Page 96 of The Widower
I shook my head and stepped back, but not before saying, “You’ll get better—and I’ll make sure of it.”
“Good luck with that. You’re gonna need it.”
“Can I ask you something, Isabelle?”
“Of course.”
“What happened to your house?” Joshua and I were on our way to his school.
“It was destroyed when we got there,” I said, trying not to think about it—though that was nearly impossible, since the image of my ruined home kept flashing through my mind.
“My dad said you’re gonna stay at our place for a while.”
I still didn’t know how that news affected Joshua, considering how often Colin talked about his tendency to isolate himself. Honestly, they both did it—and with each other, which made things worse. Even so, I could tell they were starting to connect again, and I hoped to help them along as the days went by.
“Yeah. Just until I can get everything sorted out.”
That was the real problem—I had no idea when that would be. The cost of repairing the house would be enormous, and I knew I couldn’t afford it. Not now.
We had just reached the school gates. After we said goodbye, I heard Joshua call out to me, saying something that caught me completely off guard:
“I don’t mind if you stay at my house. Bye, Isabelle.”
I didn’t realize it then, but that moment was a big step forward—not just in my life, but in Colin’s too.
Colin was calling me. Nothing unusual about that—except for where he was calling me from: his bedroom.
I’d never dared to set foot in there before.The fear of getting fired was stronger than my curiosity. But now… I felt a little calmer. Still, even though he’d asked me to come, I couldn’t shake the nervousness creeping in. It was his room, after all.
“Come in! I’m right next door.”
In a matter of minutes, I stepped into a room that could only be accessed through his bedroom—a space I quickly realized was where Colin brought his projects to life.
It was fairly large, with several items spread across one of the tables: an A3 folder, a few rolled-up blueprints, a hard case, a portable drafting board, and other tools of his trade.
“Do you need something?” I asked, my voice cautious when I saw he was working.
And my mind—of course—went straight to something else. Or maybe… that was what he wanted?
Stop fantasizing about the man, Isabelle.
“Yes.”
“What do you need?”
“To pay off a promise.”
“What?”
At first, I didn’t quite understand what he meant.
Colin stood up and came closer. For a second, I thought he was going to kiss me—and, deep down, I wanted him to. There was something about Colin that made me addicted to him. Dangerous as it was, I couldn’t control it.
“James Sullivan,” he said. “Remember that thing he said about learning from a certain architect?”
I smiled.
“That won’t work.I don’t have a degree or anything.”
