Page 52 of Cinderella's Secret Baby

“That was the plan,” Hunter said carefully.

“It bothers me you’re alone at home,” Amelia said in a subdued voice.

“We have plenty of room if you want to come to Vancouver with us,” Hunter said, not for the first time. Or the last. “There’s a room ready for you.”

“I’m not alone in Goderich. I have my coffee with the boys every morning,” Tobias reminded her, then grew sheepish. “And I’ve taken to having pie with Mo’s sister, Ola, on Sunday afternoons. Sometimes we have the early bird special at Thursday’s on Thursday. Don’t get any ideas.” He shook a warning finger. “She’s a widow with kids who have grown and left the nest, same as me. We keep each other company, is all. It’s someone new to talk to who hasn’t heard all our same old yarns, but I wouldn’t want her feeling lonely if I weren’t there.” He wore a self-conscious blush on his cheeks.

“Oh. That’s nice. I’m happy if you’re happy, Dad.” Amelia blinked in bemusement.

“And we’d be happy for you to bring her for a visit if that works sometime, too,” Hunter said. “I can make arrangements anytime. Just let me know.”

“I will, thanks. I’ve decided to hit the hay,” Tobias said, standing and heaving a sigh. “It’s been a long day, and it’s catching up to me.”

Amelia rose, and they said their good-nights. Then she disappeared to put Peyton down for the night.

Hunter poured himself a drink, bracing himself for the reckoning that couldn’t be avoided.Peyton and I will come stay...

She didn’t want to come to Vancouver with him.

His guts roiled with the dark irony of her rejection. His greatest fear had been that Amelia would hold some sort of power over him, and she did. Knowing she was angry with him, and worse, knowing he deserved it, had been eating into him like acid.

He was every bit as enamored with and susceptible to her as his father had been Irina.

The difference was, Amelia was sensitive and supportive andloving. How had he seen that as a threat? Her heart was the most precious thing she could offer him, and he’d been a blind fool to throw it back at her the way he had.

No wonder she wanted to leave him.

Now he’d ruined it. He’d seen how completely she loathed the last man who hadn’t given her the respect her love deserved.

Her footsteps on the stairs had him turning to pour her wine and top up his scotch.

“Oh my God. Thank you,” she sighed as he handed her the glass. She took a sip. “Andthank you.” Her eyes glossed with emotion. “I don’t know how to even process that you brought my brother back from the dead.”

“I threw money at a problem and hoped for the best. Fortunately, that’s what we got.”

“I’m still very grateful,” she said sincerely.

Grateful enough to stay? The pain down his breastbone was sharp as a fracture.

“I can’t imagine what it cost you,” she was saying, as if he cared about the money. “Finding him. The chartered flight... And his legal bills?” Her brow twisted with anxiety. “That’s not your responsibility, Hunter. Dad has said many times that he can remortgage the house—”

“Don’t even think it. There will be a settlement. It will be huge. Trust me. Anything I give Jasper will be a loan.” It stung that she didn’t want his money. How was this still a bone of contention between them? “You would help my sister in any way you could. I know that.”

“I would,” she agreed absently, then winced. “But it sounds like our family will drag yours into the spotlightagain. That’s why I thought going to live with Dad would be a good idea. Wouldn’t it be better for you if we said we were on a trial separation—”

“Better?” he choked. “How would it be better for me if my wife and daughter leave me?”

“I...” Her shoulders slumped. “I know you want Peyton close to you, but—”

“I want you!” he shouted, then clacked his teeth together. He glanced toward the stairs as he recalled that her father was trying to sleep. Pressure filled his head and his throat and his chest. Urgency.Fear.

“Dad wears earplugs so Peyton doesn’t wake him.” Amelia hugged herself as she eyed him warily. “I know that we click, chemistry-wise. I just don’t know how that can be enough when you’re going to all this trouble on my behalf.”

“Enough?” He ran a hand down his face, wondering how she could make him feel so callow and misunderstood. “I didn’t search for him so I could get laid, Amelia. It was the right thing to do and it might not have worked out as well as it did, but I wanted answers for you, one way or another.”

“Because you care about me.” She sat down, hand shaking as she abandoned her wine on the coffee table. “I know you do and I’ve been churlish, acting as though you don’t give me everything I need when youdo. I realize that. Words are cheap. Actions are real and the way you act is...loving. It’s okay if you don’t say the words or feel it the way I do.”

“Don’t be so damned forgiving!” he burst out, hating himself in that moment. “Do you know how I would have reacted if I told you I loved you and you said,That’s nice? I would throw up my heart and wonder what reason there was for continuing with my sorry life. I would call you a coward when I can see with my own eyes that you love me.” He pointed at his eyes. They were stinging with gathering tears. His throat was on fire, barely able to mutter, “Even if you were too stubborn and scared to say the words.”

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