Daniel shrugged. "They do a lot of conventions at this hotel, but it seems pretty quiet right now." He stood and put his hand down to help her up. "Let's go." That morning all he could think about was coming back here and making love with her again, and he wasn't sure why she didn't want that. Had he pushed her to go too quickly?
He saw the grimace on her face as she got to her feet. "Are you okay? Did I hurt you?" Instantly he felt terrible. He'd promised himself that he would never hurt a woman. After watching his father kill his mother, there was no way he could ever cause a woman pain.
Brenda blushed, shaking her head. "I moved way too many boxes of books down the stairs at my old apartment. I wanted to just have things that would go to the charity left when the movers got there, so I did way too much. And I'm paying for it today."
He frowned. "You didn't have to do that."
She nodded. "I know I didn't have to. I'm not used to other people doing things for me though. It just felt like the right thing to do."
He closed the suite door behind them, putting his hand at the small of her back to guide her toward the elevator. "This hotel has a spa. I'm going to see if I can get you in for a massage this afternoon."
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to break myself." She felt terrible they wouldn't be able to make love, and not just for him. For her! She'd enjoyed his joystick!
He shook his head. "I'm not worried about me. I hate that you're in pain. I want to make it better."
"Do you think a massage would help? I've never had one."
"Oh, definitely. They'd be able to do quite a bit for your sore muscles."
"Then I'd like one, if you don't mind. I feel like I flew all this way so we could be together, and now I'm going to have to sleep in my own bed after all." She frowned. She wanted to sleep close to him.
"Why would you have to sleep in another bed?" Daniel didn't understand her thinking at all.
She looked at him in confusion. "Well, we have separate beds at home. I didn't think you'd want to sleep with me unless we could—you know."
Daniel rubbed the back of his neck, feeling like he'd handled things badly from the beginning. "I thought you'd want your own space. I gave you your own room, so that you could get used to me in slow increments. I never meant for you to sleep by yourself all the time. In fact, I was hoping we'd be sleeping together every night by now."
Brenda's eyes met his. "Really?"
He nodded. "Really. Is that why you wanted to go to the other room after we made love last night?"
The elevator door opened and they stepped off. She didn't answer as they walked across the building toward the restaurant. Once they were seated, and had their menus, she answered. "Yes. I didn't think you wanted me sleeping with you."
"I want you as close to me as possible every minute of every day. I would take you to every meeting I had, if I thought that you wouldn't be bored out of your mind." He reached out and took her hand in his, squeezing it tightly.
"But—we got married, and then we went back to your house, and you immediately closed yourself off and went to work. You didn't want to be near me."
He shook his head. "I was afraid to be around you. I was more attracted to you than I ever had been anyone in my entire life. And you were my wife. I was afraid to risk my heart."
"And you're not now?" Brenda didn't understand. Had an alien come down from the sky, and used some kind of special powder so he wouldn't be afraid anymore?
"No, I'm really not. I've learned a lot about you the last few days. You're not trying to take advantage of the fact that you're married to a wealthy man. You treat me the same way you'd treat a husband who had two dollars to his name. I feel like I can trust you."
"You can. I wasn't sure that we were going to be able to make things work, but the more I've gotten to know you, the more I realize that I love you. I know it's too soon for the words, and you can ignore them if you want, but I needed to tell you how I feel. That's why I really came here. You make me laugh in a way that no one's ever been able to make me laugh before. You touch my hand and I tingle all over. If this isn't love, then I'm dying of some sort of dread disease, and you'll have to mourn me forever."
Daniel laughed softly. "If it's a disease, it's the same one I have."
Someone stopped at the table beside them. "You two already giving each other diseases? You've only been married a couple of days!" The words came from someone who looked familiar to Brenda. At first she couldn't place him, but then she realized he was the best man at their wedding. He left right after the ceremony, so she hadn't had a chance to get to know him. She didn't even know his name.
"You were our best man." Brenda held her hand out to shake his. "I'm Brenda."
The man's huge hand engulfed Brenda's. He looked as if he were at least six-four. "I'm Seth Henderson. I came to help take some of the pressure off of Daniel, so he can get back to you sooner. I was thrilled to hear yesterday that you were flying here. I think you're going to be good for him."
"And why do you think it's your place to make observations about my marriage?" Daniel asked. He looked at Brenda. "Seth and I went to college together. We were in a lot of the same programming classes, and he was one of my first employees. He's got his own business now, but he still works for me in a pinch."
"I'm going to leave you two alone now. I feel like I'm interrupting a honeymoon. I'll see you at the meeting at four." Seth wandered off, returning to his solitary table across the restaurant.
