Page 62 of Merry Little Midlife Matchmaker

I shook my head. “He’s not going to be upset at you. Well, he might, but he’ll forgive you. He’ll be upset atme.”

“What?”

“My brother…” I took a deep breath. “Both brothers, and to an extent my parents…”

How could I put it into words without sounding like I was wallowing in self-pity? I wanted to tell him that my role in the family had been etched into permanence over the past decade—or even longer. After my divorce, there hadn’t been questionsabout me dating again. It had been a given that I would focus on the children, that I would put myself second. And I did. But to show up at Christmas dinner on Sean’s arm…

That would upset the balance of things.

“They don’t see you,” Sean said quietly.

I blinked and glanced up at him. “What?”

“They see you as free childcare, as someone who will do the grunt work at family events. But they don’t appreciate that you might want more from your life than that.”

My throat was suddenly tight. “They’re not bad people.”

“I never said they were. But they use you, Lizzie.”

“They—” I shut my mouth, because what was I supposed to say? The little voice in my head that had piped up when no one saved me any stuffing at Thanksgiving, when my brother had called me and expected me to drop everything to go babysit for him when he needed it—that voice agreed with him. And it had been getting louder. When my bottom lip began to wobble, I shoved a grape in my mouth to hide it.

“Lizzie,” Sean said, moving closer. He let his fingers drift down my arm, then dropped his hand. “I didn’t mean to make you upset.”

“You didn’t. It’s just…” I took a deep breath, slugged some wine, then shook my head. “It’s just been a long time since someone saw me as something more than just a mom.”

He let out a sigh, and I didn’t have the courage to look at him. I didn’t want to see the pity in his eyes. And I didn’t want to glance over and see all that intoxicating attraction fade away when he realized who I really was. What if I was just a mom? What if I was just good at grunt work?

Then strong arms slid around me, and my face was mashed against his chest. I curled my fingers into the fabric of his shirt on either side of his spine as he held me, deep shuddering breaths moving in and out of my lungs.

“You want to know what I see when I look at you?”

I inhaled the scent of him and shook my head. “Not unless you’re about to tell me I’m a goddess among women.”

He huffed a laugh as his hand made a slow sweep down my spine. “That’s pretty close to what I had in mind.”

I snorted and finally flicked my gaze up to meet his. “Sorry.”

“For what?”

“This isn’t why you came here tonight.”

“How do you know what I came here for?”

I arched a brow. “I think you made it pretty clear when you started kissing me two seconds after walking in the door.”

He grinned. “That’s one of the reasons. You want to know the other?”

I licked my lips. Nodded.

“You make me feel good, Lizzie. Every time I’m around you, it’s like life is suddenly easier. Problems don’t seem so bad. My thoughts are peaceful. I can’t get enough of it. Of you.”

Swallowing thickly, I held his gaze. “Oh.”

“When I look at you, I see a woman who’s strong. Someone who’s been battered by life and come out the other side. Yes, you’re a mom. But you’re also a survivor. You’re funny, and sweet, and smart. You keep everyone around you afloat, and you do it without them even realizing it.” He stroked my cheek with his thumb, and any defense I had against him crumbled. “You deserve someone who will carry some of that load for you, Lizzie. And I… I guess for the past few weeks, I’ve been fantasizing about that man being me.”

His words were too big for me to carry. I couldn’t process them all as he held me so tenderly, couldn’t accept that a man would look at me and see all that.

“Can I ask you something, Lizzie?”

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