Total pages in book: 84
Estimated words: 86510 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 433(@200wpm)___ 346(@250wpm)___ 288(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 86510 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 433(@200wpm)___ 346(@250wpm)___ 288(@300wpm)
I nod. “Would you excuse me for a moment?”
“Of course.” She reaches for her café au lait and brings it to her lips.
I head to the bathroom.
But Mémé waylays me. “You look disturbed, Ronan.”
“I’m fine.”
“You like that young woman,” she says bluntly.
I look over my shoulder and sigh. “She’s an enigma.”
She reaches up, grabs my shoulders so I’m facing her again. “Yes, and you could never resist a challenge, could you?”
“No, Mémé.”
“Don’t you think it’s about time you settled down?”
“That’s not who I am.”
Mémé reaches up again, standing on her tiptoes, and pinches my cheek with a smile, like she used to when I was a little boy. “You might be surprised, chéri.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
Mary
I was able to patch up my heart after Lucas, as Brenda advised. But it’s not whole. I don’t think it will ever be whole again.
The botched scene with Jack got me thinking about emotion. About how it can really screw you over.
And that’s where the problem with Ronan comes in—the truth that I couldn’t tell him.
I don’t know the man, but I allowed him to whisk me off to New Orleans. Something I would never do.
It’s like that botched scene with Jack opened up something in me.
My emotions remembered that they were there, and they started bubbling to the surface.
Fear.
Fear that another scene might go wrong.
Other emotions, too.
Envy.
I find myself envying Brenda and Dalton and what they have.
Then…
I can’t call it love. No one falls in love in forty-eight hours.
But extreme like. Extreme like and attraction to Ronan O’Connor.
He’s made it damned clear where he stands. He’s not looking for love or even extreme like. He’s looking for a submissive to play with. That is simple. That is all.
And I can’t fault him for that.
It’s what I wanted for so long.
All of this because of a damned botched scene. It wasn’t the first botched scene I ever participated in. It was the reason the scene was botched—because Jack was suppressing emotion for another woman.
In some strange way, his suppression of emotion brought out my own.
I’m scared.
I’m scared that being a part-time submissive may not be enough for me anymore.
I never thought I’d want what Brenda and Dalton found.
But perhaps I do.
And if I do, this thing with Ronan must end, or I’ll end up with a shattered heart again—and this time will be worse because it wasn’t whole to begin with.
I widen my eyes when Yvette takes a seat at our table across from me where Ronan was sitting.
“Good morning, Mary.”
I look down at my empty plate. “Good morning. I loved the beignets.”
“Thank you. I’m very proud of them.” She smiles. “What do you think of my grandson?”
I have no idea why she’s asking, what she expects me to say. “He’s…great.”
“He’s a good man.” Yvette glances toward the restrooms. “My daughter doesn’t have the best marriage with Ronan’s father. They’re still together, but it’s mostly in name only. I saw much more of Ronan while he was growing up than his father ever did. The man was off globetrotting, spending most of his time in the UK and continental Europe. Making lucrative business deals when he should’ve been at home attending to his wife and child. When Simone went with him, as she sometimes did, Ronan was here alone.”
Again, I don’t know what she expects me to say. “Ronan hasn’t told me much about his childhood.”
“My grandson never learned what’s important in life. Family, children, someone to love.”
“Oh?”
“He works too hard. He micromanages. And now that he’s back in the States, I’m going to make sure he stays happy.”
She reaches across the table, takes my hand, and slides something into it. A small piece of paper and a tiny cloth pouch.
“What is this?” I ask.
“A simple love spell,” she says. “You are falling in love with my grandson, are you not?”
My cheeks burn. “I hardly know him.”
“Yet you flew across the country with him.”
“I know. I sort of got whisked away,” I admit. “I’m not naive. I know women should be careful. But I felt safe with him.”
A slow smile spreads across Yvette’s pretty face. “Why do you think that is?”
I can’t tell her why it is. I can’t tell her that we’re both members of the same underground club in New York City and that the members are vetted very carefully. That’s why I feel safe with Ronan. The only reason.
“I…”
“You don’t have to answer that.” She squeezes my hand. “I see it in your eyes.”
“You see what in my eyes?”
“I see my grandson’s future. I believe it lies with you, Mary. I could be wrong, but it’s unlikely. I’m almost never wrong when it concerns matters of the heart.”
I touch the pouch, let the silk caress my fingers. “Ronan told me you practice Voodoo.”
“I do. It’s my religion. I learned it from my mother, and she learned from hers. My own daughter wasn’t interested. So I guess it dies with me.”