Chance of Love

Chapter 9

The next morning, Mark made Amanda a huge breakfast while she sat at the dining room table and opened her stack of mail. Her bills had piled up while she had been in the hospital. Her savings would take care of most of them, but she wouldn't have much left to survive on for the rest of the summer.

"Your breakfast is served, madam," Mark said playfully, setting a plate full of French toast in front of her with a flourish.

"Oh, Mark!" she exclaimed. "That's my favourite! You shouldn't have gone to so much trouble."

"You're worth it, sweetheart," he murmured, bending down and kissing her on the cheek. "Now eat it up before it gets cold."

Amanda's cheeks felt warm with her sudden blush, but she suddenly realized how hungry she was. Mark brought his own plate of food to the table and they ate in companionable silence.

"This is great," Amanda said, hardly stopping in between mouthfuls.

"I wish I could take all the credit, but I sponged the recipe off your dad," Mark replied, gloating.

"My dad?" she asked stupendously. "He never gives out his recipes."

Mark sniffed with superiority. "Well, he gave it to me."

Amanda laughed as she put another forkful into her mouth.

A few minutes later, Mark asked, "This feels good, doesn't it?"

"What?" she asked. "Eating French toast? It's always good no matter when you eat it."

"No, silly," Mark replied. "I meant you and me eating breakfast together. I could get used to this."

She blushed, not wanting to admit how much she wanted the same thing.

"I could get used to it, too," she admitted, blushing further.

As Mark finished his French toast, he said, "So, why don't we make it permanent? I could move in with you or you could move in with me at my place."

Suddenly shocked, Amanda put down her fork.

"What?!?" she uttered in disbelief. "You want to move in together?"

Mark shrugged as though they were discussing their weekend plans.

"Sure, why not?" he reasoned. "We both know what we want. Why live apart when we both want to be together? I don't mind selling my place if you would rather buy something else."

"But I don't have a job," she stated. "I'll barely be able to pay my rent much less make a mortgage payment."

Mark took her hand in his and gently caressed her with his thumb. She was starting to feel lightheaded again.

"Don't worry about money, Amanda," he said sincerely. "Let me take care of you for a while. You'll get another job eventually, but for right now, why don't you give your landlord notice and move in with me until we can figure out something else?"

Amanda looked down at their joined hands. She never thought she would live with a man before marriage. She had always valued her hard-won independence. But times were changing. She no longer had the luxury to afford her old-fashioned principles.

After a moment, she said, "I guess...it makes more sense for me to move in with you, since you're the one with a mortgage and I'm only renting this place."

"If you need more time to think about it, I understand," Mark stated, squeezing her hand for emphasis.

"No, you're right," she replied. "There's no use wasting my money on rent when I could be helping you out instead. You have to let me contribute somehow. My pride won't allow anything less."