Chapter 4

04

He wasn't the greasy type I'd braced for, and there was none of that worn-out slump you'd expect from a man near forty.

His skin was burned dark by sea wind, his features sharp and clean-cut, his eyes deep and steady.

He wore a plain navy uniform, the collar open, and everything about him carried the hard, grounded quality of a man tempered by open water and rough weather.

"Hello. I'm Stewart Delgado." His voice came low through the phone speaker, a little rough, but even.

Outside the door, Morgan was still cursing at the top of his lungs, kicking hard at the wood.

Stewart clearly heard it. His brow drew together for a moment, but he didn't ask what's going on over there. He just said, plainly, "Ms. Fox, if this is a bad time, we can talk another day."

"No need." I tried to keep the shake out of my voice. "This is fine. Mr. Delgado, I'll be straight with you. The matchmaker's probably told you everything already. I'm divorced, I don't have a job, I have a five-year-old daughter, and she's not well. She needs medicine and treatment year-round. And right now, standing outside my door, is my ex-husband, who could lose it and come after money at any second."

I laid out every worst card I had in one breath. I didn't want to dress it up, and I couldn't have kept it up anyway.

In the kitchen, Aunt Diane was stamping her feet, hissing at me under her breath. "You've got no sense at all! Who spills all their own dirty laundry the second a match starts!"

I ignored her. I just kept my eyes fixed on Stewart's face on the screen, waiting for disgust, for him to pull back, or for that look of pity from up high.

But none of it came. Stewart listened quietly until I finished, not a ripple in his eyes, and gave a small, serious nod.

"I know your situation." His tone stayed level. "Ms. Fox, you've been honest with me, so I'll be direct too."

He looked into the camera, his gaze so sincere it caught me off guard. "I'm not good with pretty words. This job of mine pays well, but I've traded my life for it. Once I'm out at sea, it's three years at a stretch. In those three years, if something enormous happens at home, I still can't come back. To be honest, that's selfish."

I froze for a second. I'd expected him to be like the relatives said, a man who thought money made him king. I never thought his first words would be turning the blame on himself.

"I know that leaving a woman to hold up a whole household alone for three years, to look after the elderly, to deal with everything that comes up, is deeply unfair to a wife. It's not much different from being widowed."

Stewart went on, a trace of helplessness in his voice. "That's why I'm thirty-six and still not married. I don't want to buy a woman's youth with money and then trap her at home to suffer for it."

His words brought a sudden heat to my eyes.

"But right now, I have to get married." His tone turned serious. "My parents are getting old, and their health keeps slipping. Their biggest wish is to see me settle down. And I need someone who can help look in on them while I'm at sea."

He paused, looking at me. "Ms. Fox, I see the corner you're backed into. I can provide financial security. You need money to cure your daughter and to get free of your ex-husband. That's fair."

"If you think it's worth considering," Stewart said, his eyes turning sharp, "have all the relatives around you step out. Let's talk about the terms of the marriage alone."