Unlovable

Chapter Seven: Beautiful

Darcie walked into the living room a few minutes later, her arms still crossed protectively against her chest. Roger sat on the couch, a manila folder nestled in his lap and a half smile on his face.

She returned his smile briefly before taking the seat across from him on the rickety old chair. Roger's heart skipped at her slight grin and he asked himself what that might mean. He was obviously attracted to her. Any man with eyes would be. But there was something else there when he looked at her, an overprotectiveness that he'd never felt before.

It had been a long time since he was so fascinated with someone. Maybe he never was. He chuckled out loud, wondering if he had ever seen someone so beautiful.

Darcie fidgeted with her hands, the silence making her uncomfortable. When Roger began to laugh lightly, she tilted her head to the side in confusion.

"I must've missed something. Did I do something funny?" she asked uncertainly.

Roger took a deep breath, telling himself to focus on the situation at hand, and not the appeal of the woman in front of him.

"I apologize, Diane," he said with the hint of a smile still fresh on his lips. "I can call you Diane, right?"

"Of course," Darcie replied as her mother's name echoed in her ears.

"I'd like to be honest with you, but I'm not sure if I should."

"I wouldn't have asked if I didn't want to know the answer," she mumbled, still not quite ready to look into his face, or into his eyes that seemed to see too much of who she was with just a glance.

Roger debated with himself silently a moment before lifting his eyes to her face and beaming another wonderful, sincere smile at her, even though she wasn't looking at him to see it herself.

"It's just that..." Roger paused, waiting for her to lift her eyes from the floor and to his face.

When she finally did, Roger's carefree smile dissipated.

"I didn't expect you to be so beautiful," he said with the utmost sincerity.

The compliment took her off guard. Shock was clear on her face, her eyes furrowed in confusion. She had never met this man, spoken to him just the once on the phone, and now he was telling her that she was beautiful? She didn't know how to respond to that, so she didn't.

Darcie wrapped her arms around herself, one hand resting on the thigh of her jeans. Roger reached out and touched the hand that rested on her leg. Her eyes shot down to the contact and she pulled her hand back as if he'd burnt her with a touch.

"Listen, Diane. I'm sorry if I offended you or made you uncomfortable. It wasn't my intention."

Darcie shook her head, her eyes on the blue denim of her lap. Suddenly, she felt like a foolish child. The man was clearly just trying to be nice, and she was recoiling away from him as if he were the devil himself.

Darcie forced herself to raise her gaze to him, doing her best to force a smile.

"No, I'm sorry, Mr. Reynolds..."

"Roger," he interrupted.

"Roger... I don't mean to seem so..."

Darcie couldn't seem to find the right words, so Roger stepped in to finish her thought.

"Frightened?" he inquired.

Darcie pressed her lips together and nodded.

"I guess it's just been a long few days. I'm a little on edge."