Page 245 of Santa Daddies

Fuck. He hoped so.

“I have. I’ve got three published and a fourth one set up on pre-order. I published them myself. I’ve been writing for several years, but just in notebooks. Never for anyone else to read. George always said . . .” She trailed off.

“What did he say about your writing?” he asked.

“He didn’t like me doing it. He said that it would never amount to anything. I’ve always loved reading romance booksand that’s what I wanted to write. But he said that romance books would rot my mind and that it was pointless drivel. Soft porn for housewives. I think he was worried that I liked the men in my books better than him. Probably because it was true.”

“What a fucking asshole!” he said.

Alice startled. Almost as though she’d forgotten that he was there.

“Yeah. He really is,” she said.

“I want to ask you something.”

She tensed. “What is it?”

Anson leaned forward, keeping his gaze on her face. He wanted to make certain that he could see her as he asked her this.

“In your book you had notes about a narcissist and there were things written in there . . . examples of things that a narcissist might say and do to his partner. Ways to control and make her feel small so that he might feel big. Was that fiction? Or was that truth?”

Alice sucked in a breath. She wasn’t certain that she was ready to answer that.

Her lower lip trembled slightly as she glanced away from him.

“Baby,” he whispered. “You don’t have to tell me anything else, but just say yes or no. Okay?”

Right. She could do that.

“Yes, it was the truth. Not fiction.”

There was silence and when she managed to make herself look at him, the utter pain in his face made her breath catch.

“Fuck,” he whispered. “Fucking hell.”

“I’m sorry.” She winced as she said that. Not only was it a rule, but she had no idea why she was apologizing.

The fierce look told her that he had the same thought. “You have nothing to apologize for.”

“You just look so upset.”

“My pain is not your fault. What he did to you . . . that is on him. If I could erase that for you, I would. But I can’t. My pain is because I would never want that for you. I hate that you went through that.”

“I hate it too,” she whispered. “I never thought that would happen to me, you know? My parents were amazing. They always supported me in everything, they were kind and loving. After they died, I guess I became a bit lost. I was on my own. I had a job working in marketing for a supermarket chain. It was good money and I had good friends, however I just never felt fulfilled.”

“How did you meet him?” he asked.

“Someone at work introduced us. I didn’t really feel it for a start, but he was persistent. And in the beginning, I never noticed how he was separating me from my friends, changing what I wore, the way I spoke. I was so fucking stupid.”

“Do not call yourself stupid,” he told her fiercely. “You are not stupid. That’s his words coming from your mouth and I won’t allow it.”

For some reason, she found herself wanting to smile. “You won’t allow it?”

“No.” Then he frowned. “Wait. Do I sound like him?” Horror filled his face.

Getting up, she walked over and kneeled in front of him. “No, you don’t. You might be bossy and you might think you know best?—”

“Don’t just think it,” he told her.