Madness of the Moon by Marina Simcoe

Author:Marina Simcoe [Simcoe, Marina]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Rocky River Publishing
Published: 2021-04-28T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter 14

STELLA

I fell asleep on the couch. When I woke, the sun was up already. I didn’t remember getting up in the night, but a cozy cotton blanket I’d never seen before covered me to my shoulders.

Someone had been here.

The thought jolted me awake. I bolted upright, looking around.

“Who’s here?”

All was quiet, the glass back doors closed, windows shut.

My gaze fell on the breakfast tray on the side table next to the couch. The dishes were covered with metal domes. An insulated cup was filled with coffee. I took a sip, it was just the way I liked it.

Lero...

I plopped back on the couch, hugging the mug with both hands and staring at the silver domes arranged on the tray. Among them stood a small, frosted glass vase with a bouquet of local tall grass and flowers.

As the property owner, Lero would obviously have a key to the cottage. He’d come earlier this morning to cover me with the blanket and deliver breakfast. He’d found the time to gather a bouquet for me on the way, it appeared.

I lifted one of the domes, finding a scone with cream and jam under it. When I broke the scone in half, it was still warm in the middle. He’d baked them fresh this morning...

I dropped the pastry back on the plate and buried my face in my hands.

Why would he do this? Why couldn’t he just make it easier for me to grow cold with time, instead of warming my heart with any kind of attention.

Why did he need to continue taking care of me if he didn’t care?

I lifted the other dome, searching the tray for a note, a card, a message, anything. Just a peach yogurt and a bowl of fresh fruit stood there. Not a word written anywhere. What was I supposed to make of this breakfast? And the flowers?

Was it a gesture to apologize? What kind of an apology, though?

“Sorry, I hope you had a nice stay on Blue Cay. Have a good life.”

Or “Sorry, let’s talk. You mean something to me.”

I couldn’t assume anything, definitely couldn’t allow myself to read too much into his kind gestures anymore. Lero had always been polite and attentive. It didn’t have to mean anything more than that. I was his house guest, and he was a classy host. Nothing more.

He’d told me—straight and clear—he never wanted to have our paths cross again in the future. I’d spent almost four weeks on this island now, and never once had he said anything about having a relationship with me other than that of my protector until it was safe enough for him to take me back home.

I might be angry, and my heart ached as if torn in two, but Lero had never made any romantic promises to me, so I couldn’t blame him for breaking any of them.

Sipping the warm, fragrant coffee, I tried to distance myself from longing and heartache and think rationally.

Lero had been taking care of me ever since I got here.

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