Looking Inside

And suddenly, instead of being in control, she felt like she was free-falling, already cringing in anticipated pain from the harsh ending.

The back of her neck prickled when she heard him approaching. She watched his reflection in the floor-to-ceiling window, absorbing the outline of his hard male beauty. He’d removed his tie and suit coat and rolled back the sleeves of his dress shirt. She wondered yet again if she could ever get tired of looking at him.

He came to a stop beside her and she glanced sideways. She smiled.

“What’s this?”

“An ice water for you and a hot chocolate for me.”

“It smells good,” she murmured, turning to him, referring to the steaming beverage he held in his left hand.

“Then take it. I actually made it for you. I’ll take the ice water.”

She glanced at him in surprise. “Are you sure?”

“I know how much you like hot chocolate. I thought it would help you relax a little. Come and sit down,” he said, nodding toward a couch.

She took a sip of the sweet chocolate a moment later and sighed wearily. Their arms, hips and thighs pressed close where they sat side by side on the couch. The feeling of his solid body against hers felt indescribably good in her dazed, numb state. They remained silent for a moment, Eleanor sipping the cocoa and glancing around the beautiful room. She spied some framed photos in the distance on the bookcase. She’d never studied them up close before.

“Are those family pictures?” she asked quietly.

“Yeah,” he said, following her gaze.

“You told me your brother was a pilot. What does your sister do?” she wondered, taking comfort from the sound of his voice.

“Kacy is the vice president of human resources for a watch factory. She’s your basic dynamo—she works full-time, has my nephew, Jason, to take care of, plus she volunteers for a ton of projects. My brother and I have always been lazy in comparison to her.”

“Right. You and your brother sound like real slackers,” she murmured sarcastically.

“You know how it is with siblings.”

“Sibling rivalries, you mean?”

He shrugged. “I’m third born and the youngest. Sometimes I think I had it easy compared to Kacy and Kevin. They were always competing for the spotlight.”

She chuckled softly as she took another sip of cocoa.

“What?” he asked.

“Trey. I just got it.” She rested her head on the back of the couch and turned her chin to look at him. “Your name. You’re third born.”

His low laugh struck her exhausted consciousness as wonderful. For some reason, it made her feel like she was sinking into the couch. Into him. Her eyelids felt very heavy.

“My mom has a sense of humor,” he said.

“And your dad?”

“My dad likes to play cards. Three is his lucky number.”

She snorted with tired laughter. The moment struck her as very sweet and fragile for some reason.

“What are all the boxes for?” she asked a moment later, nodding at the boxes stacked by the window.

“Christmas tree and decorations. My maid got them out this morning. She’s going to start putting them up tomorrow.”

She blinked to ease the sudden sting in her eyes. “You don’t do it yourself?”

“It’s not all that much fun alone,” he said gruffly, taking a sip of his water.