Page 15 of Ruthless Love

He is, but it's typically an older man who knows I'm helping their wife rediscover the sexuality they'd thought they'd lost with age and being stuck in a rut. They don't do it because they want to romance me; they do it because they're thankful.

M: They do, but it's not what you think.

C: Then why don't you have dinner with me tomorrow and explain it?

I desperately want to see him again, but I don't want to give in too easily. I want him to know I've missed him, but at the same time, I've lived my life. I've not let us being apart send me down a path of depression. I'd been worried about it at first. Even though I was the one who wanted this, it wasn't an easy decision to make. But if he's willing to put in the effort, then I will too.

M: When and where?

C: We'll talk about it when I get there.

I almost forgot he was supposed to come and help me this morning.

M: K... see you in a few.

C: I'm bringing breakfast. I may be a little later than I anticipated. Alexander Raven is heading over your way too. He's going to help me put something up until insurance comes through. It's not safe for you to have a broken window.

The fact he's thought of this warms my heart. It might be stupid of me, but here I am. We have years of history behind us, and while I was in a big hurry to force his hand, I'm more interested now in figuring out how we can move forward from here.

Quickly I get dressed, put some makeup on, and actually fix my hair. Heading downstairs, I'm ready to see the shop in the light of day. My steps falter slightly as I get to the last step. There's a truck outside the shop that I recognize as Alexander Raven's.

"Morning Marissa."

"Morning. I can't believe you're here so early." I give him a wave.

He tilts his head. "I haven't been asleep yet. Caroline has been having issues with her stomach, and none of us are gettingany rest. I told Cain I would come help him with this, so I figured I'd do it before I laid down. Do they have any idea who did this?"

I shrug. "Not sure. Last night, when Cain and Wyatt showed up, the person was already gone. How much damage do you think was done?"

He puts his hands on his hips and nods toward the hole in the window. "There's nothing structural, so you have that going for you. The problem I see is that these windows are old. They might be hard to match. You haven't been here for a winter yet, have you?"

Folding my arms over my chest, I brace myself for what I'm pretty sure is about to be bad news. "No, this will be the first one."

"So, this window is single pane, which is freaking unheard of in this day and age. Your heating bill is going to be outrageous if you don't figure something out."

"Shit..." I run a hand through my hair. "What are my options?"

"Options for what?"

I turn to see Cain standing behind us. "My windows." He looks like a fucking model in a tight-fitting t-shirt and loose jeans. My gaze runs all the way down to the scuffed boots covering his feet. I bought those for him on our first anniversary, and he's never given them up. Not like the way I gave up on us.

"What's wrong with them?"

He hands me a bag. I recognize it as one of my favorite breakfast spots on the outskirts of Azure Ridge. It's owned by two sisters, and they make the best food. My stomach growls and mouth waters. I haven't had this since the last time he got it for me. I couldn't bring myself to go out there and get it for myself. It just brought out the memories, and I couldn't handle it. Although I was the one who asked for the separation, it didn't mean it didn't hurt. What I wanted more than anything was forhim to realize things had to change between us. Maybe we're there now. "According to Alexander, they're single pane, and that's going to be a problem."

Tilting his head to the side, he slams his gaze toward Alex. "What do you think she should do? That's going to be hell on the heating bill, and it's never going to get warm in there."

"I was about to tell her." He raises his eyebrows at Cain, seemingly to let him know he interrupted our conversation. "If replacing all of them isn't an option, the insurance company will pay for the one that's broken. I can come by and seal them for you. There's a kit you can buy at any hardware store. It's plastic and you use a hair dryer to seal the edges. It's not going to be perfect, but it'll be better than what you have right now."

This is something I would've asked Cain's advice on previously. Now it's my responsibility, and it's not as easy as I imagined it would be to know what the right answer is. Instead, I'm questioning what I should do. There's no way I can afford to replace everything, but there's also no way I can afford the outrageous heating bill either. I'm between a rock and a hard place.

Cain, for his part, doesn't say anything. He looks over at me and patiently waits for me to give him my answer. "Can you price what it will be for me to get all brand-new windows? That way I can save for next year? I think the smart thing to do for this year is to use the plastic you were talking about."

Alex pulls his phone from his pocket and makes a note. "I'll get back to you as soon as I can with the quote." He swings his eyes over to Cain. "The plywood is in my truck, if you wanna help me get the hole sealed up."

"Yeah, no problem."

"I'm going to open the store and eat this." I hold up the bag. "Thank you again."

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