Page 20 of Timeless Valentine

"I think it does. Let's leave aside for the moment the part about your selfish brother. You've been dealt a lousy hand of cards, Grace. I can help. Iwantto help."

I carefully retract my hands to unfasten my seatbelt so that I can turn toward him head on. "Leo, I really do appreciate your concern, thank you. But I have things handled."

He frowns, his brow furrowing with concern. "Baby, you're already working so hard, and I see how much you fight to scrimp and save. How can you possibly pay even more every month?"

I start to answer, then stop, my eyes meeting his in shock. I feel like I've been punched in the stomach. "You read the letter? You saw that they're increasing the rates?"

His handsome face crumples. "I'm sorry. I really am. It was right there, and I couldn’t help myself. I glanced."

"You snooped through my mail?" Picking up my purse and lunch bag, I try to get out of the car, but Leo holds my arm. "Please, Grace. Wait. Let me show you something."

I'm shaking too badly to walk anyway, so I stay put. The anger, hurt, and betrayal make it feel like my entire nervous system is short circuiting.

Leo calls something up on his phone, then turns the screen to me. "Baby, that's my salary."

Although it's a pretty solid number, I'm actually surprised it isn't higher. He sees my confusion and half chuckles. "That's every month, not year. Plus my house is completely paid for."

My jaw drops so far it should have clicked.

"I'm not showing you to brag," he says quickly. "I just want you to realize how unbelievably easy it would be for me to help."

It takes a few seconds for me to be able to breathe all the way in and out. "Easy this month," I whisper. "Maybe." My fingers tighten around the straps of my bags. "But what about next month? Years into the future? That would take us from casually dating to a serious relationship instantly."

"You know we're not just casually dating, Grace," he says softly. "And I would hope you were starting to understand how I feel about you. It's real. Even if it's fast."

"All the more reason not to rock the boat," I say, opening the car door. "Don't you understand? If I accepted something like that, I would be…beholdento you. I'm so grateful for all of your help, but I don’t ever want to feel like I owe you anything. We're already so far out of balance."

His wide blue eyes clearly state he has no idea what I mean. "How? I think we're great together."

"You're older, you're rich, you've got it all figured out. I'm this frantic little whirlwind trying to hold a schedule together, trying to hold my flippinglifetogether, and I can't just change all of my systems because it would make my…" My anger prevents me from using the word "boyfriend" right now. "Make the guy I am seeing more comfortable with the situation."

I blink away the tears that are threatening to spill. "I need to do things on my own, Leo. It's the way I've always been."

"I know you're scared. New things are often scary, but?—"

"But I need to be scared!" My voice is rising. "I need to do things my way. Otherwise I'll never know how they are supposed to be done. I need everything to stay in place in case you disappear."

His eyes close. "Grace, I promise, I won't disappear."

"I can't risk that." My cheeks and throat are on fire, as my hands shake like leaves in the wind. "Jamison's is a good home, but the only reason we can afford it is we get a discount. Mom's brother, my Uncle Brian, was a janitor there for years before he ended up in the home himself. If we had to move Mom somewhere cheaper, it would be…"

I shudder, remembering some of the places we'd toured. "Most of the other homes are horrific."

"All the more reason to?—"

"To never take chances with something that important. I. Just. Can't." Dashing out of the car, I make it to the lobby of the building before the tears spill down my cheeks.

Leo can't possibly understand. He comes from money, and has probably never once gone hungry in his entire life. People like that can't understand people like me.

He and I have been doomed from the start. I knew that I shouldn't mess with anything. And now I've been spoiled for the last few days, and going back to my regular schedule is going to feel flat and boring.

Ugh. That isn't it at all. As I dab at my eyes with a tissue, the weight in my chest feels like an anchor.

I'm in love with Leo. I really am.

I just can't trust him with my mother's life when I've known him less than a week.

And if he doesn't understand that, he doesn't understand us, or me, at all.

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