“You said Mr. Rawlins’ mother had the day off from the factory and would be celebrating with them today. So that baby is cared for.”
“There’s also the premature baby about to be released with his mother from the New Hospital for Women.”
Mark placed a finger above her lips, hovering above them.
Ellen stared at him, eyes wide and breath shallow.
“You said the other day at breakfast that this is exhausting work, and you need more joy in your life to counteract the heartbreak.” He didn’t add that she’d looked so tired she might burst into sobs over the hard-boiled eggs.Over half my babies die,she’d told him.I caught up on my notes, and did the math. Well over half die.Mark hadn’t known how to respond.
“What of your work? Aren’t you busy?” Her breath was hot against his finger.
Mark quirked a smile. “My dusty tomes and my Greek adjectives shan’t perish without me. Come on. I want you to see the house.” He let his finger caress her bottom lip, then pulled away.
Ellen primly sipped her hot chocolate. “Did Cook do this?”
Mark nodded. “She left a few minutes ago. She was utterly scandalized that we wanted her gone all day when we should be feasting. I think she might quit on us,” he joked.
Ellen laughed. “I suppose we’ll starve.” They planned oneating the Christmas evening meal with her parents, so neither was worried.
“I told her I knew how to boil water,” he confided. “From when I was a midshipman.”
“And?” Ellen’s eyes danced with laughter.
Mark hung his head in mock shame. “She was not impressed.”
“Did you tell her I can not only boil water, but heat milk in a cooker, wash bottles, and cook a stew?”
“Yes, and when I tell you she gave me the most horrified look,” Mark said conspiratorially. “Her eyebrows went up tohere.”
Ellen snorted, and milk almost sloshed over the rim. She jerked the cup away, blushing, and exposed the thickest milk mustache he’d ever seen.
His gaze flicked to her lips.
“What’s the matter?” Her cheeks were still pink. “Do I—?” She lifted her hand to wipe her mouth, but he beat her to it.
Mark swiped his thumb across her upper lip and leaned closer. He could smell her sweetness, mixed with just a hint of antiseptic from her hands.
“Mark,” she whispered. All the blood in his body rushed south.
“Ellen.” He was close enough now to see the four faded freckles on her nose, the individual eyelashes, and her dilated pupils as she stared back at him. Mark dipped his face to hers. And his lips crashed into the teacup she jerked back up to her mouth. His teeth clanked against the porcelain. “Mmmph,” he groaned, backing away.
“What are we doing?” Ellen whispered across the rim of the cup.
“I was hoping we might kiss, since married couples usually do that sort of thing.” He tried to speak nonchalantly, to hide the desperation pulsing in time with his heart.
“Married couples usually spend their first eight years ofmarriage together.” Her eyes drifted down, as if she couldn’t look in his face as she said it.
“I’m not going away again,” Mark promised, guilt and despair racing through him. Agonized desire made his very skin burn, and he wished for the millionth time he’d never hurt her. “If you like, I can spend the next eight years in your pocket.”
“I can’t…” She took a breath, looking him square in the eyes. “I loved you once, and it nearly shattered me. Not just that you left, but thewayyou left. I can’t experience that again.”
Mark’s heart ached. “What can I do to build trust moving forward?”
Ellen bit her lip. “I don’t know.”
Mark tamped back the frustration that rose at her words. She only spoke the truth, and he deserved every bit of her censure and disappointment. “We’ve only been back together for a little over two months. You have all the time you need. I’m not going anywhere.” He forced a smile. “Just give me fair warning if I need to perform impossible tasks or miraculous feats to prove my love.”
She jolted at his words, and he realized he’d said more than he intended. It was clearly too early to say that much.