Knifed: A Lighthearted Utensil Romance, book 3 by Ruth Cardello

Author:Ruth Cardello [Cardello, Ruth]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Ruth Cardello
Published: 2024-10-10T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Ten

‡

Ashley

Shortly after my mother leaves, Cheryl pulls me into the kitchen. “What do you want to do?”

“About?”

“Ray. Are you comfortable with him staying here or should we take him with us?”

“Oh.” My head is still spinning from all that’s gone on. “I haven’t thought that far ahead. I’m just glad he’s alive.”

She shifts from one foot to the other. “I don’t know how to say this nicely.”

“Then ask yourself if it needs to be said.”

She grimaces. “I feel like it does.”

I lean against the counter. Cheryl and I are good enough friends that I’m confident whatever she’s about to say is because she cares about me. “Just say it.”

“You saw what Ray is capable of . . .”

I fold my arms across my chest. “I also felt how he cares about me. Plus, he wasn’t himself. Even Jack said that.”

“Yes, but these men have known Ray for a long time.”

“And?”

“I don’t know if you should be alone with him.”

Her concern is valid, but I don’t want him to leave with them. There. It’s that simple and that complicated. “I’m staying with him.”

She sighs. “I know. Before meeting Jack I wouldn’t have understood, but I get it. When that connection happens it’s so strong it’s scary. I keep telling Jack I’m looking for a way to counteract it to free him, but if I’m honest . . . I’m afraid of how attached to him I am as well. I’ve never been with anyone I couldn’t imagine my life without. I don’t just love Jack, I need him. It’s that second part I don’t know what to do with.”

“I don’t need Ray, but I also don’t want him to leave.”

“That’s how it starts.”

I scratch the back of my neck as I try to make sense of this. “Is getting more attached to someone because you’ve gotten to know them better such a bad thing?”

“No.” She makes a pained face. “Maybe. I love everything about Jack. I love how kind he is, how strong, and how much he wants me to be happy . . .”

“That definitely sounds like something you should find a way to cure.”

Clasping her hands in front of her, she asks, “Your mother made me feel a little better with what she said about even normal love being partially a chemical reaction, but how do I know this will last? That it won’t just disappear one day?”

“You can’t and it might, but that’s also a problem for everyone in every relationship. A man who travels might hook up while he’s away. A rich man could afford to hide a woman on the side. A blue-collar man might fall out of love. Or his wife might. It happens every day. But if we live in constant fear of the worst possible case happening . . . what kind of life is that?”

She groans. “You’re right.”

I chuckle. “Sometimes.”

After a pause, she says, “You and Ray already seem deeply connected. I couldn’t hear Jack’s thoughts in the beginning . . .

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.