Free The Better Man by Cerian Hebert

the
waiter arrived to take their orders, Will reached across the table and clasped Lori’s
hands. “I have to go back to Orlando in the morning.” He didn’t want to go.
He’d rather stay in New Hampshire with her for a week. A month. Hell, a whole
year, but he had a business to run back home and hadn’t planned for longer than
a night away.
    Lori’s content
smile faded and she tightened her mouth. “I know. I would just rather not think
of it tonight.”
    Her admission
sent a wave of pleasure through him. She’d miss him, which meant he had to make
the most of tonight. He had no idea what tomorrow would hold. If she decided to
stay in New England permanently, then what? Would that be it for them? A small
taste of what could have been? “Me neither,” he admitted and squeezed her hand.
“You know I want you to come back.”
    “And you know
why I don’t want to go back. Call me a chicken, but I don’t want to face everyone,
everything that went wrong. There were more problems with my life than just
Brian.”
    He sighed. Why
the need to push the topic? The direction of the conversation cast an
unpleasant pall over the table. But he wanted her to know she could return and
make a better life down there. There was no reason to fall back into the same
old rut.
    “There are lots
of hotels down in Florida that would love to have you. It is, after all, a big
tourist spot.”
    “I don’t want
glitz. I want family. I want a quiet, beautiful old inn with lots of fresh
air.”
    “Okay, we’re
not going to get anywhere right now.”
    The waiter brought
their wine and Will changed the subject. They talked about her trip, what she’d
seen and done while in New England, and what she had planned for the remainder
of the vacation. They talked about her friends down in Florida and anything
else he could think of. Everything but Brian, for which Will was grateful. He
dreaded any questions regarding her ex.
    Luckily, she
seemed to make it a point to stay away from him.
    He was amazed
at how much they talked, how much they laughed. Whenever he could, he held her
hand over the table, stroked her palm with his thumb, looked into her light
blue eyes and fell deeper, despite the fact that his heart would be thoroughly
broken if she actually decided to stay.
    After a shared tiramisu ,
they walked hand in hand back up to her room. This would be their last night
together for who knew how long. Maybe forever if she really intended to stay.
Fair or unfair, he meant to make the most of the next few hours.

Chapter Seven
     
    “Remember when
we first met?” Will tightened his hold on her and kissed her hair. They were
sitting on the recliner by the window, both naked, the comforter from the bed
covering their bodies. She curled up on his lap.
    “Oh, God. Don’t
remind me.” She laughed and shook her head.
    “Karaoke night
at Neon.”
    “Stop!”
    “You, my
darling, were singing Copacabana .”
    “You have no
mercy.”
    “It was a very
riveting performance.” His voice was soft, but he grinned. “I had to know who
you were.”
    “I was
horrible, and I can’t believe I was up there making a fool of myself.”
    “You were
pretty horrible. But I fell in love with you right then and there.”
    “Oh, Will.”
Lori leaned in and kissed him softly.
    “If that night
had only happened before you were with Brian, well—”
    Lori pressed
her mouth to his, softly stroking his cheeks. What good would it do to dwell on
what might have been? To think if it hadn’t been for Brian, maybe she and Will
would’ve had something? That Will wouldn’t have left her at the altar? That
maybe by now they’d be married with a couple of children?
    No, thinking
about possibilities did no good. The future was the only important thing. The
future and the man who cradled her in his strong arms and had professed his
love for her over and over. She didn’t doubt his love was deep and real. What
she wasn’t sure of, was what she would do about