Total pages in book: 118
Estimated words: 110859 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 554(@200wpm)___ 443(@250wpm)___ 370(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 110859 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 554(@200wpm)___ 443(@250wpm)___ 370(@300wpm)
“No.” She couldn’t let him see the shelter and she needed to visit Pearl again. “Thank you, but I prefer to walk.”
“Then I believe I’ve given you enough to think about until tomorrow. Monday evening I have a benefit at the Westchester Museum of Natural Art. I’d like you to be my guest. Think about my offer and have an answer for me by tomorrow.”
His dismissal was jarring. Was she still expected to finish her shift or did he expect her to clean his suite the next day?
“Would you like me to freshen your bed before I go?”
She regretted her words the moment they fully left her mouth.
“That does sound delightful,” he purred. “But unfortunately I must be going. I think I can manage until tomorrow, but I’ll expect you to tend to my needs first thing. I don’t like coming second unless the foreplay’s truly worth it.”
She stood and picked up her supply bag. He stood as well, engulfing her and the surrounding space with his size. At her cart she stowed the bag on the bottom shelf.
“Your flowers,” she said, picking up the large arrangement and turning. Scout stopped abruptly, nearly smashing the flowers into his chest. He was right behind her.
His hand reached out and Scout’s breathing stilled as he ran his thumb over her lower lip. “I can’t seem to decide,” he said softly, “if your eyes are blue or silver. They remind me of the sky, blue at first glance, but really some unnamable color made purely of reflections. They remind me of diamonds.”
Mumbling a thank-you for the compliment, which he, in turn, thanked her for, her lashes lowered, breaking the spell, and he stepped away. She placed the arrangement on the sideboard and removed the wilting centerpiece from the week before. Scout was very aware of him watching her as she moved the bowl of fresh citrus to the bar.
He held the door as she backed the cart to the elevator, and he obligingly pressed the button. She couldn’t bring herself to look at him again until the split second before the gilded glass doors closed between them. His expression was blank, but his eyes held a glint of promise. She knew in that moment she’d never leave this man’s presence unscathed.
Chapter 5
Second Thoughts
By the time Scout’s feet dragged through the door of St. Christopher’s that night, her head was still out of sorts. Pearl had been stoned out of her mind and was barely able to speak when she arrived. Her mother rested naked on her makeshift pallet, not thinking clearly. After Scout had settled her a bit, she bathed her as best she could with the bottle of rainwater she’d collected, and cried.
Tracks from shooting up had disfigured her mother’s flesh permanently. Her eyes were unfocused and as Scout tended to her needs, her mother told her about her beautiful daughter, Evelyn, who hadn’t come to visit in a while. Some days she wondered why she didn’t just let her go and save herself the torture of watching her mother slowly kill herself.
By curfew Scout was nothing more than a rundown body needing a long night’s rest. Parker wasn’t waiting for her tonight. No, he’d already be inside eating. She’d missed supper. Luckily her belly was still full from the lunch Mr. Patras provided. Lucian Patras was an entire other issue her mind was too exhausted to think about.
Wearily, her feet trudged the church steps. When she reached the basement, the dining hall was empty. Sighing, she turned and headed back outside to the school.
“Hey.”
Scout started as Parker suddenly jumped in step beside her. “Hey,” she replied wearily.
“I thought you were coming here after work so we could visit Pearl together.”
Shit. She'd totally forgotten he'd said he'd go with her. Made no difference anyway. If Pearl couldn’t recognize her, her own daughter, she certainly wouldn’t have recognized Parker.
“I’m sorry, Parker. I totally forgot.”
“Hey.” He frowned and pulled her to the side of the hall. “What’s up? You look upset.”
Scout hadn’t realized how close to tears she was. “It’s nothing. She was just really bad today. She didn’t recognize me, and she was covered in her own filth. Probably some of someone else’s too. I couldn’t leave her that way.”
A jerky gasp filled her lungs and she pressed her lips tight, refusing to cry in front of him.
Parker looked at her, not with pity, but the true understanding of a friend. Without promising something he couldn’t guarantee, he did the only thing he could do to help. He pulled her into his arms and hugged her tight.
Scout leaned into his strong form and shut her eyes. Besides Pearl, Parker was the only person she ever let touch her, and even that was a rare occurrence. His arms wrapped around her and he whispered, “I’m sorry, Scout.”