"We should ask him to join us." Brenda didn't really want Seth there, because she wanted to be able to talk to Daniel, but she felt like they should offer. No one wanted to eat alone.
"No we shouldn't." Daniel looked over his shoulder at Seth, dismissing him entirely. "He understands. In fact, he's going to be calling Dr. Lachele soon. He needs love."
"Talking to Dr. Lachele doesn't ensure love. It only ensures marriage." Brenda felt like she'd found something very special with Daniel, but she still couldn't believe that Dr. Lachele could match just anyone.
"Your friends that Dr. Lachele matched a few months back, they fell in love right?"
Brenda nodded. "Yes, they did."
"And she matched us, and we're in love." Daniel shrugged. To him, two examples was enough to prove the older woman's worth.
She blinked a few times. "Did you just say you love me?"
"It isn't obvious? I told you I wanted to take you everywhere with me! What did you think that meant?" Daniel wasn't sure why she was having trouble following the conversation. She was a bright woman.
Brenda shook her head. "You know, just saying the words straight out would be nice."
"They don't seem to convey everything I feel. People say they love everything. I think the words lose their meaning when people say they love chocolate, or when they say they love the TV show. What I feel for you is so much more than I've ever felt for a TV show."
"You can't ever just make anything simple, can you?" Brenda caught both of his hands in hers and leaned forward, staring into his eyes. "I love you, Daniel Axford."
Daniel grinned, all at once realizing the power of those little words. "I love you right back, Brenda Axford." Girls had said them to him before, but he didn't think any had ever meant them.
"Thank you for finally saying it!" She wrinkled her nose at him, before lifting the menu over her face to hide her grin.
"Finally?" he sputtered. "I've known you for three days!"
"We're married. You used your joystick for a high score. That makes it like a year in real time!"
He chuckled. "And I don't wonder why I love you at all."
She peeked at him over the top of her menu. "Are you going to tell me about your childhood now?"
He closed his eyes. "I need to. I wish it could wait, but you might decide you don't love me when you've heard." He took a deep breath. "I grew up in the slums of Baltimore. My parents—they weren't normal. My father got drunk and beat my mother at least once per week."
"I'm so sorry
. That had to be hard."
"One day, he found out she'd been cheating on him. I remember the whole argument, because they screamed it at the tops of their lungs. I was fifteen at the time." His hands felt cold and clammy and he rubbed them dry on the napkin in front of him. "I tried to stop him but he just knocked me to the ground." His eyes met hers, and they were sad, but dry. "He strangled my mother while I watched. He was charged with second-degree murder, and spent a lot of years in prison. He got out on parole two years ago and came to the office to tell me how proud he was. Asked if I had a job for my old man."
"That's terrible! What did you tell him?" Brenda couldn't imagine how she would feel.
"I told him he didn't have the skill-set I was looking for. I haven't seen him since, but he could show up again any time. I should have told you sooner."
"No, I understand why you wouldn't want to talk about that. Who raised you after that?"
He shrugged. "I was in a foster home. One of the good ones. My foster-father encouraged me to become involved in swimming. If it hadn't been for him, I never would have gone to college."
Brenda reached across the table and took his hand in hers, squeezing it. "Thank you for telling me. I won't tell anyone else, and I certainly won't hold it against you."
"And you won't send my father Christmas cards?"
She nodded slowly. "That works for me." She looked down and chose what she wanted, closing the menu in front of her, dismissing the difficult topic from her mind, because she knew he couldn't keep discussing it. "Do you think if I have a massage this afternoon, I could take your joystick for another test run later?"
He grinned, nodding. "I'm counting on it."
Epilogue
Seth Henderson put his feet up on his desk as he dialed the number Daniel had given him. After spending a little time with Brenda and getting to know her, he was sure he wanted to let Dr. Lachele work her magic on him. There had to be a woman out there who was perfect for him, and according to Daniel, if anyone could find that woman, it was Dr. Lachele.
"Matchrimony, Dr. Lachele speaking."
"I need a wife. Can you make her as perfect as Brenda Axford?" he asked, without bothering with an introduction.
Dr. Lachele laughed, a sweet sound full of joy. "I can do my best. Where do you live?"
Five minutes later, he hung up the phone, knowing he'd set his own destiny in motion. Soon, he'd be married to some sweet little thing like Brenda. Maybe he'd understand Daniel's new obsession with text messages then.
About the Author
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Kirsten Osbourne
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Blushing in Boston (At the Altar Book 7) Page 11
