Total pages in book: 114
Estimated words: 105756 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 529(@200wpm)___ 423(@250wpm)___ 353(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 105756 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 529(@200wpm)___ 423(@250wpm)___ 353(@300wpm)
“I was hoping you’d come back last night. I waited up for you,” I said as I gently slid my palm along her elbow.
She seemed to tense. “Right, I’m sorry about that. I should’ve called to let you know I wouldn’t make it.”
“Ada,” I said her name low, my fingers traversing her elbow and arm before catching her hand in mine. “I know you saw the papers.”
She sucked in a breath, her expression startled, confirming my suspicion. “I should’ve told you about my plans to purchase Pinebrook,” I went on. “It was wrong of me to keep it from you.”
“How did you even know it was for sale?” she asked, turning to face me. We’d stopped walking, others passing us by as we remained locked in each other’s orbit.
“When you mentioned to me that the place might be sold, I kept an eye on the market. I wasn’t sure why at first. I just … I was worried about you losing your job. I can tell you really love working there. Then when I finally saw it was for sale, I knew I needed to buy it.”
“Jonathan, you can’t just buy an entire care home so I can keep my job. That’s madness.”
“That’s not the only reason.”
She stared at me, unconvinced. “No?”
“I’ve never given anything back. I have all this accumulated wealth, and it’s just sitting there making me richer and richer every day. It was about time I did something good with the money. Buying Pinebrook and operating it at cost means a bunch of people stay employed. It means all your residents get to stay living in a place that actually cares about their wellbeing because that’s the way you run it. But most of all, it means that the woman I adore gets to keep doing what she loves.”
“Jonathan,” she breathed, her chest rising and falling swiftly.
Interlinking our fingers, I tugged her close. “I’ll own the place in name only. I won’t be involved. I’ll hire someone to do all the financial and operational stuff. You won’t ever be reporting to me.”
“But it’s just—”
“Ada,” I said, cutting her off. “You know I don’t just adore you, right? I’m head over heels in love with you.”
The moment I said the words, it felt like I’d finally freed something vital that had been trapped inside me. Even if she didn’t feel the same way, it didn’t matter. I just needed her to know how much I loved her. How she’d changed me.
Ada appeared to barely be breathing, her dark eyes shining with emotion as her lower lip trembled.
“You don’t have to say anything,” I said, lifting her hand and placing a gentle kiss on her soft, lovely skin. “I just wanted you to know.”
“Sorry to interrupt, but we need everyone’s help,” Hannah said as she approached us. “Archie and Philomena have gone missing.”
Ada blinked as though pulling herself from a daydream. I could practically see her thoughts racing and yearned to read her mind. “What? When was the last time anyone saw them?”
“Back in the rose gardens, I think,” Hannah replied, and Ada went into action mode.
“Okay, you go and check back there. Have Magdalena stay and keep an on eye everyone else. Jonathan and I will go to the main house and see if they’ve gotten lost in there.”
“All right,” Hannah nodded and left, walking swiftly.
“Come on,” Ada said, and I followed her from the waterfall. It was like she’d tucked my declaration away, sealed it in an airtight container while she dealt with the emergency.
I walked at her side, silent and observant as we reached the estate house and began checking the restaurant and other rooms.
“Where do you think they are?” I asked as we searched.
“I have no idea. They know they aren’t supposed to wander off,” Ada replied. “The problem is some of the residents don’t realise how vulnerable they are if they get lost. They think they’re still young and able to make their way about unassisted. One time when we were visiting the local garden centre, Jim, another resident who’s since passed away, decided he wanted to go visit a few of the other shops in town. Well, some arsehole driver started beeping at him because he was taking too long on the zebra crossing, and Jim started having a panic attack. His bloody heart almost gave out, and he had to be rushed to the hospital.”
“Fucking hell, that’s awful.”
“They really are very vulnerable in a lot of ways,” Ada said, worry creasing her brow. “One misstep on a set of stairs or even a small trip could have them falling and really badly hurting themselves.”
We reached the bathrooms we’d visited when we’d arrived. Ada went to check the ladies’ while I checked the men’s. It was empty.
“Anything?” I asked Ada when she emerged, but she only shook her head.