Page 14 of The Widower
“What do you need, sir?”
“Take the little lady to the kitchen,” he said, kneeling down again—and then, for the first time ever, he smiled.
Yes. He smiled. I swear I’m not exaggerating.
“Hanna, sweetheart, could you go with her for a minute?I need to talk to your mom. If you do, Janet will give you some chocolate. How does that sound?”
“Hmm. Can I have two?”
Colin closed his eyes for a second, reopening them with another faint smile.
“As many as you want.”
“Okay. Thanks, mister.”
Please, stop calling him mister, Hanna…
I stood there in shock as the scene unfolded. Colin doesn’t smile. Ever. The man is colder than ice. But with Hanna, he looked almost… human.
After they disappeared into the kitchen, I mentally braced myself. I was definitely getting fired.
“Colin, I—”
“No! I’ll talk!” he snapped, cutting me off—like always.
I nodded.
“Why do you insist on breaking rules?” His voice was clipped, full of irritation.
“I had to bring Hanna with me.”
“Did you read item seven on the list?”
“Yes.”
“And you still disobeyed?”
I dropped my head, searching for words.What could I even say? I had to be honest—if I was going to lose my job, I’d at least go down being truthful.
I lifted my head to meet his eyes.
“I’m a single mom, and Hanna’s father left us years ago. It’s just me, my daughter, and my mother. She works odd cleaning jobs, and she couldn’t take Hanna today. I’m sorry. I’ll understand if you fire me.”
It was the longest thing I’d ever said in front of Colin—and judging by his expression, it caught him completely off guard. He looked like he wanted to say something, but didn’t. He just stared at me for several long seconds.
“Isabelle,” he said finally, his voice back to that calm, deep tone. I braced for the worst. “What are you going to do the next time your mother can’t take her?”
“I don’t know yet,” I admitted honestly.
“What am I supposed to do with you, huh?” he said, this time softer—almost thoughtful.
“Whatever you want.”
Yeah, it sounded bad. I know.
Like I was putting myself entirely at his mercy—which wasn’t true. But the truth is, for all his good looks, Colin Adams had the same amount of arrogance to match.
And me? I was even crazier… for feeling that flicker of attraction toward him in the middle of all this.
