Free There's Always Tomorrow (Immortal Series) by Alice Addy Page A

tears.
    Tony wasn’t
expecting the great sobs and the torrent of tears that suddenly flowed down her
face.   Her fragile body quaked with
grief.   Sophie was always filled
with such goodness and light.   He
thought her incapable of such devastating emotions.   What had he done?   He felt like a total schmuck.
    “Sophie,
Sophie, shush darling.   I didn’t
mean it.   I’m an ass,
remember?   I don’t always say the
right thing.   I didn’t mean to make
you cry.   Oh, stop it, Sophie.   Please, stop,” he pleaded.
    She sniffed and
hiccupped a few times, but soon she was able to speak coherently.   “I’m sorry, but I do love you,
Tony.   I can’t help it.   Believe me, I’d rather find someone
younger.”
    Tony bristled at
her comment.   He wasn’t that old.
    “From the first
time I saw you, I knew we’d end up together.   Didn’t you feel anything for me?”   She sniffled a few more times.   Surely, she wasn’t mistaken.   She was hot and he was needy…maybe.
    Tony gave
up.   Once again, he pulled her into
his warm embrace.   “Sweetheart, I
feel something very powerful for you, but I doubt that it’s love.   You’re a beautiful and desirable woman.   It may simply be lust, I feel.”
    “You think I’m
stupid and too young for you, don’t you?”
    Tony
chuckled.   She wasn’t too far
off.   “I never thought you were
stupid.   I find you most
refreshing, in fact, but you are very young, my dear.   I am much older and, as you’ve discovered, I can be hard to
get along with.   You are my
opposite, darling.”   Tony started
to relax and was relieved to discover his erection had disappeared.   At least, he didn’t have to deal with
that any longer.
    “I don’t care
how old you are, Tony.   I will
always love you.   The women in my
family only love one man for their entire life.   So what if you’re a grouch?   I can change all that.   Give me a chance.   If you
don’t fall in love with me, I promise I will remain alone...forever.”
    Tony chuckled,
and ruffled her glorious hair.   “Oh, precious,” he sighed, “you are too adorable for words.   I’m afraid that if I allowed myself to
fall in love with you, I’d just end up hurting you.   There are things about me that you wouldn’t understand or
even believe.   Not good things.”
    “I’ve seen and
heard plenty while I’ve worked for Mr. Paulsen.   He’s very mysterious, too.   But everyone needs someone to love, Tony.   No matter who they are or what they’ve
done.   I know you need my
love.   Trust me.”
    Tony didn’t
know why, but he knew, instinctively, that he could trust her.   For the first time in many years, he
knew he could rely on a woman to stand with him.   As young as she may be, she had a certain maturity in her
soul.   Maybe she was one of the old
souls people were always mentioning.   The one thing Tony was absolutely sure of, he had been happier in the
last few days, since he’d met pretty Sophie, than he’d been in over a hundred
years.   Now, if he could just say
that to her, without sending her screaming and running for the door, maybe he’d
have a chance at true happiness, once again.
    They sat on the
bed, with Tony rocking Sophie gently, back and forth, until she quieted and her
breathing slowed to a normal pace.   His mind was in turmoil.   What should he do, he wondered?   Should he follow his heart or his head?   Ignoring the past, doomed one to repeat it, but being too
afraid to take a chance on love, was not living.
    “Tony?”   A small voice whispered in his ear.
    “Yes, darling?”
    “I’m hungry,”
she sniffed.
    Now it was
Tony’s turn to laugh.   “You are a
funny little thing.   What can I get
for you?   If I can’t find it in the
kitchen, I’ll send out.   What do
you want?”
    Sophie thought
for a moment.   “Do you have graham
crackers and warm milk?”
    “Ick!” he
groaned.   “You’ve got to be
kidding, right?   I’ve