Total pages in book: 144
Estimated words: 133531 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 668(@200wpm)___ 534(@250wpm)___ 445(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 133531 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 668(@200wpm)___ 534(@250wpm)___ 445(@300wpm)
“Men suck,” Lydia announced.
Rory didn’t want that for her, not when she was certain Larrsen was one of the good ones. “I don’t believe Detective Larrsen believes you had anything to do with Ramsey’s murder, Lydia. I think he’s trying to protect you. Maybe all of us.”
Lydia brightened. “That could be. I hope you’re right. I want to think he’s everything I think he is. He’s so sweet with Ellen. Even she likes him.” She dropped a kiss on Ellen’s head.
The little girl smiled up at her mother and then slid to the floor, where she began playing with the toys her mother had brought for her. Lydia pointed to them. “He bought those for her. They’ve become her new favorites.”
Rory looked at the castle-and-princess playset with ponies and stables. The detective had covered all the bases. Smart man. He was another Gideon. The moment the thought entered her mind, she tried to push it away. Gideon had been her fantasy man, and he hadn’t lived up to the fantasy. Maybe no man could. Maybe no woman could.
She considered the things Gideon had told her about his family. No doubt he’d had fantasies about the perfect parents. His mother and father certainly hadn’t lived up to his expectations. Did anyone? It was possible everyone put far too many expectations on relationships. Since she didn’t know the first thing about them, she didn’t know one way or the other.
“Do people even have good marriages anymore?” Lydia asked. “It seems to me no one lasts more than a few years, and then it’s on to the next person.”
“My parents may be elitist snobs,” Cindy said. “And they do drive me crazy, but they love each other. They’ve been together for forty-seven years, and they still gaze at each other across the room like teenagers. When I was a kid, I remember being embarrassed that they were always holding hands, and Dad would grab Mom and dance with her across a room. Now I think it’s incredibly sweet. I felt like I found that with Matthew, the boys’ father. I adored him almost from the moment I set eyes on him. There was never anyone else for me.”
She looked down at her hands, and Rory’s heart lurched. She looked so alone, so destroyed. For the first time, Rory felt a kinship with her. Of all the women she’d become close with, she knew Cindy the least. Cindy came from money. She was always composed. It was difficult to tell at times whether she was hurting or not. She didn’t let anything show on her face.
Instinctively, Rory knew she would never want another man after losing Gideon. He was the only man who would ever work for her. They fit. It was that simple. He would have been the love of her life. She just knew that when he was close to her, something deep inside opened up where she’d been so closed off. It sounded corny even to her, but her heart sang around him. Rory was all about music. Lyrics. Poetry. Gideon amplified those traits in her.
Was that how Cindy felt about her husband? They’d had two children together. She was struggling to bring them up in the way she believed he would want them raised.
“That’s nice to hear,” Lydia said. “I really like him. I want Warren to be real.”
Rory closed her eyes and pressed her to-go mug to her forehead. How many times had she said that very thing to herself? She’d wanted Gideon to be real.
I am real, Red. I’m sorry I let you down.
To her dismay, she’d connected with him. She tended to do that when she was upset. More and more, that was happening, as if she couldn’t stop herself. The spot just above her left temple gave off that strange sensation, as if her skin were so tight it wanted to peel away. She didn’t fight the impression but rather sank into it, allowing the pain to wash over her.
I know you didn’t mean to, Gideon. I understand you better now.
Just because she understood him didn’t mean it didn’t still hurt like hell. She needed to feel like she belonged somewhere. With someone. She wanted to be number one in his life the way he was in hers. That probably wasn’t fair since she had no past and no family. If she had, she might put them in front of him just as he had done.
“If you want my honest opinion of Detective Larrsen, Lydia,” Cindy said, “I believe he’s as real as they get. My advice is to go slow. You have a child, so it makes sense to be cautious, but if you’re attracted to him and he is to you, take the chance.”
Janice sighed. “I’m not the best with men, you know that, but I’m going to second Cindy on this one, Lydia. I like the man. He’s a good cop. And he’s totally into you.”