Page 62 of Rosabel and the Billionaire Beast

He faced me rather than the lake. “What do you mean?”

“When we met them yesterday, you didn’t even hug your mother. None of you said much to each other, and then when you and I left, no one really said anything. You all just went on your separate ways like it was no big deal.”

A furrow appeared between his brow, his typical scowl settling back into place. “Are things supposed to be any different?”

Discomfort wedged between us. More so because I realized his question wasn’t defensive. It had been serious.Hewas serious.

How much he’d missed, and he didn’t even know it.

This time, I hunched, relaxing and resting my arms against the railing beside him. “If only you could have been there when my mom was still alive, when my dad was his normal self. We used to have the most amazing conversations over meals when I came home from school.

“Home was warm; it was welcoming, and a place I never wanted to leave. My family was my best friend. Our extended family is huge, and when we all get together, it’s this great reunion. We could form a whole orchestra, so many of us play instruments. In fact, we did all play together when my grandma died—one of our cousins conducted us together.”

Keeping a hand on the railing, he faced me. “How many cousins do you have?”

“I don’t know—over forty.”

“Forty?” His shock was evident.

“Sure,” I said. “Not including my parents, who tried but couldn’t have any more kids after I was born—we’re a big family. We’d get together on Thanksgiving and Christmas to play games and share musical talents. My favorite, though, was the intellectual conversations that took place. I always felt so privileged to be a part of that. My family instilled in me a thirst for knowledge, for betterment, for?—”

“Musical talents?” he said, finishing my sentence. He edged closer to me on the dock. “What do you play?”

“The flute,” I said. “I don’t play as much as I’d like, but now, I wish I had my instrument here. I might actually have time to get it out.”

“I’d like to hear you play.”

I stared out at the trees reflecting on the lake’s glassy surface. “No, you wouldn’t.”

His hand brushed my elbow. The touch seared straight through me, lifting the hairs on my arms.

“Don’t go painting this picture of a perfect life and refuse to let me in on it. You should play for me. You deserve that escape.”

I was caught off guard by his sincerity, by the gentleness in his voice and the directness in his eyes. They created a haze around my mind, threatening to make me forget who I was talking to.

This is Duncan,I told myself.You can’t open yourself up to him, no matter what he says while he’s lifting weights.

“I don’t know. It’s been so long.”

Silence shrouded the air. My earlier resolve to help him didn’t do me any favors in this moment. He was pricking a hidden pocket in my heart, a portion of myself that I’d kept locked away from him. I couldn’t afford to feel more than friendship. Not with someone so egotistically abrasive.

Despite his statements earlier about love, Duncan wouldn’t know what to do if I offered my heart to him. He would either trample it or lord over it, neither of which I wanted. I needed to get away from him—from this romantic setting, from the way he continued to play pinball with my heart.

SIXTEEN

rosabel

Things were gettinga little too up-close-and-personal for my liking. I turned and crossed to the dock’s edge. I lifted my foot to step back onto the mountain’s base when his voice stopped me.

“My family has praiseworthy qualities, too,” he said softly.

I lowered my foot and turned. His back was still to me, his arms still resting on the railing.

As if noticing that I stopped, he turned toward me. Resting a hand in his pocket once more, he took a step.

“Yes, we’re all very work-focused, but my parents have supported large charities and funded cancer research for years. My mom devoted a large portion of her attention to building a successful fashion design business. She has many talents, and she’s used those to create wardrobes geared to help teen girls with their self-esteem.”

My brows shot up. I would never have guessed something so philanthropic from the interaction I saw with Mrs. Hawthorne.

---