Bidding War Read Online Free Page A

she’d abandoned earlier, she said, “Not really.”
    “Then humor me.” He reached for his wine glass, bringing it to his lips. “Are you still in touch with Mrs. Roberts?”
    She smiled. “Yeah, I stay with her when I go home to see Tommy.”
    “That’s nice.” He reached for a piece of pizza as she took a small bite of hers. “You said no one had ever asked about what happened to your mother and brother, not even her?”
    She shook her head. “Mrs. Roberts hasn’t had an easy time of it, either. She believes in living in the present, not the past. Apparently it’s the only way she knows how to survive.” She sighed. “She suggested I speak to the pastor at the church about the accident, but I couldn’t bring myself to do it.”
    As he finished his slice of pizza, he said, “Do you mind if I ask about your brother’s condition?”
    She reached for a napkin, setting the still half-eaten pizza slice on it as she used another to wipe her hands. “He can’t walk or talk, but I like to believe he understands everything I’m saying to him.” She propped her elbow on the counter, fisting her hand in front of her mouth. “It’s just so damn hard seeing him like that. He was so happy, so vital, before the accident. Just a normal kid, ya know? He had his whole life ahead of him.” She smiled. “He wanted to be a professional baseball player when he grew up.” She picked a piece of pepperoni off the pizza and popped it into her mouth. “Who knows, maybe he would’ve been. He was really good.”
    He knew she needed to remember her brother as he was. He understood that. His father had been sick for a long time before his death, and he didn’t want to remember the man his disease had reduced him to. He preferred to think of him as the larger than life man who used to toss the football around with him and his brother on Sunday afternoons.
    He could tell she wasn’t hungry anymore. She was just eating to appease him. “Why don’t we take this into the living room? We can have a glass of wine in front of the fire.”
    She laughed. “Thank goodness it’s gas and not wood burning. Imagine the mess that would make.”
    He took his wine glass and the bottle and led her into the living room. “Yeah, but there’s nothing quite like a wood-burning fireplace. I have one at my house and my cabin.”
    She claimed a seat on the sofa, tucking her legs up under her as she set her glass on the coffee table. “It must be nice to have a place to get away from it all.”
    He wanted more than anything to take her to his secluded lakeside cabin and ensure she got the rest and relaxation she deserved, for once. “Do you ever take holidays?” he asked, claiming the seat on the sofa beside her. He set his arm on the back of the sofa as he slipped his hand through the hair at the nape of her neck. It felt so right, being here with her, touching her, comforting her. He knew in that moment he would be content to do this for the rest of his life.
    She closed her eyes as he began kneading the muscles at the back of her neck. “Ah, no, never.”
    “Turn around,” he said, setting his wine glass on the table. “Let me see what I can do about some of these knots.”
    She opened her eyes and laughed. “You don’t have to do that, Shane. Really, I’m fine.”
    Leaning in, he couldn’t resist the urge to taste her lips. They were stained with wine, full and ripe, begging to licked and nipped. His eyes traveled from her eyes to her mouth, giving her a nanosecond to stop him from taking this further. When he felt her body sway toward him, he knew neither of them was going back. Gliding his tongue over her lips, he silently pleaded with her to let him in. He knew he couldn’t be satisfied until he had all of her. Her body, her trust, but most importantly, he wanted to claim a place in her heart.
    She braced her hands on his shoulders and said, “This is probably a bad idea, but…”
    That single word gave him hope that she was