Anything But Love by Abigail Strom Read Free Book Online Page A

smiled a little. “I guess that’s true.” She paused. “You know something else? I’ll never have to watch another episode of Murder, She Wrote .”
    “Tom’s a fan?”
    “Unfortunately, yes. It’s his comfort show. Do you know it ran for twelve seasons? Two hundred and sixty-four episodes.”
    “That’s a lot of murder.”
    She nodded. “Yes, it is. Jessica Fletcher is a menace to society. You know she lives in a tiny village in Maine? I don’t know how anyone’s left in that town. Everyone she knows has either been murdered, or is in jail for murder, or has been falsely accused of murder.”
    Ben laughed. “Okay, so you don’t like Murder, She Wrote . What shows do you like?”
    She thought about it. In high school and college, she’d watched whatever the cool kids were watching. Back home after that, her parents had mostly controlled the remote. Once she and Tom were living together, she let him choose whatever they were going to watch in the evenings. That usually meant a crime drama or a cable news show—neither of which she enjoyed.
    She shrugged. “I don’t know. I guess I’m not a big TV fan.”
    “What if you were on a desert island and had to pick one thing to watch?”
    “Animal Planet, I guess. Or the National Geographic channel.” Did that sound weird or boring? Probably both. “What about you?” she asked, wanting to change the subject. “What shows do you like?”
    “Sports and sci-fi.”
    That made her smile. “So that hasn’t changed, huh?”
    “Nope. Do you remember when I made you watch that Star Trek marathon?”
    “Please don’t remind me.”
    “But you got me back. You made me sit through those old episodes of The Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau .”
    She covered her face with her hands. “Oh my God. Did I really?”
    “Yep. But don’t feel bad. I actually enjoyed it.”
    She let her hands fall back to her sides. “You did not.”
    “Sure I did.” He looked thoughtful for a moment. “In junior high you said you were going to major in marine biology. Remember?”
    She’d put that dream aside a long time ago. “Yes.”
    “What did you end up majoring in?”
    “Business.”
    He stared at her. “You did?”
    His expression made her feel defensive. “It was what my parents suggested, and they were paying the bills.”
    “Okay,” he said after a moment. “So you majored in business. What did you do with your degree?”
    Now she was feeling even more defensive. “I worked for my mother after I graduated. She sits on the boards of several organizations, and I helped her with event planning and fund-raising and things like that.”
    “You don’t do that anymore?”
    “I stopped once Tom and I got engaged. I was busy renovating our new apartment, and planning the wedding was a full-time job in itself.”
    Ben nodded, his expression neutral.
    “What?” she demanded.
    “What do you mean, what?”
    “It’s obvious that you’re thinking something. What is it?”
    He shook his head. “Nothing you need to get upset about. I was just wondering if part of the reason you got engaged to Tom was to get away from your parents.”
    She started to deny it—but then she found herself wondering, too.
    She’d moved back home after she graduated from college, since there was plenty of room in her parents’ place. They’d even converted a guest bedroom into a home office for her, making it easier for her to assist with her mother’s work.
    How had she felt when Tom had first suggested that the two of them get married? When she’d moved into his apartment after their engagement was official, and after that, when they’d gone apartment hunting together?
    Relieved.
    “Maybe,” she said, looking down at her lap. Her legs were crossed, and her hands, primly folded, rested on her knee. Her linen suit was still unwrinkled.
    “Hey, Jess?”
    She looked up again and met Ben’s eyes. “What?”
    “I’m not trying to criticize you or make you feel bad. I’m honestly