Snowbound - Harlequin.com

274 SNOWBOUND
the hoarse sound of his own yell. Then, he hadn’t been
able to risk sharing his past with her. At least he’d come
that far. Now he needed to find out if she was willing
to consider a future with him—a man who’d taken only
a few baby steps toward recovery.
She was still sitting where he’d left her on the sofa.
Her anxious gaze went immediately to his face. Starting
to stand, she asked, “Are you all right?”
“Yeah. I’m, uh, beginning to get used to this. I’ve
cried more these past two months than I have since I was
five years old.”
She smiled, as he’d intended her to, but her eyes
kept searching his.
Get right to it, he thought. Prolonged suffering was
something he knew too well. A clean, sharp hurt was
better.
He stopped a few feet from her. “I love you, Fiona.
But I’m probably not going to be ready to go back to
any kind of life we can share,” he gestured vaguely to
take in her town house, including in it her job, her
graduate schooling, everything he’d asked her to give
up. “Not for a while, anyway. I get pretty stressed when
I’m back in Portland. But you were right.” He tried out
a smile, probably a poor excuse for one. “I’m not meant
to be an innkeeper, either. I’m thinking…maybe another
year. I could stop by regularly. You could come up on
school breaks. If…” His voice failed him. “If you’re
willing.”
“Oh, John.” Her voice cracked, too, and now her
eyes filled with tears. “Of course I’m willing!”