He blew out a breath into his hands before rubbing them together. Then he headed for the side of the house. First, he’d shovel the sidewalk, andthenhe’d knock on the door.
The shoveling didn’t take nearly long enough. Marcus would rather have spent the entire day doing hard labor than discussing his love life with Nora Delaney. When he finished the job, he trudged up the steps to the house. Before he could knock, the door opened.
Nora stood there, arms folded and eyes narrowed. When he didn’t say anything, she tilted her head. “Well? Are you going to come in and tell me what happened?”
Like he’d expected. This was the Nora who didn’t have to maintain any pretenses while she had guests the other night. This Nora expected answers.
Shoving his hands into his pockets, Marcus nodded. “Yes, ma’am.”
She motioned for him to come inside. He took off his boots and took a seat. She sat across from him. “Thank you for shoveling. That was sweet of you.”
“Of course.”
She continued to watch him expectantly.
Where to start? From the beginning? From when he’d realized he loved her?
“Sweetie, I’m old, not blind.”
His eyes snapped to meet hers, and he frowned.
“You’re sitting there like you have to spill all your secrets. If you think I didn’t know something was developing between you two, then you’re more foolish than I thought you to be. Wynter, too.”
“You… knew?”
She rolled her eyes. “Hon, I live in this house. The walls are thin. Do you really think that you could keep your budding relationship from me? The question is, what were you thinking when you decided to pull that stunt last night? Wynter wasn’t ready.”
His shoulders rose to his ears when he flinched at her tone. “I know.”
“So why did you do it?”
Marcus forced himself to maintain eye contact. “I was scared I’d lose her again. She kept talking about her plans to return to California. I didn’t want her to go, and I thought…” His face flushed hot. “I thought if she knew I was all in, then maybe she’d reconsider.”
Nora pursed her lips together.
“I guess I got a little over-excited and… didn’t exactly go about it the right way.”
“You could say that again,” Nora murmured. Her eyes softened, and she looked almost sad. “Hon, I think you might have done some irreparable damage with this one.”
Why did those words cut deeper than Wynter’s refusal last night? Because Nora was levelheaded and unbiased. She knew Wynter like she knew Marcus. Better, even. “Have you heard from her?” Marcus dared ask. “Has she talked to you about… you know?”
Nora shook her head. “I’ve tried calling her, but she’s not answering her phone. I don’t know if she’ll be coming back today. I was hoping she would have come home by now.”
Marcus nodded glumly. “She’s not answering my calls either.” He leaned forward and put his face in his hands. “I don’t know what to do.”
She gazed at him sympathetically before reaching over to pat his knee a few times. “All you can do is keep trying. Wynter is a hard nut to crack.”
Didn’t he know it.
The sound of a car door closing outside tore both of them from their conversation, and he bolted to his feet before marching toward the window. Nora came to his side as they watched Wynter reach into her trunk for her duffel. She paused at the sidewalk, her focus locking on the shoveled cement. Then her shoulders slumped as she took in Marcus’s truck.
His instinct was to go out there to see if she’d talk to him. When he moved toward the door, however, Nora’s hand on his shoulder stopped him. He turned to meet her eyes, noting the sadness and pain that were impossible to miss. “Perhaps it would be best if you put some distance between the two of you.”
He nearly stumbled back a step as if she’d slapped him. “What? I can’t. She needs to know?—”
“She needs to figure out what she wants. She needs to come to terms with the information you threw at her when you two saw each other last. But most of all, she needs some space so she can do all of that without anyone hovering. Including me.”
Marcus searched her eyes, bouncing his gaze from one to the other. “What if she doesn’t know?—”
