“Do you hate me? Be honest.” Piper’s heart hurt saying it, but she needed to know.
She thought it from the start, and at that moment, realized she actually still cared what he thought of her. She didn’t want to, but her heart knew she had been his for years. She wasn’t willing to let go of those fantasies she had pushed at the back of her mind since the day they met.
His heart sank at hearing his sweet assistant say those words. Remembering what Violet had told him, his daughter was right. He had done nothing to make this woman feel welcome.
Looking at his girls playing in the ballroom; he knew why he was pushing her away. It was the three little faces playing around the game room. Protecting them from the same hurt their mother caused had made him a jaded man.
“It’s not about that,
