Earning Her Love by Hazel Gower Read Free Book Online Page A

big brown eyes that shone with annoyance. “I’m not a dog. You don’t get to just say ‘stay’ and expect me to listen.”
    Oh, he did. Alex wasn’t used to having his orders disobeyed. “I do.”
    Mia laughed like he’d just told the world’s funniest joke. “Ha, well, you’re in for a shock.” The little minx wiggled herself more out of the car before using the frame to lift herself up.
    Sighing, he picked her up, cradling her in his arms, and carried her through the open door and went up the stairs.
    “Hey.” She bashed him on the chest. “I could have at least walked with the crutches to the stairs.”
    He shrugged. “It’s safer this way, and you’re supposed to be resting.”
    Alex sat her on the sofa in the lounge room. He walked back down the stairs and got her bag and crutches out of the car. He took them upstairs, placing them by the stairs to the upper level before going back down and shutting the joining garage door. He came back up, grabbed the crutches, and placed them beside Mia, then sat on a recliner next to her.
    She looked good in his home. Alex had never brought a woman to his house. It hadn’t felt right. This was his space, and he didn’t want just anyone invading it. Mia felt right in his home though. She felt right with him. He knew now as she sat looking around the lounge room that she was special to him. He’d never felt so drawn to a woman. Things had never felt so right.
    With Mia he could just sit and be . He didn’t have to entertain her or talk, and she didn’t talk nonstop like she felt the need to fill the silence. Alex thought it was important to be with someone who you could just ‘be’ with, that you didn’t have to go out to the movies, dinner, the park, and so on. Someone you could just sit and talk to or relax with and enjoy life. With Mia he had that. With her being in the hospital they hadn’t be able to all the usual dating things, but had enjoyed each other’s company. His parents and grandparents, as far back as he could remember, had all married the love of their lives, and Alex remembered his grandad saying to him, ‘you’ll know the woman is right, not only will she be all you think about, she will be the woman you can just sit with in the quiet and enjoying just being with each other’.
    Alex was almost forty and hadn’t had any of the symptoms his grandfather or father spoke of. His brother Chad had found the love of his life. Alex had fucked around but never settled down with anyone. He’d had friends with benefit, but never a relationship.
    “Cops must earn more than I thought.” Her voice had him giving himself a mental shake, and he turned to face her.
    “They don’t. Owen, my brother, he took over the family construction business. He turned it around to be quite profitable. Chad helped, and once he got some of his league friends to help with ads and other things the business grew. Chad and Lockie sold their share to Owen and me years ago. Owen does have a larger share, but he deserves it. He does all the work.”
    “Oh, um…well, from what I’ve seen your house is lovely.” She wiggled back on the sofa and he stood to help. “No, sit. You’ve done so much to help. Relax. I’m fine right here for a while if you turn the TV on.”
    Reaching over for the remotes on the coffee table, he sat them on her lap. “This one is cable, the other is for volume.” She nodded her understanding. “Do you want some water, snacks, or both?”
    “No. I’m fine, really. Sit, or go do something. I’m sure with you looking after Zane and me you’ve gotten nothing done on your vacation. You spent your first two and a half, almost three weeks in the hospital, when you weren’t with my son.”
    Alex sat back down in the recliner. Her bruises had healed. She still had some slight yellow to some of the ones that were really bad. She’d been given crutches to use, but with her leg in a cast Alex was worried if he left she’d hurt herself further