Too Hard to Break Read Online Free

coming for you, hon. You better go.”
    She smiled weakly. “Okay, but I think you should talk to
Hank about this. Maybe just say I saw him at the restaurant and leave it at
that. See if he takes the bait to explain.”
    I nodded again when all I wanted to do was cry some more.
She sighed and glanced over her shoulder at Sean, who was now within earshot.
    “It’s okay. I’ll figure it out.”
    “All right. Call me later if you need to talk, okay?”
    I just nodded one more time and got into my car. Sean and
Megan watched me with sympathetic faces before I turned away to drive home.

Chapter Two
     
    Hank wasn’t home when I got there so I rushed into the house
and straight to my room. It was hit or miss on rainy days. He might work all
day or he might only work a couple of hours. Being Monday I expected him to be
in late and seriously considered starting dinner, but I really didn’t have it
in me to enter his domain. The kitchen was his favorite room in the house and
it showed with every delectable meal he made. I’d gained ten pounds since
moving in.
    An hour later I was lying on my bed reading when my cell
phone rang. A glance at the screen showed it was Hank. My pulse sped up like
always, but this time it was equal parts dread and anticipation. Would he tell
me tonight I needed to find another place to stay? I remembered our
conversation of a couple nights before when I told him Sean was moving into
Megan’s house. Sean had been trying to convince his sister to live in his house
so she would move to Houston from New York. She hadn’t agreed yet. I knew Sean
would let me stay there for as long as I needed if it came down to it. So,
maybe Hank had considered that exact same thing.
    I took a deep breath and answered on the third ring. “Hello?”
    “Hey, beautiful, how was work?”
    A smile spread across my face like it always did when I
heard his voice. “Hey, Hank. It was fine, kinda busy. You?”
    I could picture him driving his pickup down the highway in
the rain, one hand on the steering wheel.
    “Not bad. Couldn’t get much done today but one project I’m
working on is coming along a lot sooner than expected.”
    “Oh? Well, that’s good, huh?”
    “Yup. Very good. Unfortunately I gotta tie something up
tonight so I won’t be home ’til late. I’m sorry, baby. I wanted to make you a
nice dinner but I stopped by the Chinese place you like and ordered your
favorites. It should be delivered in about twenty minutes.”
    Dread hit the pit of my stomach as I struggled to breathe.
“Oh. Okay.”
    “It’s already paid for. Don’t wait up. I’m not sure what
time I’ll make it in. See ya later, sweetness.”
    “O-okay. Later.”
    He hung up while I still had the phone clutched desperately
to my ear.
    “So it starts,” I whispered to myself.
    I had once caught Declan cheating on me, but it hadn’t gotten
as far as him having sex with the other woman. He had started by coming home
later and later, always with pitiful excuses. It was so cliché I tried to
convince myself I was wrong until I went by his favorite bar one night when he
hadn’t made it home and found another woman on his lap. I had pitched a fit and
given him so much shit they threw us both out of the bar. He had beaten the
hell out of me, but after that things had actually gotten a little bit better.
His excuse was I’d started to ignore him. Apparently seeing me in a jealous
rage was all he had needed to boost his ego.
    Was that what this was? Could Hank be baiting me into
confessing my deeper feelings for him? No. I swept the thought away
immediately. Hank was one of the most levelheaded and straightforward people
I’d ever met. If he wanted to be sure of my feelings he would just ask
outright.
    With a sigh I left my bed and pulled a sweater over the thin
tank top I’d changed into as soon as I got home. I was wearing cutoff sweats
and socks. Good enough to answer the door for the delivery guy. I dug around in
my purse for a tip