“I spoke to a friend back home. I think I might be here longer than I initially figured. If that’s a problem—”
“No,” Kate says, cutting me off with a huge smile on her face.
“Good.” I nod my head before going back to eating. Everyone is quiet, and I think it’s because I’m out of my room and no one quite knows how to act around me.
I clear my throat, gaining everyone’s attention. “I plan to go out today and take care of a few things. I’m not sure how long I’ll be gone, but I don’t want you to worry like you did last time.” I was looking at Kate but I could feel Kiran’s eyes on me the whole time I spoke.
“Where are you going?” Kiran asks before Kate has the chance.
“Out. I have a few things I want to do. Nothing important.” I would leave her my cell number but I plan to get a new one today. Calling Manuel was a risk, one I don’t want to backfire on either of us.
“I can drive you,” Kiran says, causing all of our heads to turn toward him. “I don’t have anything going on today, anyway, and you don’t have a car,” he adds as though this makes complete sense.
“That’s okay. I don’t want to bother you,” I tell him.
“It’s no bother,” he immediately says. “It’s my day off and everyone I know in this town is sitting at this table, so you’ll be doing me a favor, letting me tag along.”
My eyes thin, I can’t tell if he’s being friendly or if this is his way of keeping an eye on me. “Well, it’s settled. Kiran will drive you wherever you want to go,” Gavin adds as he reaches over and squeezes Kate’s hand.
I nervously swallow and look over to Kiran to find him watching me. I’m still unclear what his motives are, but I don’t think it’s worth fighting about.
“Okay. We’ll go together.”
****
Kiran
“Wow. Cool car,” Belle says as we get into my cherry red Nissan 370Z. I look over at her as she takes in my car. “I have to say I’m surprised a car like this could impress you.” The second the words are out of my mouth, I regret them.
Belle shrugs. “Damian likes nice things but that doesn’t mean I don’t appreciate something when I see it,” she says with a small smile. Every time I think I have this girl figured out, she says or does something that surprises me. She grew up around money—a lot of money—but she doesn’t act like the rich girls I’ve met in the past.
Once we both get in the car, I ask her something I’ve been thinking about. “You call your dad by his first name?”
Belle exhales through a sigh and shrugs again. “There’s no pleasing you, is there?”
My brow scrunches and I start shaking my head. “No, I didn’t mean anything by asking, I swear.”
“I was kidnapped and raised in a drug cartel. Of course I grew up surrounded by money, but I’m not some high-class, uppity bitch who believes others are beneath me,” she casually says as if we’re talking about the weather and not a seriously fucked up situation.
I’m not sure what I should say, and truthfully, around Belle, I tend to say the wrong thing when I open my mouth. Therefore, I remain silent. Belle holds my stare until her shoulders finally sag.
“Until the day I discovered what my father did, I called him Daddy because that made him happy. He didn’t care if I was twenty years old, he still pictured me as a little girl and it was important to me at the time to make him happy. Now ...” She pauses and takes a deep breath. “Now, I don’t know what Damian is to me. He has Kate and ...” She turns away from me and looks out the window. We’re still in the garage so I know she’s not taking in the scenery. Instead of saying something more and risk pissing her off, I start the car and pull out onto the street.
“Where to?” I ask once we’re a few miles away from home. Belle turns toward me. “The mall.”
“The mall?” I repeat as my eyes widen. I haven’t even been to this mall and I can tell you for a fact that I hate it. Shopping, especially where there are hundreds of stores, is not my idea of a good time, but I signed up for this, which means I need to keep my mouth shut.
“Don’t worry. I won’t be there long,” she says, apparently picking up on my thoughts.
I pull into the only mall I’ve seen since I’ve moved to town and park.
“I shouldn’t be long. An hour. Two tops,” Belle says as she reaches for the door handle.
“Wait, I’m going with you,” I say, squaring my shoulders, ready for her to snap at me.
Her eyes narrow as her head tilts to the side. “Why did you offer to come with me today?” she questions, catching me off guard.
I watch her for a moment. “I like you, and I don’t want you wandering around the city all by yourself,” I tell her, which isn’t a complete lie.
