Rory remained quiet, his fingers skimming along the skin of her arm and down her back before repeating their path. She took that as an encouragement to continue talking. “My dad came from money but still worked very hard to build his business. After Mom left, he threw himself into work even more. At least that’s how it seemed to a lonely six-year-old.”
“Is that when Martha came into the picture?”
A rueful chuckle slid out, and she shook her head, wrapping her arm around his waist as she held on tight. “No, she came along later. My grandmother moved in with us and was in charge of me for quite a few years.”
“Was that a bad thing?”
Thoughts swirled in her head, and she took several moments to figure out how to explain her grandmother to someone else. Shifting, she sat up, making sure the sheets still covered her breasts, not wanting to have a conversation about relatives while naked. Facing him, she scrunched her nose and shook her head. “No, Grandmother wasn’t bad, just different. She was like a grand dame—came from money and very set in her ways. I know she loved me, and I’m truly grateful that she stepped in when my mom left. It’s just she had very old-fashioned ideas of how a lady should behave and drilled those ideas into my head. I confess that I often still hear her words rattling around my brain almost every day. She gave me the diamond bracelet that I wear most of the time. She thought wearing lots of jewelry was ostentatious, but that had been given to her by my grandfather and she wanted me to have it.”
She scrunched her nose and shrugged. “I wasn’t lonely with her around, but there weren’t other children to play with other than at school. My dad worked a lot, often coming home after I went to bed and sometimes working weekends. Whenever we were together, he was great. But I think home was a place he didn’t really want to be.”
“So when did Martha come along?”
“I’m not sure when they met, but he introduced me to her when I was twelve and they got married when I was thirteen. And in case you think that I saw her as the evil stepmother, I didn’t. I think I was so ready to suck up all the feminine attention that I clung to her. But she taught me about boys, my period, how to play tennis, and how to wear makeup. Somehow, Martha managed to fall in love with a man who was ready to love her back and befriend a lonely preteen girl and managed to get along with Grandmother. Honestly? I thought she was an angel then, and that hasn’t changed since.”
“And your dad? Did she work her magic on him?”
She nodded with enthusiasm. “After he married Martha, she taught him that it was okay to show emotions again. He didn’t work as much, was home for dinner, and I felt like she helped him forge a new relationship with me.” Rolling her eyes, she added, “Of course, he and I battled over my independence. I ended up going to college here in Hope City, but I refused to live at home. I wanted the dorm experience and the apartment experience. And when I started my own business, he kept trying to push clients my way or tell me how to do things. It was only when I stopped coming around as often he realized how serious I was about my business. Martha helped him to understand.”
Their eyes met and gazes held. She sucked in her lips and finally asked, “What are you thinking? That I was the princess raised in an ivory tower?”
She watched as he shook his head slowly, his arms opening, beckoning her to settle against him once more. She gladly acquiesced, loving the feel of his warm skin under her cheek and his heartbeat steady against her ear.
“I’m glad that your story turned out all right, but my heart breaks for the little six-year-old girl who was lonely. My family was loud, in each other’s business, but I always had a sibling or friend to play with, a listening ear when I needed it, a father and mother who taught me right from wrong, how to be a man, and how to value women. I’m glad Martha came into your life, sweetheart, but I have to admit the idea of your grandmother scares me.”
A giggle slipped out, and she replied, “She died several years ago. Sometimes, I think about all the life lessons that she took with her and all the ones that she left with me.”
“What are some of the lessons?”
“Oh, you know. She just had a lot of old-fashioned ideas about what a lady should and shouldn’t do. A lady never interrupts. A lady might disagree with the man she’s interested in, but she shouldn’t let him know that. A lady always sits with her ankles crossed, never her legs. A lady doesn’t accept the man’s first offer of a drink, but if she’s interested can accept the second offer.” Rolling her eyes, she said, “Some of the lessons were good. The kind of things that everyone should know about manners. But with many of them, looking back, Martha probably cringed trying to teach me independence.”
“A few minutes ago, you asked me if I thought you were a princess in an ivory tower.” He tightened his arms around her and said, “I feel like I can’t apologize enough for my earlier assessment that you came from money, therefore were needy with high expectations. Or that you didn’t have to really work for a living. All of that was shit, and I never should have listened to what anyone else said.”
Her fingers drifted over his abs, smiling when
