Senna's Secret by Karen Tjebben

Author:Karen Tjebben [Tjebben, Karen]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2019-10-11T16:00:00+00:00

13

Martin closed the dishwasher and surveyed the kitchen. Although the house had been built in the eighties, his parents had updated the appliances and repainted five years ago. Mother had chosen a busy black, green, and gold toned granite for the countertops. Most of the time the busy swirls and splotches of color didn’t bother him, but when his anxiety skyrocketed, the ‘beautiful’ -as Mother called them- highlights and shimmers in the stone played with his vision.

He leaned against the countertop and closed his eyes. He took soothing breaths in and out to stop the nauseating kaleidoscope of swirling granite. Today had been a rough day. The fact that Senna put up an ugly screen that blocked his view of her had been bad enough, but the man she brought with her was too much for him.

Was the man a friend? A lover?

He grit his teeth and squeezed the edge of the counter. In reality, it didn’t matter who the man was. Senna would never be his. She was beautiful and kind. She could get any man she wanted. She’d never even notice Martin in that way.

Martin had no idea how that felt, to be beautiful, desired. He was plain and unremarkable. There was nothing about him that women would remember or desire.

That fact stung. He knew it was true, and it killed him. Mother had encouraged him to use a dating website. He’d agreed and signed up for Truelove.com. Mother had scoured the photos in the family vacation book from one of the online photo companies until she found a photo of him that would be suitable.

Martin downloaded a copy of the photo from the website and went to work manipulating the image. He thinned his bulbous nose and removed some of the gray from the ring of hair around his head. He’d debated giving himself more hair on top, but then decided that would be too obvious. Instead, he added two inches in height. For some reason women loved tall men. He’d never be tall, but at least he was average.

Amazingly, a woman responded to his blurb and photo. Her name was Anita Potter. When he looked at her photo online, he was satisfied. He’d never get a gorgeous woman, but she was not unattractive, just plain and unremarkable. Like him.

Her hair was a mousy brown that brushed her shoulders. Red blotches stood out against her pale skin. Did she have a skin condition? But her smile looked sincere. He liked that. Had she’d photoshopped her picture too. Had she lied about her height?

Anita lived on the mainland. He’d driven to Clearland to meet her at a café for drinks and dessert. When he’d spotted her, he introduced himself and the date began. She’d talked the entire time, which he loved. She’d been animated and expressive in the conversation. He’d thought she was enjoying herself, but he struggled to read situations correctly. Although he’d hated to stop the flow of their conversation, at one point, he’d excused himself to use the bathroom.

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