Loving Bella

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“Help me to understand, Bella.” He scratched his chin in frustration. “Why do you want to do this? And why now?”

She didn’t like his tone, but it was the familiar clenched jaw and narrowed eyes that had her bristling. It was the same expression all her brothers gave her when they were about to lecture her over some serious—in their mind only—offense.

Well, she might be the youngest of six. And the only female. But she wasn’t a child anymore. “Beauregard O’Toole, you might be older by nine years, and you might have an education from a renowned university and equally impressive seminary, but that does not make you an expert on everything.”

“I don’t need to be an expert to know you aren’t a trained nurse. And, I might also point out, that whine in your voice makes you sound twelve. Hardly the way to go about convincing me of your maturity.”

“Don’t be so dramatic.”

“Me?”

She made a face at him. “Dr. Shane only needs me on a temporary basis. He’s not even paying me.”

“He’s what?”

“Oh, he offered,” she said, careful to keep her voice from quivering. “But I refused to hear of it. I don’t need the money.”

Which had only been a portion of the reason for her refusing the man’s offer of a salary. The true reason had been connected to her sense of shame, her sin. Perhaps by volunteering her services for free she could do penance for her blunder with William.

William. So much regret there. Such humiliation. Even now, a month after their disastrous last meeting, she inwardly recoiled at how far she’d walked away from her Christian upbringing. How close she’d come to destroying a family.

How had she been so foolish?

Lord, how do I get past this? How do I make atonement?

Beau touched her arm. “Bella, what aren’t you telling me?”

She lowered her gaze. What would he think if he knew the real reason she’d fled London? “Beau, don’t. Please don’t ask.”

Thankfully, Hannah, Beau’s wife, walked into the room with the sort of grace any lead actress would envy. Even knowing of her renown, Bella was a little awes-truck at the woman’s mere presence. She was…stunning. Unforgettable.

It was no wonder she had earned enough prominence on the stage and consequently sufficient money to walk away a wealthy woman after only five years of treading the boards.

With a swoop, her startling green gaze landed on her husband for only a second before swiveling back to Bella. “Beauregard, introduce me to your sister.”

He blew out a frustrated breath, but then walked over to his wife and covered her hands with his. For a brief moment, the two shared a connection that went beyond words, similar to the one Bella had seen pass between Trey and Katherine Scott.

And similar to the Scotts, these two were not only in love they actually seemed to like each other. Bella had never thought marriage could include both love and affection, at least not outside her parents’ marriage. She’d always assumed Patience and Reginald O’Toole had been lucky.