If we weren’t . . .”
He drew her into his chest, rocking back and forth. He had one arm behind her while his other hand was on the back of her head.
“Shhh, everything is all right. He’s gone. He can’t hurt you. Shh.”
As she calmed, her embarrassment grew. What was she doing?
“Sorry,” she murmured.
“Don’t you dare,” he told her fiercely.
Jilly jumped at the tone of his voice. She drew back, staring up at him in shock.
“Do not apologize for the trauma he caused you. This is on him, not you.”
“But I should be over it by now, surely. And other people have had it worse than me. Look at you.”
“What about me?”
“You grew up with a monster and you’re not falling apart all the time. Although I seem to be having more problems than usual. I’ve had more nightmares in the last week than I have in the last year.”
“I could guess that maybe it’s because you’ve been around me this last week.”
Was he blaming himself?
“This isn’t your fault,” she told him. “Well, maybe it is.”
He frowned, nodding.
“Because you make me feel safe,” she told him. “That allows me to let go, knowing you’ll catch me.”
“Fuck,” he muttered quietly. Jilly wasn’t used to him swearing in front of her. One of his quirks that she found so fascinating. “You’re just so sweet. I don’t know what I did to deserve you, sweet girl. But I am never letting you go.”
She was all right with that.
“I have something to show you.”
They’d finished their dinner. To her delight and embarrassment, Regent hadn’t let her sit on her own chair, but had kept her in his lap, feeding her from his plate.
It had been strange and yet exciting at the same time.
He’d even picked up a napkin to wipe her face for her.
“You do? What is it?” she asked excitedly.
He pushed his chair back and placed her on her feet before standing.
Then he held out his hand. “Come with me.”
They walked toward the back of the house and he led her into a room she hadn’t been in yet.