Read If Only (The Willowbrook Series Book 1) for Free Online Page A

really, what woman in her right mind would refuse a man after those words? Dammit, if she didn’t accept, she’d come off as a jerk. However, go without a fight, and he’d think she was still hopelessly in love with him. Rhys did realize she loved him, didn’t he?
    He turned and expectantly waited for her while she scrambled for a believable excuse to not go with him. But how could she think straight when he looked at her with such intensity?
    Forget how he reminded her of a Roman gladiator with his dark hair, sharp nose, and chiseled profile. None of that mattered to her. His quiet strength, love of family and friends, kindness and intelligence, in addition to his low key humor, were Rhys’s best features.
    “Asa?”
    “Hmm?”
    “Did you hear a word, sweetheart?”
    What was worse? Her heart kicking into a fast and hard beat when he called her his sweetheart? Or missing what he’d just said?
    He reached out and swiped at a stray strand of hair falling into her eyes. “I spoke with the mayor this morning. The town is closed. All residents in close proximity are instructed to go to the senior center. They have a huge generator. I think that takes care of ninety-nine point nine percent of the population. Aside from Drew Hazard’s place, you’re the only one—”
    The fleeting sadness on his face had her reaching up to stroke his cheek, but the slight tilt of his head cued her to not acknowledge his grief. With a nod, she let him know she understood, but inside she hurt. They were two lonely souls, raised to hide their emotions. A match between them had been doomed from the beginning.
    Clearing his throat, he continued. “You’re the only one now who lives on the outskirts of Willowbrook.”
    Uncomfortable, awkward—that’s how he must feel for continuing to show her his sorrow. With an exaggerated curtsy, and in her best English accent she said, “Then I guess I’m at the whim of your good grace since you have the functioning generator.”
    His lips quirked and his eyes twinkled. Ducking her head to hide her smile, Asa stepped back. Otherwise, she’d hug him like she used to do when she made him happy. At this moment, there would be no hugging. Hugging led to feelings, then kissing, until she’d long for him again. That couldn’t happen.
    “I’ll get my stuff,” she said and bolted for the bedroom before she changed her mind. A minute longer and she’d throw her arms around his neck.
    Once she was decent and bundled, Asa locked the door behind her and followed Rhys past the parked pickup truck to Jo’s front porch. As her short legs struggled to keep up with his long strides, her stomach grumbled. The noise seemed loud in the silence. He stopped and she collided into him.
    “I knew we forgot something. Do you have perishables you want transferred from your fridge to my. . .”
    Asa couldn’t see him, but she grasped why his words had trailed off. “It’s okay to call her place and her stuff as your own, Rhys. Jo—” She slipped around him to look him in the face. “Jo wouldn’t mind at all.”
    A mix of emotions flowed over his face before he hid them behind a scowl. Realizing he had slipped again, she pretended to adjust the backpack slung over her shoulder.
    “Jo understood why you hadn’t visited much this year. She said you were happy because you were in your rightful place—riding, competing, and winning. There’s nothing in Willowbrook for you except for an old woman’s love. That’s what she said.”
    Her voice shook, and she hoped Rhys thought it was more from the cold than the hurt in her heart. But the pity in his eyes told her otherwise. Gripping the strap of her backpack, she hurried to his place. When would she get over him?
    “I can cook you some breakfast while you shower,” he said from behind her as they stood in front of Jo’s door.
    “Um, sure.”
    Mindful of how easy it’d be to go along with the impulse to lean back against his solid chest, she darted to the