Stella is a character.
Quite a character, or that’ what Bill used to tell her. Before he died. Now, homeless and broke, the 40-something artist needs to start all over again. She raised Bill’s kid since the boy was twelve, but he took off the day he turned eighteen, and Stella has not seen him since. But this is still his home, if he wants it. The one thing for shit-sure, it’s not Stella’s home. Not anymore. After she leaves the little farm outside of Oakville, Ontario, Stella decides to return to the city that helped her become an artist – Toronto. Glen might be able to get some of her paintings into this gallery – if she had any. She’s got to find some place to hunker down for a while so she can set up her studio again. Then, after she’s sold a couple, it will smooth sailing right on ‘til destiny throws another loop at her.
Arriving in Toronto in the early hours of the morning, Stella is deep in thought, pondering her first move now that she’s back in the big city. She’s so engrossed in her reflection that she’s too late when she finally notices the light turning red at the intersection. Gunning it, she decides to peel through, after all, who would be out on the streets at three o’clock in the morning? When she hears a thump, she realizes someone must have been out. Stella has run over a man.
Registering that his leg is broken, and badly, Stella’s guilt leads her to drive him to Emergency. Then wait for him. Then…take him home. Where she plans on looking after him until he can heal…and she can paint a few best-sellers. But the man takes a little convincing.
Phillip is a sports reporter.
Never wanted to be anything else. He’s tall and athletic, and stoic and quiet. He loves his aging mother dearly and takes her to church every Sunday, never misses a one, even if he has to work all night. He takes his mother to church and lunch afterwards, even if there was a game the night before. Even if he’s had no sleep and has smoked an entire pack of Players, he still gets dressed up and picks Mom up for church. He loves her. And he loves God even more. He loves God, but he doesn’t think of himself as a church-fanatic, this is just the way he was raised. He’d love to go on a retreat one year, but right now, his church only offers that for couples. And…Phillip is single. There was a woman in his life once, early on, right after university. But when he found her in bed with not one, but two of his good friends only weeks before they were to be married, Phillip swore off women for the rest of his life. Sure, it’s been difficult, but he has his job and his love of sports to keep his mind busy. And church and Mom take up a lot of his time.
The morning he decided to pick up his dry-cleaning right after reporting the late hockey game and after party, he also chooses to run across the street before the light has completely changed. Who else would be out this early in the morning? They’ve got to be crazy. Like him.
Pain is searing through his leg as he lies in the street, having just been hit by a speeding car that he didn’t even see. Then a hand touches his shoulder, and he rolls his head back to look up into the eyes of what must be an angel, there to take him to heaven. What else could she be? She’s…beautiful.
Phillip has no idea what he’s in for when he agrees to allow Stella to care for him while his broken leg mends. The pushy woman, who looks to be five years his junior, starts by telling him what to do, in his own house! Then…she cleans it! Phillip does not care how good looking he thinks Stella is, she’s a woman. And that means, she’s bad news. And not the kind of news he likes to report.
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