Total pages in book: 151
Estimated words: 142976 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 715(@200wpm)___ 572(@250wpm)___ 477(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 142976 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 715(@200wpm)___ 572(@250wpm)___ 477(@300wpm)
Whatever was happening here was a result of too much work over too short a time, with too little sleep and too many changes in his lifestyle. Once his routine had been restored to some kind of normalcy—Cade had no doubt—he’d get over whatever the fuck was going on with him.
Chapter
Ten
As Cade guided Fern up the pathway of Gideon and Beth’s three-bedroom house in the upper middle-class suburb of Newlands, the vintage glass paned front door swung open to reveal his petite, shyly smiling sister-in-law. Fern remembered the woman and her husband from the gala. Elizabeth Hawthorne was only about five foot tall, bespectacled, and very pretty in a wholesome way.
“Hey, Beth,” Cade said, gracing the woman with a small, fond smile. He enfolded his sister-in-law in a warm hug, surprising Fern with the show of affection.
“I’m so h-happy you both could join us today,” the woman said with a smile after he released her. “Introduce me to your lovely wife, please.”
She smiled at Fern, her expression full of so much genuine warmth and welcome, that Fern was certain the woman couldn’t possibly know about the marriage arrangement between her and Cade. Beth surely wouldn’t be so welcoming if she knew that Fern’s place in this family and in their lives was so transient.
“This is Fern,” Cade introduced almost dismissively and Fern tried not to flinch at the lack of interest in his voice. “Fern, my sister-in-law, Beth. And my brother, Gideon.”
The tall man hovering protectively behind Beth was practically a mirror image of Cade. Only a lot more casually dressed. The younger Hawthorne wore a pair of faded, ripped jeans, and a black T-shirt that clung to his massive chest and left his long, muscly, tattooed arms on display. Gideon’s hair was longer, shaggier, less formal than Cade’s. His jaw was stubbled while Cade had taken the time to shave, even while they’d been ferrying back and forth between continents. And Gideon’s crooked smile was as wicked as Cade’s rare grin.
While there was something appealing and sexy about this tall loose-limbed, relaxed man, Fern preferred Cade’s quiet, buttoned-down strength. She liked how neat his appearance was, she appreciated the lethal grace with which he wore those three-piece business suits, and she enjoyed the blueness of his jaw just after he’d shaved that thick stubble. His smiles were more valuable to her because they were as rare as precious gems and each one felt earned.
She tried not to let despondency weigh her down as she recognized that she likely wouldn’t be seeing Cade smile much during their time together. Especially now that he knew about her pregnancy. She hated the thought that he might feel trapped. It wasn’t a trap. She’d needed his help and he’d given that to her.
That was it. The extent of what she expected from him. She needed him to understand that, to believe it. He owed her nothing. She wanted nothing from him. All that was left was this temporary union. And it would end before her child would even be old enough to get to know him.
“Fern, what a lovely name,” Beth said, surprising Fern by enfolding her in a hug as warm as the one she’d exchanged with Cade. Gideon followed that up with a quick kiss on her cheek, and Fern stared up at them both in wonder. She’d never had anyone give her affection so freely before—not since her mother’s death—and it pained her to think it was because they were under some misapprehension about her relationship with Cade.
“Thank you,” she whispered, needing to clear the air, but mourning the fact that it would create formality and distance between her and these lovely people. “But… I’m not sure if Cade has told you about the—uhm—the circumstances of our marriage?”
She was aware of Cade’s head swiveling toward her, but kept her face averted, not wanting to meet his eyes.
“Oh, wuh-we know about that,” Beth said, waving a dismissive hand. “Doesn’t matter though, you’re a Hawthorne now. We’re like sisters.”
Sisters…
Fern’s heart twisted at the wave of longing that washed over her at the word. She remembered how excited she’d been when her mother had married Granger—a man with two daughters close to her own age. She’d been thrilled at the prospect of having sisters to play with and confide in. But Toni and Allie had been cold and nasty. They’d bullied her mercilessly, and blamed her for every little—and not so little—mishap around the house. By the time her mother had died, the bullying had been so relentless that it had been a relief to be banished to boarding school far away from them.
Her dream of having sisters had transformed into a nightmare and now—as she looked down at this lovely woman with the warm, open smile on her pretty face—Fern wondered if that dream was still within reach.