Free What's Left of Me (Finally Unbroken Book 2) by Maria Macdonald

lived in throughout my whole life, rolled into one. The room is huge and filled with dark gray marble, some white tiling obviously used to lighten the place up. Double basins and double shower and fluffy gray and white towels. It screams man… no… it screams bachelor. But all very sterile and not a home. It’s only after I do my business and reach over to grab some toilet paper that I really appreciate the luxury. The tissue is soft on my fingers, I could probably use it for my face or to stuff my currently hollow pillow.
    “His toilet paper probably costs more than the clothes I’m wearing,” I mumble the words to myself and they sound so ridiculous that I start laughing, on the toilet, with Ruben in the next room. Stifling my reaction to my own stupidity, I hear him gently tap on the door.
    “Are you okay, Laurie?”
    I bite my lip and shake my head, suppressing another bout of laughter at my current situation. “Yeah, sorry, I’ll be out in a sec,” I tell him.
    “O-kay.” His tone is unsure, but I breathe out a sigh after I hear him walk away.
    Once my feet move me back into the living room, and I see Ruben is standing, waiting for me, I let myself relax some, but I’m still scared to touch anything in his showcase house. I’m pretty sure I’d have to sell my body, for at least three years, to be able to pay for anything should I break it. Ruben walks out of the room and I stand still, not sure what I’m supposed to do.
    “Do you want a drink?” His deep voice comes from what I assume is the kitchen, and there seems to be an invisible cord making me take a few steps in that direction. Just as I reach the door, Ruben walks back around. “Did you hear…” The words die in his throat as he nearly bangs into me. I find my nose almost touching his Henley wrapped chest, and as I let my head fall back so I can see his eyes, my chin grazes the material which sends an unwanted shiver down my back. “Sorry,” he whispers, reaching his hand out and cupping my elbow. Not that I was going anywhere, my body seems to be magnetized to his.
    I break the moment. “Coffee.” My voice is croaky.
    “What?” he asks.
    “Drink… you asked what I wanted to drink. Coffee please,” I rush out.
    His fingers peel away from my elbow, and I can feel the singe that he’s left behind. Deciding I’m better off giving us some distance, I ask, “Is it okay if I go sit in back in there,” pointing back to the living room.
    “Of course,” he replies. His voice is gravelly, and although I haven’t been with anyone for a while, I still know that sound, and I can’t help the smirk that forms knowing I’ve affected him. Walking back into the other room, I take a seat and fidget, unsure of how to sit or what to do. My legs are restless, so I slip off my shoes and tuck my feet under me. Thoughts run through my head as I realize the automatic movement I just made, something which I’ve never done in anyone’s home other than my own. It’s a comfort thing.
    “It’s okay, I want you to be comfortable,” Ruben says, rounding the corner with two cups of coffee, and scaring the crap out of me at the same time. I look up to his eyes as his tall frame bends at the waist placing the cup on the small table in front of me.
    How could he have possibly known what was running through my head?
    “Tell me about you, Ruben.” I’m surprised the minute the words leave my lips. Even though Ruben used to come to my groups, he never really said much about what happened, or how he felt. He always seemed like he was haunted. Whoever he did speak to, if anyone, that person certainly wasn’t me. Danny gave me some basic background information, but not much. He was engaged and she died from cancer. A great love story, one with an unhappy ending. Leaving behind a man so in love with a woman, who’s now only a memory. I’m realistic, I can’t compete with her, and I’m never going to try. Suddenly, I feel very cold and uncomfortable. I’m