Worth Waiting For Read Online Free Page A

very well when you sold your business. A Lamborghini, a beach house…wow.”
    He grinned. “Can’t complain.”
    She pressed her lips together, trying not to smile back at him, but not entirely successful. She couldn’t manipulate him into bragging, apparently. Strangely, that made her happy. She couldn’t stand people who tried to impress with money and possessions.
    Ten years fell away, and they talked and laughed, sharing memories and new stories. They talked about lots of things and it was easy. Was that surprising—or not really?
    When their dinners arrived, Ainslie picked at her meal, not super hungry, eating bits of this and that while they talked. When she glanced at her watch, her mouth fell open. “Oh, my God, it’s after ten o’clock!”
    “So? In a rush to get home? Let’s go for a walk on the pier.”
    “I should go.” She had to say that. She reminded herself she should be mad at him—if not, she was letting him off the hook for what he’d done way too easily. But what did it matter? They’d probably never see each other again and it would be nice to end things on an upbeat note, rather than hating him like she had for the past ten years.
    What had happened, happened and there was no going back. She’d survived, and, in fact, she’d come through it all stronger and better. In fact, if everything happened for a reason, like she believed, it was better that things had turned out the way they had.
    If she and Griff had stayed together, whether they’d moved to LA, or he’d visited, she would have stayed needy and clingy, and they would have made each other miserable. She never would have had the strength to deal with the setback she’d experienced at medical school or the resolve to make the best of that situation. And when her mother no longer relied on her for everything, she would have transferred that co-dependence to Griff and that would have smothered him.
    It was a startling realization.
    They strolled in silence through the warm darkness down to the beach. There were still lots of people around enjoying the patios and little seaside shops that spilled their light into the dark evening through open doors. Again, the urge to take his hand was almost irresistible. She thrust her hands in the pockets of her jeans as they walked.
    “I miss this place,” Griff said. “It has such a different vibe. So casual and laid back. LA is not like this.”
    “No, I guess not. What is it like? Is your life stressful?”
    “It was when I was in business for myself. Working for Tagasha was a blast. They try to encourage creativity by making work fun. When I started my own business, I thought it would be even better, but it turned out to be incredibly stressful. But it was such a rush, too…challenging.”
    “You always needed a challenge.” She smiled.
    “Yeah. Selling the business was another kind of stress. It was like selling my baby…it was mine, something I’d worked on so hard, for so long. I didn’t want someone else controlling it.”
    “So why did you do it?”
    He thought about it. “Well, I guess it was just because I needed a new challenge. When I thought about the things I wanted to do, it didn’t fit with the business, so it was time to move on.”
    She couldn’t help but admire the success he’d had. It wasn’t surprising. He was scary-smart when it came to technology and had the creativity to come up with original ideas. She’d laughed at his love of electronic games, how he had to have every new game and every new game player, whether hand-held or a console hooked up to the big television that he’d saved for months to buy. What money he hadn’t spent on her, he’d spent on toys.
    “Sounds like you’ve done well.”
    He stopped walking and turned to face her. The moonlight cast his dark face in a glow and his eyes were serious as he looked at her. “Yeah. In some ways I’ve done well. I’ve accomplished my goals and I’ve been lucky enough to have goals.