Page 73 of A Hate Like This

“So, you know how nice it feels to care for others.” Her smile is bright as she hands me a mug of coffee.

“It’s exhausting,” I tell her while adding a spoonful of sugar to my cup.

“I imagine it is.” Sandra cracks several eggs into a hot skillet before turning around so she’s facing me. “But you work a lot harder than I do.”

“From the way Ethan was talking, you single-handedly run his life.” I say it as if it’s a compliment, but inside I’m feeling pretty snarky.

Sandra pours four glasses of juice from a pitcher. “Taking care of Ethan is a piece of cake. I had four kids, a husband who worked sixty hours a week on the docks, and I worked part time as a telemarketer.Thatwas a lot of work.”

“How did you wind up here?”

“My sister Gloria used to clean for Ethan’s mom. Rose hired me for two weeks to whip her son’s household into shape. After that, he hired me on himself. I’ve been with him for six years.”

“What does your husband think about it?”

“My job?” She shrugs her shoulders. “What’s to think about? I make four times more working for Ethan than I’ve ever made before, and the work is a breeze. Honestly, I think Julio is jealous he didn’t get the job.” She lets out a melodious laugh.

“I don’t mean to pry,” I start to say, but then I think better of continuing.

“But …” Sandra encourages.

I sigh like I’m the Big Bad Wolf trying to blow one of the piglets’ houses down. “Do you ever wonder why Ethan even needs a housekeeper? I mean, I guess I could understand a cleaning lady, but all this…” I wave my arms around the giant kitchen. “Doesn’t it seem to be a lot for one person?”

“In your world and my world, maybe. But Ethan wants a family, and this would be the perfect family home. It’s only a matter of time before he gets married.” She eyes me intently.

“I could never live like this,” I say bluntly.

Sandra flips the eggs in the pan and counts to ten before turning them out onto the boys’ plates. Then she adds the crisp bacon and toast that’s sitting on the counter. She takes all three plates over to the table before coming back for the juice. Once that task is accomplished, she hands me the toast that just popped up, slides my juice across the counter, and sits down on a barstool next to me.

“Moira, I don’t want to say anything I shouldn’t but …” When I don’t stop her, she adds, “I don’t think you should pass up an easier life on principle. If Cinderella had done that, it would have been the worst fairy tale ever.”

“But Ethan can’t really want me. There’s no way I’m his type, especially when he’s dated movie stars.”

“I think that if Ethan is telling you that you’re his type, you should believe him.”

“I don’t think you quite understand how different our lives are.”

Cocking her head to the side, she says, “Let me ask you something. Would you turn down the right man if he didn’t have any money?”

“No, of course not.”

“Then don’t turn down the right man because he’s wealthy. That would be plain crazy,” she says, patting my arm.

“It’s a little more complicated than that.”

“Is it?” Sandra asks.

No. I’m just terrified. I pull off a piece of my toast and pop it in my mouth while I consider her advice. Maybe it really is a lot simpler than I’m making it.

Maybe this could be my life.

Chapter38

Ethan

I run farther and faster than I have in years, needing to expel all the hurt Moira inflicted on me last night. When I get back home, I try to act like everything is fine, so I won’t ruin Wyatt’s big day out with the Dodgers. I’ve never been as mixed up as I am right now. The love I feel for Moira is real and it runs deep, but it can’t work if she doesn’t want it to.

Wiping the sweat off my brow, I turn the corner and my house comes into view. My very real house where I’ll return to my very real life after Harper’s wedding. I was up half the night thinking about things, trying to figure out if it’s possible to still have a future with Moira, but I always wind up at the same conclusion—she doesn’t want a life with me. Period.

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