Prudence (Balfe Family #1) Read Online L.H. Cosway

Categories Genre: Alpha Male, Contemporary Tags Authors: Series: Balfe Family Series by L.H. Cosway
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Total pages in book: 111
Estimated words: 102834 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 514(@200wpm)___ 411(@250wpm)___ 343(@300wpm)
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I felt like I’d been caught in a snare I didn’t want to escape. I’d always been a sucker for her eyes, endlessly blue and innocent. They pulled me in like nothing else. Her breathing, which had been slow and even only a moment ago, caught suddenly, a stuttering stream of air leaving her lips. Milly ran a hand over her stomach then broke the connection.

“I really needed that,” she said at last.

“That good, eh?” I asked, my voice coming out throatier than I expected.

Her eyelashes fluttered, her body tensing slightly as she looked back at me, before her expression gentled. “Have you been coming here long?”

“A month or so.”

“Well, you were here first, so if you want, I can find another class. I wouldn’t want to …” she trailed off, stopping herself from continuing, but my curiosity was piqued.

“You wouldn’t want to what?”

She shook her head. “It’s nothing.”

“Milly, just say it.”

She bit her lip. “It’s just I overheard the girls talking at my house, and Gigi mentioned the situation with her mother. I understand it must be stressful for you being the sole carer for your kids now, and I wouldn’t want to make this class an uncomfortable place for you to be. I know how important it is to have an outlet when things are tough. With our history, I can understand how being around me might not be very … enjoyable for you.”

Everything inside me tensed as I listened to her speak. The idea of her knowing about Paloma leaving and Gigi’s depression over it had my protective instincts kicking in. It was none of Milly’s business what my daughter was going through. But then I looked into her eyes and saw only empathy and open concern. My defensiveness faded. She was being nice, offering to find a different meditation class so I wouldn’t be put out.

“No, you don’t have to do that,” I said at last, my expression softening. A part of me hated her thinking I didn’t enjoy her company. It was simply that being around her was painful because I’d laid it all on the line for her once, and she’d turned me down. “It seems that we’re going to have to get used to one another.”

Milly cast me a small smile. “It doesn’t look like Deirdre and Gigi are going to tire of each other any time soon, so yeah, that seems to be the case, I’m afraid.” Surprising me, she held out her hand, “A truce? For the sake of our kids?”

I managed to muster the faintest hint of a smile in return, though it may have looked more like a lopsided grimace, I couldn’t be sure. “Yeah, truce,” I agreed and captured her hand in mine. Her fingers were small and cool, so delicate in my larger ones. I noticed the softness of her skin, how her nails were neatly trimmed and painted a pale shade of pink. Again, our gazes held, something vibrating between us that I tried my best to ignore but found myself lightly running my thumb over her knuckles anyway. Just like a moment ago, her breath caught. An inner warning sounded because being around her was already becoming troublesome. My mind went elsewhere as I imagined her breath catching for a very different reason. Fuck, this was bad. I would always be attracted to Milly. It was practically burned into my DNA, but I was old enough now to know how to resist the pull. I could be cordial without getting too close.

At least, that was what I was determined to convince myself of.

Letting go, I rose from the mat and turned to leave, then paused before turning back to her. “See you at the next session.”

Milly nodded, peering up at me with those impossibly innocent blue eyes. “See you then, Derek.”

***

When I got home, I took Pablo out for a run along the beach. It was one of the few activities he was still prepared to do with me, and given he was a sixteen-year-old boy who much preferred his friends and video games to his dad, I took every opportunity I could to spend time with him. The good thing was he was fairly content with his life. He hadn’t gone through a depressive episode when his mother left like Gigi had, and that was a small mercy because I wasn’t sure I was equipped to deal with two children in crisis. We slowed down to a light jog at the end and talked a bit about what was going on with him before we reached the house.

While Pablo went to shower, I made a start on the garlic roast chicken I’d prepped earlier for dinner. I was just making a start on the vegetables when Gigi sauntered into the kitchen. She cast me a smile I recognised. It was syrupy sweet, normally indicating she was about to ask me for something.


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