“Thank you for coming.” She snorted at the unintentional double entendre and soon they were both laughing. And then they were kissing once more.
Later, after they’d refreshed themselves and smoothed the wrinkled sheets, they lay together and Guy clasped her hand in his. “I’ve been busy while we were apart. I don’t know what Rose has said about our business partnership.”
“Only that you had invested in her shop.”
“I’m founding an independent loan company for would-be small business owners of little means. I am not limitlessly wealthy, but I’ll start a fund to which I’ll encourage my friends to contribute.”
“What a laudable enterprise! Congratulations.” She paused, loath to broach the subject of her past, but they had agreed to be open with one another. “When I accepted Abernathy’s check meant to clear his conscience, I despised myself for it but saw no other avenue. What a godsend it would have been to apply to a loan company such as what you propose, for no bank would take a chance on a penniless female with business aspirations.”
Guy kissed her hand. “I’m sorry you suffered such indignity. I wish I could have… is it too late for me to track down this Abernathy chap and punch him in the face on your behalf?”
“Far too late, but thank you for wanting to.”
“I do, quite badly. Despite my progressive views, I’m rather a caveman at heart.” He beat his chest with a fist. “Want to protect my woman.”
My woman. It felt better to hear than it should have to someone who prided herself on providing for her own needs.
After a moment, Guy asked, “What made you change your mind about me?”
“The change was more about me than you. I had a right to be angry with you, but battening down and withdrawing is a quality I’d like to overcome. Several things happened to shift my way of thinking. First, I received a letter from Miss Pruett telling me she was doing well, happily married and living with her new husband’s family. Reading between the lines, it seems as if she has begun to reconcile her childish romanticism with the difficulties of real life and has reconciled the two quite well.”
“That is good news, isn’t it?”
“Certainly. Receiving her letter inspired me to consider the way I fled my past, so I wrote a letter to my family. Today my aunt arrived without a word of warning.”
“No!” Guy sat up. “That must have been shocking.”
“I almost didn’t recognize her she’s grown so old and frail. But when she began to speak, I—” Unexpected emotion made her choke on a sob.
Wordlessly, Guy pulled her to him and held her while tears came gushing. He did not shush her or tell her not to cry. Instead, he hugged her closer, rocking her until her weeping was finished.
“I’m sorry,” Hattie gulped. “I don’t know what came over me.”
“You have every right to cry. That meeting must have been heart-wrenching.”
She wiped away tears. “I had hoped we might reconcile, but Aunt Elaine only came to inform me in person that my uncle and cousin have both passed on.”
“I am so sorry for your loss. Even if you were not close, they were still your family.”
“The entire conversation took no more than five minutes. And my aunt remained stiff as a poker the entire time. Once she felt she’d fulfilled her duty, she departed saying her duty as my mother’s sister was complete.”
“Old witch! I understand why you left home without looking back.”
“That was about youthful pride. I can’t excuse my bad behavior. But after witnessing how rigid my aunt could be with her only remaining family member, I realized I did not want to be like her in any way. I don’t want to live my life judging other people’s perceived failings or remain apart from them due to a misunderstanding. So I came to find you.”
“Which led us here, and I am so grateful for that.”
After a few quiet moments Guy spoke again. “I wish I had tried to patch things with my father before he died. We were isolated from each other for years, polar opposites with nothing in common but blood and dead family members we never talked about. Now it is too late to learn if we might have found some common ground. At least you attempted to heal things with your aunt, even though her response was disappointing.”
It was the first time Guy had spoken of his father. Hattie heard the wistfulness of the boy he’d once been, as solitary as she in many ways. His sadness and their mutual losses made her feel closer to him than ever. In some ways she and Guy were not as different when one looked under the surface.
Many hours later, Hattie awoke on the edge of her narrow bed. Guy sprawled over the rest of it, one arm slung around her, keeping her from falling off. She nudged him awake and made him move over. He sleepily complied, drawing her to his chest like a favorite stuffed toy. It wasn’t comfortable, but it was very sweet and loving. Cuddled against this masculine furnace, Hattie thought she had never been more content.
Whatever might happen in the future, whether they married or remained scandalous lovers, she would happily recall this perfect night. She had not believed she would ever again find a man with whom she could fall in love, but Guy Hardy was that man and she was very glad he had burst into her shop and invaded her heart.
Chapter Twenty
One month later
Hattie perched a small straw hat on her high-piled hair and tilted it to a jaunty angle before drawing the white veiling down over one eye. She regarded her reflection from the left and the right and nodded in satisfaction. Paired with her gray suit jacket and skirt, it made for a very dignified and professional look.
Guy entered the room and came up behind her to place his
