Burke blew out a breath. "I know."
"You held me like I was all you could ever need, and then you disappeared. It was so easy for you to walk away and leave me behind."
"The thing is, I’m not known for being a nice guy. But with you, I found what I’d lost inside me, Kinsley. The guy I was before I took over for my father. It scared me to think of inviting you into my cold and empty world, but it wasn't easy to leave you. These past weeks, I thought of you the whole time. I missed you, and I couldn't wait to come home."
"I thought. . ." Brushing away my tears, I dropped my head. We were being honest, but some things were hard to say. "I thought you were visiting a mistress."
"What?" He sat back. "No, I could never do that to you, regardless of whether or not you hate me."
"I don't hate you. I apologize for making that assumption, but I'm painfully aware I'm not who you would have picked for yourself."
"You're wrong. I picked you in Chester. You didn't fall at my feet even though I tried to treat you the way I was used to treating women. Even at your detriment, you were always dead honest with me. You didn't let me get away with any crap." He shook his head. "I hated leaving you behind, but I knew you were never meant for my world."
Tears tracked unnoticed down my face. "I was resigned to it, Burke. Your life is here and mine was there. I knew we'd never make it work. If it weren't for Finn, you'd have forgotten about me."
"No, I wouldn't. I hired a private investigator to look for you. I wanted you, no matter what I had to do to get you."
I gaped at his admission. "I'm speechless."
After scrubbing a hand over his face, he picked up my hand again. "I want to start over. I want to know you, and I want to tell you about myself."
"Even about your business?"
"I have to be careful, for your sake and mine, but I'll tell you some things."
Smiling, I said, "I would like that."
"Today?"
"There's nothing I'd rather do today than get to know my husband."
He grinned at me, and I had the feeling it was going to be the beginning of an interesting time for us.
24
Kinsley
We spent the day in the sitting room next to Burke's office. There were times Finn was with us, and times he napped upstairs. I hadn't expected Burke to be so open about himself, as private as he was, but he told me about more than just his current likes and dislikes.
Quite frankly, he scared the crap out of me.
"Growing up, my father pressured me to be perfect, and even then I wasn't good enough for him. He never said one agreeable thing to me as far as I recall. Ma tried to make up for it, but it wasn't nearly enough."
All I could think was that he must have had such a sad childhood. Carson proved that money wasn't the answer to everything, and it couldn't make everyone happy.
Sighing, I said, “I made sure I was an obedient daughter who got perfect grades and never got in trouble because I feared my parents wouldn't love me if I messed up. They expected me to keep the house clean, and then as I grew up, I either made dinner or we ate cereal.” I shook my head at my stupidity. “They didn't appreciate half of what I did for them."
Burke snorted. "I assure you, they've figured it out now. How are they even coping without you? Take out? Pizza or PB&J every night?"
"Maybe they hired a maid."
He chuckled. "They'd have to."
The thought made me sigh again. "I don't want to be that person anymore. I was meek and let them run roughshod over me."
Brushing my hair back from my face, he said, "I wish I'd taken the time to notice you in high school. Back before I was the man I am now."
"I wish that, too, but you never saw me." I shifted my legs to get more comfortable. "God, I had such a crush on you. You were cute, you were good at baseball, and you seemed to be a friendly guy who never looked down on anyone. You can't imagine how dumb I felt when I worked up the courage to say hi to you and you kept walking."
