Page 24 of Runaway Queen

“Sophie. Stop fighting it. It’s just lunch.” He leaned a hip on the table, his arms crossed over his chest.

He would not budge, and he’d made it so I looked like a petty bitch if I protested more. I had no problem being a petty bitch, but I hadn’t eaten, and I wasn’t going to sit around and watch him eat before he deigned to give me his attention.

He pulled my chair out as I sat. I leaned forward to avoid his touch when he pushed me back in.

“Relax. You’re so flighty. Such a city slicker. I never found out where you lived before you came to Maine.”

Edward sat opposite me and picked up the wine.

I covered my glass. “None for me, and I don’t think I mentioned it.”

He smirked. “I’m aware. I was asking where you lived before you came here.”

“Around, mostly the East Coast. We moved a lot.”

“You and your late husband?”

I nodded, the lie feeling like it was branded across my forehead. Edward’s gaze fell to my wedding ring. I’d bought it as soon as I could afford it and put it on the very day Leo had been born. I might not be able to introduce my son to his father, but I’d always wanted him to know that his parents had loved each other once.

“What was it he did for work?”

“A little of this, a little of that. He was a jack of all trades.” The evasive answers were the best I could come up with right now.

“And a master of none?” Edward smiled like it was a nice thing to say about a dearly departed loved one. “Anyway, it’s been a while, but you still wear the ring.”

“I’ll always wear it. I’m not interested in dating. I’ve told you that before.”

“Yes, you have. These things change with enough time.”

“Not for me.”

Edward chuckled. “You really have a knack for that, don’t you?”

“For what?”

“Making me want to prove you wrong.”

Instead of answering, I looked out at the garden below us. The cliff was a good hundred feet away from the wall of the property. As I looked out at the rugged beauty of the coastline, I felt the same creeping sensation of eyes on me that I had at the front of the house.

“Do you have cameras all around your property?”

Edward nodded.

“And security guards?”

He tilted his head. “Are you thinking of breaking in? I don’t bother with security guards. This is Maine.”

“Right.”

We ate in strained silence.

“Are you used to living somewhere with more security?”

I jerked out of my daydream at the question and waited for him to go on.

He waved his fork around as he spoke. Everything about him was cocky arrogance. I hated it.

“You don’t seem like a woman used to living… like you do now.”

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