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“It’s never that easy, is it? I mean, there are things he doesn’t know about me. And I know it’ll change how he feels about me when he finds out.”
It mirrors my own fears so closely that it makes me frown. “I’m sure it won’t,” I say awkwardly, conscious that I’ve already come to that conclusion myself.
“We’ll see,” she says. “Anyway, I’ll probably see you at work on Monday.”
“I’m really glad you’re okay. I was so worried.”
“Thanks, sweetie. See you soon.” She ends the call.
I put the phone down slowly. It was quite sobering to hear it from the other side. My instinct is to believe that of course Joel won’t feel any different toward her no matter what she tells him. But she obviously feels the same as me—that these gorgeous men have set us on pedestals, and when they discover we’re not perfect, that we’re very human, in fact, their feelings toward us are inevitably going to change.
It’s late in the day before I see Fraser. He comes in as the sun is dropping lower in the sky, while I’m packing up andgetting ready to go home. The room is now filled with tangerine-colored light.
“Hey,” he says as he crosses the floor. “Sorry I’m late. I ended up taking a couple of this afternoon’s meetings.”
“Oh, hey.” I turn to face him, shocked when he comes right up to me and wraps his arms around me. I suppose it’s not surprising considering what a morning we’ve had. I lift my arms around his neck, and we exchange a long hug.
“How are you doing?” I ask when we eventually move back. He looks tired but happy.
“I’m good,” he says. “Looking forward to seeing Joel. I’ll head home shortly.” He looks down at me. His face is a complex painting of light and shadows. His dark-brown hair has turned the color of caramel in the sunlight. His blue eyes are brighter, bluer than the sky at the moment, and they have gold flecks around the pupil that gleam.
He reaches out a hand and tucks a stray strand of hair behind my ear. “You’re so beautiful.”
I blink at the compliment. My instinct is to make a joke of it, or protest that he’s teasing me, or just simply deny it, but I force myself to just smile and say, “Thank you.”
He lowers his hand. “Thank you for sharing your past with me. I appreciate that you felt you could trust me enough to do that.”
He meets my eyes. Then he looks down. “I’d better go,” he says. “Joel will be home by now.”
“Okay.” I feel a twinge of unease deep inside. I’d half-expected him to reiterate his feelings toward me, and repeat his intention to resign so he can be with me. But he doesn’t. I can’t help but think it has something to do with what I’ve told him about my father.
“I suppose it’s good that we both have time to think,” I say softly.
He lifts his gaze to mine. “Mmm,” he says, non-committedly.
I wonder whether he’ll talk to his family about me? Especially his father. I can’t imagine that Atticus Bell will have anything positive to say about Fraser having feelings for another employee, especially one with my family history. I’m sure he’d rather his son meet someone who’s not the daughter of a rapist and serial killer.
“I’ll see you Sunday,” he says. “I’ll let you know when I’m back and we’ll decide what time to meet.”
“Okay. Give my love to Joel.”
“Will do.” He smiles, then turns and walks out of the room.
It’s impossible not to think that he’s walking out of my life.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Fraser
“You’ve been very quiet.”
I turn at the sound of my father’s voice. It’s Saturday afternoon, and I’m in the field that borders the family home in Hanmer Springs, throwing a Frisbee for two of the dogs—brown Labradors called Pinky and Perky Nana after two New Zealand chocolate bars.
“Have I?” My voice holds genuine surprise.
It’s been a busy few days. Joel came home last night, and after dinner we were watching a movie when Linc called us. It turned out that he was planning to bring Elora to Hanmer Springs in the morning because he wanted to ask Dad for permission to marry Elora, and he was hoping we’d both be there. Joel and I were wary, because Dad has been hostile toward Linc for many years. But Linc was determined, and whatever he said to Dad turned him around, because Dad gave his permission. Afterward, Linc proposed to Elora in the kitchen while we were all there, and since then we’ve all been celebrating and talking. I certainly didn’t think I’d been withdrawn.
“The others might not have noticed,” Dad says, “but I can see you’re distracted. Is it just what happened with Joel? Or is something else going on?”