Every time I’m around Belle, I like her more, and for some reason, I want to get to know her. But the truth of the matter is, neither Gavin nor I think it’s a good idea for her to wander around Denver alone. We have no idea what’s going on with her father, and until we do, we need to keep a close eye on things.
“You like me?” she repeats, sounding somewhat annoyed.
“Yes,” I say through a long exhale. “Look, I know I’ve come off as an asshole.” She smiles, probably remembering how she called me out on my bullshit. “But I’m not normally a jerk. When you asked me why I wasn’t working, your question hit a nerve and that’s on me, not you.”
Belle slowly nods her head. “Ready?” Just like that, all seems to be forgotten. I quickly jump out of my car when it’s clear she’s not waiting on me. Once we make it inside, Belle appears to be on a mission.
She turns into a large department store and doesn’t stop until she spots a rack of swimsuits. I watch in horror as she starts picking out some of the ugliest one-piece suits I’ve ever seen. I have no idea why she wouldn’t want to wear that scorching suit she had on the other day.
“Okay, I’m ready to pay.” Again, she’s managed to shock me. I can’t say I’ve ever gone shopping with a woman before, but I was expecting her to look at every damn swimming suit the store had before buying one, but that’s not the case.
“I need to go to a cell phone store.”
“Is your phone not working?” I question as her eyes darken. Kate mentioned earlier that Belle was in her room talking on a cell phone—something none of us knew she had.
Instead of answering me, Belle smiles and walks past me, not worrying in the slightest if I follow her. Like a dog on a leash, I trail next to her as she walks into a cell phone store where the salesman perks up the second he spots her.
“Can I help you?” he asks, eyeing her up and down.
“I hope so. I need a prepaid smartphone.”
The jerk smiles. “Then I can definitely help you,” he purrs, causing me to roll my eyes.
“I thought you had a phone,” I question in a tight voice.
“I did. I do, but I need another one,” Belle says before looking away from me.
I take a couple of strides until I’m standing next to her. “Why do you need another phone?”
Belle looks at me before she smirks. “Are you sure you want the answer to that? Because I might have to kill you afterward.” She tries to fight a smile, but she can’t stop herself from laughing. I guess I deserved that seeing as I’ve thrown out her past several times.
“I’ll take the latest iPhone prepaid for three months.” The salesman’s eyes widen. “That’s not going to be cheap,” he tells her.
“I’ll pay cash,” she counters.
“Certainly.” He watches her for a moment before he heads to the back of the store.
Belle turns toward me and looks at me. Her brown eyes are shining and when she finally breaks down and smiles, I swear I can feel it all the way down to my toes. My stomach turns and my mind starts racing. I swallow a few times, suddenly unsure of what I should say. I don’t do relationships, and even if I was ready to try, Belle is the very last person I should date.
Take away the fact that she doesn’t live anywhere close to Denver...hell, she doesn’t even live in the same country. She’s Kate’s family and Kate made it clear that Belle is off limits.
“White or black, Miss?” the man asks, breaking whatever spell Belle cast over me.
“White.” The salesman nods his head and winks at her, which causes her to giggle...to fucking giggle.
“Give me just a few seconds and I’ll have it ready for you.” Belle looks back at me and her smile fades. I know I can’t have her, but that doesn’t mean I’m okay watching this jackass flirt with her.
“I need to go to the bank next,” she says as she nervously chews on her bottom lip. The few times we’ve carried on a conversation, I’ve flipped from hot to cold on her, and I’m not about to do that now.
“Okay. Which bank?”
Belle wrinkles her nose before she shrugs. “I don’t know. Whatever bank is closest.” I open my mouth to question her when the salesman returns with her phone.
“Here you go.” He pushes a card in front of her. “I wrote down your new number on this.” Belle picks up the card before her eyes flash back to the salesman.
“The top one is yours, the bottom one is mine,” he says before giving her a heated smile, one I know all too well.
“Oh, thank you. I don’t know how long I’ll be in town but—” Belle looks down at the card “—Jared. You might hear from me.” The douchebag’s face lights up.
“How about I save you the call and I’ll pick you up tonight for dinner?” Before Belle can answer, a growl escapes my throat, causing both of them to look at me.
“We have to go,” I snap before grabbing Belle’s hand.
