Playing the Part by Darcy Daniel

Author:Darcy Daniel
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2012-08-22T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter Ten

After Cole placed the lasagna in the oven and Anthea disappeared into the bathroom, Karin arrived. They sat at the kitchen table as Karin carefully removed his stitches.

“So how’s your little payback plan going? I’m surprised she’s still here,” Karin said.

“She’s the one who’s a surprise. Never would’ve pegged her as a hard worker.”

Karin released a puff of air. “I bet she complains constantly.”

Cole shook his head as Karin let go of his hand. He ran a finger over his palm where the stitches had been. “I guess she’s serious about that part she wants.”

Karin remained silent for a long moment, then said, “You like her.”

It wasn’t a question. And even though it was true, he felt like a fool. “Don’t be ridiculous.”

From the bathroom, the sound of the running shower stopped.

“Okay, my mistake,” Karin said. “Anyway, I’d better get home to the old ball and chain. I’ll see you at the barbecue.”

Cole sat there for a long moment, thinking about what Karin had said, then rose and began throwing together a salad.

Anthea came into the kitchen and stood beside him while he chopped a cucumber. Fresh from the shower, he knew the scent that wafted over him was all her own, not a bottled perfume. It engulfed and distracted him.

“Whoa,” she said, and grabbed his hand. “You were just about to cut your finger.” She plucked the knife from his grasp. “I’ll finish this. Off you go.”

After taking a shower, Cole decided it might make a nice change if he dressed in something other than his work pants and pink T-shirts.

In the bedroom, he found a pair of jeans and a nice shirt he’d never had any reason to wear. As he buttoned the shirt, his fingers shook. Somehow he’d gotten it into his head that the little celebration he had planned seemed an awful lot like a date. He shook his head and told himself to stop being absurd.

Heading into the living room, he opened the window he’d thrown Anthea’s suitcase through. Then he put a CD in the stereo and adjusted the volume so the soft, easy-listening music would be loud enough to hear on the veranda.

When he entered the kitchen, the smell of lasagna made his mouth water, but it still had at least another twenty minutes before it was ready.

He opened a cupboard, reached all the way to the back and found the stems of two wineglasses. They hadn’t been used since his grandparents’ last anniversary, just over ten years ago.

His grandparents had been gone such a long time, dying so close together, as if one couldn’t possibly live without the other. Even so, right to the end they’d worried about him. Worried that he would be stuck in a dark world all on his own if he didn’t try to resolve what had happened the day he lost his sight. They had tried their hardest after that horrific day to get him help, but he had shut down to everyone except his grandparents.

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