Hold My Hand Read Free Page B

person especially when
that one person was me.
    “ Missing you.” My
voice was soft. I wanted to say more but I simply answered his
question. It’s how I’ve been trained. Don’t be stupid, Aubrey, just answer the
question.
    “Good. I prefer it that
way.” He smiled. I‘d earned another smile from this amazing man.
Relieved, I sighed and returned a smile of my own. “You’ll be done
working soon?”
    “Yes. I have just a few more
hours until I’m off.”
    He looked at his watch and
then back at me. “I’ll return here at seven then.” Then he walked
out of the coffee shop without another word, leaving me shaken. I’d
expected our conversation to happen here. I’d been prepared to give
him my boundaries – limits, as they called them on the site I
looked at on-line – and to agree on them. Here, in a public place;
but William had other ideas.
    Now I sat here alone
wondering, for the seventeenth time, just what I’d gotten myself
into. Since I knew how crazy I’d sound to those who knew me, I told
no one about this man I’d met, this man I’d come to need with
unexplainable certainty. Instead, I remained isolated in my
thoughts and planned to do so until I’d reconciled just what it was
I was entering into.
    Despite being my closest
sister, I shared nothing with Evelyn who’d found happiness in a
simple life back in Ohio and had trouble understanding why I needed
more. I also left my one friend here in Boston in the dark. I was
alone in this discovery because it was my secret, my private
exploration.

Chapter Two
    I walked into the
unknown.

    It was Baylor, his driver,
who walked into the shop that night. “Ma’am,” he nodded at me and
handed me the cell phone he held.
    “Aubrey.” William’s voice
wafted through the line, the warm sound sliding down my tummy. “I’m
held up in a meeting. Baylor will deliver you to my home and I’ll
be there shortly.” I could hear voices in the background, hushed
but present. I made a note to ask William soon what type of
business he was in.
    “ Ok. That’s fine.” I’m
not sure about being delivered; the term made me feel like a
package. Perhaps I’d try to think of myself as a special delivery.
I shook my head at the absurdity of the thought. When had I ever
been something special? Sometimes you’re just a waste of space, Aubrey.
    “Good. I’ll see you soon.
Baylor will attend to you, whatever you need.”
    “Thank you.”
    I thought he’d simply click
the phone off then but he cleared his throat, “And Aubrey,” he
paused, “I-I am sorry. I didn’t want us to begin this way.” I was
still processing his apology when the call ended. I returned the
phone to Baylor, grabbed up my coat and purse and followed him to
the car waiting outside the door.
    William’s voice – his
apology had been so sincere. I couldn’t imagine it mattering that
much to him. I wasn’t important enough for someone to worry
over. You are nothing,
Aubrey, nothing of value. No one
had ever been concerned for me like that before. It unnerved me to
consider William might actually like me enough to worry. Would he
care for me eventually? I couldn’t dare believe it.
    The car pulled up outside a
large brick and stone home. It was big enough for a full family.
The ride had been about twenty minutes so we must’ve been in one of
the smaller suburbs framing Boston. As Baylor opened my door and
offered his hand, I unfolded my body from the car and stood beside
him, certain my mouth was hanging open.
    “ This is William’s
home?” The quiver in my voice certainly gave away my uncertainty,
my complete disbelief that this man I’ve met and have now agreed to
date –if in fact, that’s what I’ve agreed to– lived in this home
more suited for a full family of eleven.
    “Yes ma’am.”
    “ He lives here?” I
still couldn’t believe what I was seeing though it was right in
front of my eyes. The house where I’d been raised could sit well
inside this massive