Love Me Dear (Love Me Book 3)

Chapter 16

Trinity was sitting in front of the fire, watching it flicker while she sipped her coffee. Levi had received a phone call and told her he would join her when he was finished. She was glad for the reprieve. She wasn't sure she wanted to do this after all. She might have to reveal things that she didn't like to admit, even to herself.

She curled her legs up under her as she did her best to relax into the couch. It had stunned her when Levi had admitted that he didn't love his wife. He was the last person she would think would be trapped in a loveless marriage.

Trinity felt the other side of the couch give as Levi sat down across from her, throwing his legs up on the low coffee table in front of him.

"My mother would be shocked at your careless regard for your coffee table." Trinity smiled.

"Noted, keep my feet off of the furniture at your parent's house." Levi nodded as he focused on the fire. "Are you having second thoughts?" Levi asked.

"Yes, about a lot of things," Trinity nodded.

"Like what?" It helped that he wasn't looking at her.

"You coming with me to Savannah, my being here now, what questions you might ask?" She shrugged.

"I'm looking forward to our trip, don't ruin it by telling me I can't come. I'm enjoying you being here, it's nice to have some company for a change, and I'm worried about the questions you might ask me as well. I'm worried about how you might respond to some of my answers to your questions."

"Me too," Trinity softly agreed.

"Let's start simple, where did you go to college, and where did you meet your ex-husband?"

Trinity smiled. Those questions she could answer. "I attended the University of Georgia, and that was where I met my ex-husband, but didn't you know where I attended school? It was on my resume."

"I said we were starting easy. Now it's your turn."

"I'll ask the same questions." Trinity watched him as he sipped his coffee, admiring the way his large hand engulfed his coffee cup. She had seen his hands do many things over the years, handle a horse, fly a plane, drive a car, cook a meal. They were talented hands. Gentle hands.

"I attended NYU, where I graduated with an MBA. I met Constance in New York. We shared friends who introduced us."

"I didn't know you spent time in New York or that you had an MBA, why an MBA?" Trinity was fascinated by him.

"I knew the ranch was failing, and the only way to save it was to make money differently than we had been. I enjoyed my time in New York, but I prefer the country." He turned towards her. "Why did you decide to become a CPA?"

Trinity smiled. "I am one of those rare people who love numbers. I always have, and believe it or not; I used to like people." Her smile faded.

"What changed?" Levi's voice was gentle.

"Christopher had a jealous nature, he didn't like it when I spent time with other people, even my own family, and it got hard to hide the bruises." She cleared her throat.

"It's hard when you learn that the people you thought you loved most, the ones you trusted most, have lied to you about everything."

Trinity nodded in agreement, and they both sat in silence for a few moments digesting the heaviness of that statement.

"Did Josiah know your marriage was..." she searched for the right word.

"A failure?" He gave a sad smile.

"He knew who his mother was from the beginning. He loved her, but he recognized her as a manipulative person. He told me once, when things were particularly bad, that he prayed hard that I wouldn't see through her until it was too late because he wanted me as a dad. He felt guilty about it." Levi rubbed his chin.