“Oh God. I’m sorry. I didn’t realize you had a boyfriend.” The man’s comment causes Belle to pull away from me.
“He’s not my boyfriend.” She smiles at him the same way she smiled at me minutes before. Although her words might be true, it sends a jolt of anger through my veins. For the first time in my life, I wish I were something more to a woman than I actually am.
“Then I can’t wait to take you out.” I swallow down my need to punch this prick in the face so Belle knows exactly what a tool he is.
“I better go, but hopefully I hear from you soon.” She gives him another smile before she takes a step closer to me. I wait until she walks past me before I give the guy a look that causes his smile to vanish.
I run to catch up with Belle when she stops at a small bank branch near the food court. Seeing as she had no idea what bank she needed, I can’t figure out what she plans to do.
“I shouldn’t be long,” she says, clearly dismissing me.
I stand around while Belle starts talking to a woman before the two of them walk off to an office and close the door.
I wander over to an empty bench and take a seat. This woman is officially jacking with my head. I run my hands over my face, trying my best to shake off this strange feeling.
I fuck women, I don’t date them, but even as that thought pops into my head, I feel the dread that comes with it. My mother made it her job to make my father miserable, even if she was justified in doing so. I’ve made it my mission in life to not be like my father or to end up with a woman like my mother. The only way I know how to accomplish that is to avoid relationships altogether. Long before Belle arrived, that plan had backfired one too many times.
Feeling restless, I get up and walk around the food court. By the time I make it back to the bench where I was sitting, I see the bank teller that helped Belle but no Belle. I push open the door. “Excuse me. Is Be—” I stop, wondering if she used her real name for whatever she came here to do. “The blonde that was just in here, did she leave?”
“Yes, a few minutes ago.”
“Thank you.” I walk back out and start searching for her. As I lap around the food court for the second time, I slowly start to panic. Where in the world could she have gone?
I wish I could call her, but I never asked her for her number. Instead, I continue pacing around, looking like a man who’s lost his child.
When a half an hour has elapsed, I pull out my phone and call Gavin.
“Yo, what’s up?” he questions.
“I lost Belle,” I reply.
“You what?” His carefree tone vanishes.
“You heard me. I lost her, man,” I repeat, practically shouting.
“Did she take off?” I groan. “No, I don’t think so. Fuck! She was here one minute then gone the next.”
“That doesn’t tell me shit, dude,” Gavin roars in my ear about the same time I hear her voice behind me.
“I’m right here. You can tell Gavin I’m safe and sound.” I turn around as her annoyed voice washes over me. After a quick glance, I’d say she’s mad, and judging by the way she’s suspiciously looking at me, I think mad might be an understatement.
“Never mind. She’s back,” I tell Gavin as relief courses through me.
“If you can’t handle following her around a mall without losing her, maybe you should bring her back to the house.” Before I have the chance to say anything to either of them, Belle starts walking to the main entrance, lugging a large bag with her.
“Fuck off. We’ll be home soon and if that changes I’ll text you,” I disconnect the call and start running after Belle.
“Where the hell did you go?” I question when I catch up with her. My hand naturally reaches out for her bag. I almost drop it, not expecting it to be as heavy as it is. “Holy shit. What’s in here?”
“Don’t worry. It’s just a computer. I don’t like to walk around the mall with dead bodies.”
In the phone store, her comment felt like a joke, but this time, there’s no laughter in her voice.
“What the hell has gotten into you?” I question as she stops walking and turns back to me.
“I didn’t know you were required to report my every move to your buddy. I thought ...” she trails off. She seems sad rather than mad. “I’m sorry, okay. I’m sorry that Kate’s life has collided with Damian’s. I’m sorry that you and your friends are starting over and my baggage showed up at your door. I’m sorry that you had to waste your day babysitting me.” Watching her fight back her emotions is almost painful.
“If you want the God’s honest truth, I’d rather be anywhere in the world other than living with Damian’s real daughter.” A tear forms but she quickly brushes it away.
“I didn’t mean—”
“Would you please just take me back to Kate’s now?” Without looking at me, she starts walking toward my car.
Shit, even when I’m not trying to be an asshole, I still manage to piss her off.