Only Love (The Atonement Series) Read Online Free PDF

case you failed to realize it, the anniversary of my father’s death is coming up soon and my mother has pretty much been depressed beyond belief since it happened. She hasn’t had the chance to get over it like we have.”
    Colin picked up a card attached to a beautiful black and red vase filled with white roses. “Who’s Drake?”
    I rolled my eyes and turned away from him by lying on my side. “He’s my next door neighbor and the head chef at Rouge.”
    “Is that all he is to you?”
    “Not that it is any of your business but yes, that is all he is to me. In case you don’t realize it, I was alone last night when I decided to go out to dinner. I was on my way to the women’s restroom when I slipped and fell down the stairs. I wanted to check out his restaurant because he came by the other night and introduced himself to me by asking for a cup of Sugar in the Raw,” I stated with a little too much bite in my voice.
    I didn’t owe Colin an explanation about Drake what so ever so why was I giving him one? Even if the guy was a lover, I had broken off our engagement and given him back his ring. We might as well be strangers all over again and if I had decided to have a wild, exaggerated and completely unrealistic love affair with Drake, now I’d lost the baby, I didn’t owe anyone any justifications for my actions what so ever.
    He set the card down as if it were diseased. “Well, I wanted to make sure you were all right and I sincerely hoped we could talk about you…coming home.”
    My side began to ache as cramps seized my abdomen and I turned onto my back again. “What part of I am home don’t you understand?” I glared at him and knew my eyes were cold and heartless but I’d reached the point beyond caring; I just wanted to get rid of him. “I’ve left Seattle, Colin—perhaps for good. I left our engagement, our home and our life together. I can’t trust you and although I love you very much, I can no longer pretend you and Liam didn’t do what you did.
    “In a way, you two destroyed my life and my mother’s life and my sister’s life. Now, God strike me dead because I haven’t told my sister the truth but eventually she will learn what happened and that will be between her and Liam to work out. I want no part of it and I don’t want to be the one to break her heart because she would blame me, not him .”
    “Oh, Deirdre, you always have to play the martyr!” Colin walked toward me and stopped just several inches from my bed. “That is what I don’t understand about you. You said everything was okay and we could pull through this but it was all a lie. You couldn’t handle the truth then and you certainly can’t handle it now. Why couldn’t you be honest with your feelings and emotions? Why must you always say one thing yet mean another? If I lied to you then you certainly lied to me so you are not innocent in this situation and stop pretending you are.”
    I shook my head. “I can’t talk to you right now, Colin. Please, I just had a miscarriage and this isn’t exactly the best time to get into it with you about our former relationship.”
    “That’s fine with me but listen when I tell you I am not going anywhere. I am staying here until you do feel well enough to talk to me and I won’t be leaving until we can hash this out. You got that?”
    His face looked angry and his pallor was the color of beets but I looked past him and into the warm and handsome yet worried face of Drake. His pale greenish blue eyes looked concerned as he walked into my room and he held yet another vase full of roses though these were red.
    “Is this a bad time?” he inquired out loud.
    “No.”
    “Yes.”
    Colin and I looked at one another since we’d both spoken at the same time.
    Drake looked from me to Colin and back again. “I’m Drake O’Connell. I also happen to be the neighbor of Deirdre’s and she was visiting my restaurant when this unfortunate incident happened. I’m a bit scared about