Page 84 of The Damaged Billionaire's Obsession
“Ethan? Does light bother you?”
I look back at her. She's noticed. Or maybe Sabrina has mentioned something to her. “A little.”
A lot, actually. The brighter the light, the poorer my vision.
“I thought you were short-sighted.”
I shake my head but don’t say anything.
“Oh? So, what do the glasses do then?”
“They filter out certain aspects of light so I can see better. But if it was dark, I wouldn't need them.”
“How about just getting laser eye treatment?”
I watch her expression carefully wondering why she keeps asking me to get the treatment. She's open and curious. “Do men in glasses turn you off?”
Her cheeks turn pink. “Me? Um, well, my opinion doesn’t matter, does it? You’re not my man.”
“Sure, Bonnie. Whatever you say.” I smirk.
I wonder if she has any idea that she crossed a line no woman has ever even come close to crossing when she showed up half-frozen at midnight because she needed my comfort.
“Well?” she prompts when I don’t answer her question.
“Laser eye surgery wouldn’t help my condition. It’s called Hemeralopia, by the way. Being able to see better in the dark.”
“How did you get it? And is there a cure?”
I pause, debating if to tell her and how she would take it. I decide to take my chances and answer her truthfully.
“I was born with something called cone dystrophy. It’s one of those rare causes of hemeralopia. There's no cure."
"Really?" I feel her small hand on mine and I turn my palm over and interlock our fingers. The small gesture warms me to no end.
"None. But there’s strong evidence that stem cell therapy could reverse some damage, but it’s not something I’m willing to consider.”
“But, why not?” she asks.
I look into her eyes when I answer. “The same reason why I hate clutter. I need to have control all the time, and I wouldn't under a doctor's knife." Or more accurately his needle inside my eye.
“Is that it?" She sounds relieved
"Were you expecting another reason?
"Well, I thought you maybe had Aspergers.”
I burst out laughing, thinking she’s joking.
“No, seriously. I even entertained the possibility of you being a vampire at some point.”
Oh no, not Bonnie too. “Please, for the love of God do not tell me you’re a Twilight fan.”
Ingrid and her girls still have a sickening addiction to the vampire series. Ingrid is usually outnumbered on our mandatory once-a-month movie night, but on the rare occasion that any of her girls happen to be around, guess what we're watching again?
She pulls her lower lip between her teeth. “I should probably confess at this point that last year, I started to build a fan website for Twilight trivia.”
“Jesus!”