again.
She was so startled that it took her a full second to recognise that the family man had increased his bid by not ten thousand but another twenty thousand.
The astonishment and alarm on Mari’s face said it all. She clearly had not expected to pay anything like this much and Ethan recognised by the telltale way she chewed her lower lip and bent her fingers into the centre of her palms that she knew she was at her limit.
She hesitated, her hand almost shaking, before increasing her bid yet again.
And the longer Ethan watched Mari, themore he thought that this was not the action of a woman looking for a home back in Swanhaven with her sister. This was a desperate act driven by a need to come back to the security of the past life she had once known.
The life which he had played a part in destroying.
And he knew exactly how that felt.
Because, sitting here amongst these strangers in a dusty, cold auction room, it was as obvious as a slap in the face that he was no different from Mari whatsoever.
Watching Mari struggling with her decision at that very moment, the answer screamed out at him from Mari’s startled hazel green eyes. He
was
running away from the pain and the guilt that was Kit and Mari Chance and everything that happened in Swanhaven ten years earlier. It had been easier to leave and not come back and start over again in Florida with his father’s new job, and he did feel guilty about that—his whole family had—but they had made the decision and acted on it. While Mari had stayed trapped right here.
It was ironic that he should only realise that fact when he was right back
in
Swanhaven.Looking at Mari. Who had stood up and was winding her way towards him, her face lined and grey and tense with concern. The weight of disappointed dreams hung heavy on her sagging shoulders.
Part of him was pleased. Her agony was over. Now she could start moving forwards, not backwards. And perhaps give him a few tips on how to do that along the way. He started to get up, ready to take her home.
Only she grasped his arm in a powerful grip, leant forwards and pressed her mouth close to his ear. ‘I need another forty thousand. Will you lend me the money? Please. I’m desperate. If you don’t lend me this money I will lose the house. This is my dream. This is what I want more than anything else in the world. Please help me.’
Ethan shifted his body back just far enough to look into her eyes. And saw such terror of the unknown and a deep-seated pain and anguish in that one single look that his heart broke all over again.
His actions had helped to bring her to this place.
Now he had to be strong enough to risk the fragile bond that had grown between them. Because giving her his reply was one of the hardest things that he had ever had to do. Itwas wrong in every way. But he had to do it. To make Mari’s dream come true.
‘Yes, Mari. I will lend you the money. As much as you need.’
CHAPTER SEVEN
‘W ELL , it looked to me like you’d been crying ten minutes ago when Ethan dropped you off. That’s all I’m saying.
Crying.
Okay? So where did you go this morning?’ And then Rosa gasped and pulled her chair closer to the table. ‘Of course. I should have realised. Ethan kidnapped you and whisked you off for a romantic date somewhere. That has to be it. That is
so
totally brilliant. Now, tell me everything.’
Mari sank lower into her chair at the cottage and admitted defeat for the second time that day. Once Rosa was determined to discover something, there was no point in fighting her. She would find out eventually. Half of Swanhaven had been at the auction, out of curiosity if not to bid, and the small-town gossip factory was alive and well in the yacht club. It would be around the whole town in an hour that Marigold Chance had just boughtthe old Chance house for twenty per cent above the expected value.
She was going to have to tell Rosa. And soon. All she had to do was pick her moment.
‘I spent the
She was so startled that it took her a full second to recognise that the family man had increased his bid by not ten thousand but another twenty thousand.
The astonishment and alarm on Mari’s face said it all. She clearly had not expected to pay anything like this much and Ethan recognised by the telltale way she chewed her lower lip and bent her fingers into the centre of her palms that she knew she was at her limit.
She hesitated, her hand almost shaking, before increasing her bid yet again.
And the longer Ethan watched Mari, themore he thought that this was not the action of a woman looking for a home back in Swanhaven with her sister. This was a desperate act driven by a need to come back to the security of the past life she had once known.
The life which he had played a part in destroying.
And he knew exactly how that felt.
Because, sitting here amongst these strangers in a dusty, cold auction room, it was as obvious as a slap in the face that he was no different from Mari whatsoever.
Watching Mari struggling with her decision at that very moment, the answer screamed out at him from Mari’s startled hazel green eyes. He
was
running away from the pain and the guilt that was Kit and Mari Chance and everything that happened in Swanhaven ten years earlier. It had been easier to leave and not come back and start over again in Florida with his father’s new job, and he did feel guilty about that—his whole family had—but they had made the decision and acted on it. While Mari had stayed trapped right here.
It was ironic that he should only realise that fact when he was right back
in
Swanhaven.Looking at Mari. Who had stood up and was winding her way towards him, her face lined and grey and tense with concern. The weight of disappointed dreams hung heavy on her sagging shoulders.
Part of him was pleased. Her agony was over. Now she could start moving forwards, not backwards. And perhaps give him a few tips on how to do that along the way. He started to get up, ready to take her home.
Only she grasped his arm in a powerful grip, leant forwards and pressed her mouth close to his ear. ‘I need another forty thousand. Will you lend me the money? Please. I’m desperate. If you don’t lend me this money I will lose the house. This is my dream. This is what I want more than anything else in the world. Please help me.’
Ethan shifted his body back just far enough to look into her eyes. And saw such terror of the unknown and a deep-seated pain and anguish in that one single look that his heart broke all over again.
His actions had helped to bring her to this place.
Now he had to be strong enough to risk the fragile bond that had grown between them. Because giving her his reply was one of the hardest things that he had ever had to do. Itwas wrong in every way. But he had to do it. To make Mari’s dream come true.
‘Yes, Mari. I will lend you the money. As much as you need.’
CHAPTER SEVEN
‘W ELL , it looked to me like you’d been crying ten minutes ago when Ethan dropped you off. That’s all I’m saying.
Crying.
Okay? So where did you go this morning?’ And then Rosa gasped and pulled her chair closer to the table. ‘Of course. I should have realised. Ethan kidnapped you and whisked you off for a romantic date somewhere. That has to be it. That is
so
totally brilliant. Now, tell me everything.’
Mari sank lower into her chair at the cottage and admitted defeat for the second time that day. Once Rosa was determined to discover something, there was no point in fighting her. She would find out eventually. Half of Swanhaven had been at the auction, out of curiosity if not to bid, and the small-town gossip factory was alive and well in the yacht club. It would be around the whole town in an hour that Marigold Chance had just boughtthe old Chance house for twenty per cent above the expected value.
She was going to have to tell Rosa. And soon. All she had to do was pick her moment.
‘I spent the
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