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CHAPTER 33
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LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT CHAPTER 34
She was making new friends at school, and she spent a lot of time with Lisa and Alice as well as with Lisa’s cousin, Theresa. The latter was a year older than Cindy’s twenty-eight and had a six-month-old baby girl. They (unimaginatively) called themselves the “Mummy Club” and spent most Saturdays actively avoiding mummy duty by leaving the babies with their husbands and escaping for a well-deserved girls’ day out. They were all busy women: Lisa had her shop, Alice was a chef, and both Theresa and Cindy had just started studying again, Theresa only part-time because of the new baby.Cindy was actually starting to enjoy her life again, despite the unusual situation at home. Soon she started noticing that one of her professors, a man in his mid-thirties, appeared to be taking more than the usual interest in her. She didn’t quite know how to react to that fact. It had been so long since she’d felt even remotely attractive that the male interest, while flattering, was a little unnerving. It
LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT CHAPTER 35
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you,” she apologized, both verbally and in the sign language that she was still trying to learn in her free time. Because of school, her lessons had had to be moved to Saturdays before her usual get-together with the other ladies. His eyes dropped to her busy hands and narrowed sharply as they took in the graceful movements of her fingers.“It’s okay,” he said out loud, shrugging slightly. He didn’t mention the sign language she had used, and she was both relieved and somewhat disappointed by that. He brushed by her and headed toward the large wooden island in the middle of the kitchen to drop the ingredients on the black marble–topped surface, while Cindy used a damp paper towel to wipe up the mess on the floor. When she was done, she rounded the island to face him again while he busily went about constructing an imaginative sandwich. He kept his eyes on his task and Cindy sighed in frustration before waving her hand beneath his eyes to get his at
LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT CHAPTER 36
“Get out of here,” he whispered harshly, wanting her out of the room, not wanting her to hear or see how much he ached to take her into his arms.“What?”“Get the hell out,” he snarled, bracing himself before turning to face her. He barely kept himself from flinching when he saw her tears. “Go now.” She uttered a low cry and whirled from the room, fleeing as quickly as she could. Gerard finally allowed himself to break, sinking back against a tiled wall as his legs gave out and sliding down to the floor. He clasped his head in his hands and shook uncontrollably as he tried to imagine his life from this point on.Gerard had to go in to the office the following morning—the day of Cindy’s Big Date. He hadn’t done so in months, but he and Pierre had an urgent meeting with a very important client and the man had requested Gerard’s presence. As he was the business’s CFO and Vice President of Marketing, Gerard knew that it was time to pick up the reins of his life again. He had responsibilit
LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT CHAPTER 37
Cindy could barely focus on what Raymond was saying; her mind kept straying back to the lonely image of Gerard sitting in front of that television with her image frozen on-screen. There was something so stark, sad, and desolate about the memory that it ate her up inside every time she thought about it.“You seem preoccupied.” Raymond’s gentle voice intruded on her thoughts, and Cindy was startled back to the present and the man sitting opposite her. He really was a nice man, tall, lean, and almost handsome, with dark eyes, slightly thinning black hair, and a warm smile. Cindy really liked him but not enough to seriously consider dating him.“I think this was a mistake,” she mumbled, and he frowned. “It’s too soon. It just doesn’t feel right for me to be out with you.” He smiled in understanding.“I was wondering where your mind was,” he said.“Maybe . . .” she began, and he covered one of her helplessly fluttering hands with his own.“Some other time?” he completed, and she nodded gra
LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT CHAPTER 38
“Come on, Kayla, time to get dressed.” She held out her hand to the toddler who happily made her way over, still chattering excitedly about “Nebo” and “fishies.”The Two Oceans Aquarium was based at the V&A Waterfront in Cape Town. It was teeming not only with marine life but with children, teens, students, and noisy families. Gerard and Cindy , as a young couple with an energetic toddler, blended in completely. For once the ubiquitous Cal and his team had been told to remain very much in the background. Gerard had commanded them to remain outside, despite Cal’s obvious uneasiness with the high security risk such a busy place posed. Gerard had even chosen to drive them himself—a rarity these days—while the security team had remained a discreet distance behind them.Now Cindy was achingly aware of how much like a normal family they must look amidst the tide of humanity. Kayla was up on Gerard shoulders, and her little feet frantically paddled against his chest every time she wanted him
LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT CHAPTER 39
“You shut yourself in,” she completed, and he nodded.“It’s crazy, I know,” he confessed, and she smiled with a shake of her head, covering his lightly trembling hand with her own.No, it’s not. You lost one of your senses, Gerard . Naturally there’d be physical, mental, and emotional repercussions. I read that people go through the stages of grief after losing their hearing. Did you . . . did you talk to anyone after the accident?”“You mean a psychiatrist?” he clarified dryly. “I was seeing one for nearly a year; it’s because of him that I was able to even contemplate coming out today. I was so much worse immediately after the accident and I very stubbornly refused to talk to anyone. Yes, I was in denial and furious that something like this could have happened to me, but I shoved it aside because I had something bigger to take care of. I was adamant that talking to shrinks could wait. But Pierre and Rick kind of forced my hand. They blackmailed me into seeing someone.”“How?” she as
LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT CHAPTER 40
“How did you break your arm?” she asked, but he wasn’t looking at her and didn’t see the question. She reached over and in a gesture similar to the one he’d used on her the previous night, gently tilted his jaw so that he was looking at her. She repeated the question and he seemed to shake himself out of his reverie, but when he spoke again, his voice was so horribly empty.“He was very angry,” he said with a shrug.“ Your father broke your arm?” She needed clarity on this point and wasn’t sure she understood. He nodded abruptly before draining his glass.“I’m exhausted,” he muttered gruffly. “I was wondering, would you and Kayla like to go to the beach with me tomorrow? I’ll fix a picnic lunch. Unless you’ve moved your ladies’ get-together to tomorrow? Since you missed it today?”“A couple of the others had other plans this weekend as well, so we decided not to meet until next week. Anyway, the beach sounds nice,” she agreed absently, not really paying attention, her mind on what he
LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT CHAPTER 41
“This is perfect,” she told him, and his eyes warmed. “Thank you.”He dropped an arm over her slender shoulders and gave her a quick, little one-armed hug.“I saw an advertisement for this place last winter and I knew that you’d like it.” Last winter? At least six months before her return? He had learned about this place and thought of her. Not with any hatred or resentment it seemed. Instead he had thought about something that would make her happy. It was startling to know that he hadn’t always thought of her in anger over the last couple of years, and Cindy wasn’t sure how to process that information.They got home shortly before eight, and Kayla was once again drooping in exhaustion. Gerard took her from Cindy’s arms.“I’ll put her to bed,” he offered.“Gerard,” you’ve been taking care of her all week, I should—”“And you’ve been taking care of her on your own for years. This is the least I can do,” he interrupted, and she protested no further. She knew that he needed to make up fo
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