Page 25 of Spark
“I don’t know you, and the cops didn’t hurt me, but they knew what was happening at that club. They wouldn’t have done anything to protect me even if I’d asked them to. In the end it was Heather who helped me get away.”
“Heather?” I ask.
“She ran the club. She gave me a job when I needed one, and even though I made her a lot of money, she kept me safe the best she could. When Benito tried to force me to let the patrons do more than just look, she distracted him and gave me a chance to run. I don’t really know what would have happened if she hadn’t been there.”
“Have you kept in touch?”
She shakes her head.
“I’m sorry, amore mio. She sounds like she did her best to take care of you.”
Her shrug is heartbreaking. “What does ‘amore mio’ mean?”
“It’s something my dad used to say to my mom,” I tell her, avoiding admitting what the words translate to. My dad’s family was Italian, and he was bilingual. He rarely spoke the language unless he was particularly worked up, then he’d blurt angry rants in a language only he understood. But whenever he wasbeing cute with my mom, he’d whisper Italian words of love into her ear.
“I know Cora mentioned coming down to see you today, but would you like to walk over to her place instead? It’s not far, just over the brow of the hill. The Barnetts are a little chaotic, but they’re good people. I think meeting them and knowing that they’re close will make you feel a little more comfortable here.”
“Do you think she’ll mind us just showing up?” she asks.
“No.” I laugh. “She won’t mind. But you could always text her and let her know if that would make you feel better.”
“I…” Her cheeks turn pink. “I don’t have a cell.”
Not wanting to embarrass her, I take my cell from my pocket and pull up Cora’s number, putting it on speakerphone, I hit dial then offer it to Verity.
“Hey, Warrick,” I hear Cora answer.
“Oh. It’s actually Verity.”
“Oh yay. I was hoping you would text or something. Are you still okay with me coming to meet you?” Cora asks.
“That’s actually why I’m calling. Warrick suggested that we walk up to your place, but I don’t want to just show up uninvited,” Verity says, her discomfort evident.
Reaching out, I take her hand in mine and feel some of her tension fade away.
“You should definitely do that, because I know I said I wanted to get out of the house, but my feet are killing me, so I was going to have to let Huck drive us over in the golf cart, and I refuse to give him the satisfaction of being right about me being too pregnant to walk,” Cora says. “Come on over whenever you’re ready. No one sleeps in this house, so we’re all up already.”
Ending the call, Verity hands my cell back to me, and I silently question if I can order her a new cell under the guise of safety or if she’ll think I’m overstepping, considering she’salready questioning my motives. Once she’s mine, I’ll just tell her she’s using it without giving her a choice, but we’re not there yet.
“Shall we head over?” I ask.
Verity nods, then glances down at her clothes. She’s wearing the same baggy shirt and shorts she’d been wearing yesterday while she was volunteering. Her hair is braided down her back, and she’s only missing the cap that hid her face from me the first time I saw her.
“I should get changed?” she says, as much of a question as it is a statement.
“You look fine to me, but I can wait if you want to,” I tell her.
“I’ll be right back,” she says, ripping her hand from mine as she pushes to her feet and darts up the stairs. She comes back down less than two minutes later in a pale blue sundress, and my dick surges to life as I take her in. The dress is modest but pretty. It has thick straps, covers her chest, and the hem ends just below her knee, but the fabric is just sheer enough that I can make out a hint of her underwear as the sunlight hits it.
If we were going anywhere but the Barnetts’, I’d tell her to change, but none of the men in that house will be looking at her, because they have their own women to ogle. They won’t be interested in mine.
“That’s a really pretty dress, amore mio.”
“Thank you,” she says shyly.
“Are you ready to go?”
At her nod, I stand up and hold out my hand to her. Without giving it much thought, she places her palm on top of mine, and I smile to myself as I lead her out of the house and up the hill toward the Barnetts’ place.
