The Reluctant Socialite by L.M. Halloran

Author:L.M. Halloran [Halloran, L.M.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2016-02-19T05:00:00+00:00

FIFTEEN

Lying on Alex’s chest, I’m half-asleep and drugged by his heat. His hand strokes down my back in steady, soothing intervals. His heart beats beneath my ear.

“Will you tell me about the woman who died?” he asks softly.

“You’ve probably heard of her,” I say just as mutedly. “Margaret White.”

He sighs. “Ah, Lady Margaret. I’d wondered if she was who you were referring to.”

I lift my head, propping my chin on my forearms. “You knew her?”

He nods. “She was an incredible lady. A friend of my mother’s, and later of my sister, Candace.”

“Your mother was a philanthropist, too?” I guess.

“Only after my father convinced her to stop working.” I lift my brows, and he answers my unspoken question, “She was a high school English teacher for the Boston public school system.”

I blink. The wife of a billionaire teaching public school was a pretty spectacular notion. “She didn’t do the stay at home routine?”

He smiles fondly. “Not even close. She went straight from teaching to full time philanthropy. But even with a husband, kids, and her work, none of us ever felt a lack of attention. She was amazing.”

I speak before thinking, “I wish I could have met her.”

His smile softens. “Me, too. She would have liked you. You actually remind me of her, a little.” I feign horror and he pinches my hip lightly. “Not in a Freudian way, just… my mother was such a classy woman, but only in public. In private, she was messy, creative, and had a wicked, sarcastic humor. Somehow, she existed in two worlds, almost like she was wired to be two people stuffed into one.” He shakes his head. “I’m not explaining myself well.”

“No, you are,” I murmur.

His thumb grazes my jaw, whispers over my lower lip. “You also have a similar sharpness in your eyes. Like you’re always watching, listening, and processing, every second of the day. Like your head never shuts up, even when you sleep.”

I glance down, unsettled by how accurate his assessment is. “Sounds exhausting,” I say weakly.

“She passed that gene to her kids, so I can tell you from personal experience that it is exhausting.” He taps my lower lip. “But you already know that, don’t you?”

I nod against my forearms. “I call them hidden narratives. The stories that float around people, that can be read if you know how to look for them.”

I close my mouth abruptly. Margaret and Lillian are the only people I’ve ever told about the narratives. I’m not wearing clothes, but suddenly feel naked.

I’ve already given him too much.

I begin to push off his chest but he growls and holds me down. “Don’t even think about it.”

“Alex,” I begin faintly. “I don’t talk about this stuff.”

“What stuff?” he retorts, winking. “I didn’t hear anything. So, Damien Young, huh? What the hell were you thinking? He’s a complete jackass.”

I shake my head in effort to catch up. “Uh, yes, he is. Next topic. How was the meeting with the flooring guys today?”

His eyes widen, then narrow with amused comprehension.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.