Page 43 of Ruthless Protector

This wasn’t over.

10

Willa

“Raul’s really running with the pink thing, huh?” Fay said from behind her sewing machine.

“Oh yeah.” I did up my shorts and yanked on my t-shirt. “He most definitely is,” I said, and I knew my lack of enthusiasm for my new name, my “brand,” was showing on my face. Raul was even paying the cost to keep my hair pink. I handed her back the dress she’d made me, so she could add her finishing touches.

Fay took it from me and chuckled. “He tells me you’re doing great, that you’re becoming a bit of an attraction.”

Plonking down in the seat beside her, I stole the last oatmeal raisin cookie and took a bite. “I couldn’t tell you why. My dancing still sucks.” I slumped back. “Whatever, I’m making good money. If guys want to see me gyrate awkwardly around a stage and throw money at me, who am I to argue?”

One good thing had happened recently, though. I’d mentioned to Steph that I could do hair. She’d asked me to cut hers, and loved it. Now several of the other girls wanted me to do theirs as well.

A soft smile curled her lips. “You’re too hard on yourself. Raul says your dancing is good. Maybe not as good as some, but he thinks you’ve got something, something unique, something special. A presence on stage that has them coming back for more.”

I stared at her in shock. “Raul said that?”

She shrugged. “We talk.”

I studied her while I nibbled my cookie. Fay may be in her early sixties, but she was hot. Today, she had her long, thick wavy hair down, a little pulled back at the top. There was a touch of makeup to enhance her fine features, and she was wearing a long flowing white hippie-style skirt and a faded Pink Floyd t-shirt that hung off one shoulder and was knotted at her hip. Fay looked stunning, and she was also the coolest person I knew. She was total rock and roll. Foul-mouthed, and could make me laugh so hard I was close to peeing my pants. But there was something fragile about her that I’d recognized the moment we met. Pain. The kind of pain that marked you, that altered you.

It made me sad that she’d had that in her life. Fay was vibrant, vivacious, one of the most generous women I knew, and she deserved to be happy. I wanted her to be happy.

“You and Raul…are you…” Her head lifted, her eyes sharpening. “More than friends?”

She stood so fast, her chair scraped against the kitchen floor in way I was sure would leave gouges.

Shit. I’d offended her. “Fay…I never meant…”

“Raul’s my brother-in-law,” she said tightly. “So if you mean family? Then yes, of course we’re more than friends. I was married to his brother. A man that I loved dearly. That you would even think…I’d never betray Mateo like that. Never.” Then she turned her back on me and started moving things around her kitchen counter.

The last thing in the world I’d want to do was upset her. Fay had been there for me since I moved next door, she was the only person I could totally rely on, the only person I trusted with Tilly. She’d become my best friend. “I never meant to imply…I made assumptions.” I stood and moved to the counter, leaning against it. “I’m so sorry, Fay.”

She brushed a loose strand of black and silver hair back from her face. “No.” She shook her head. “I…I overreacted. I’m sorry, let’s just…”

The rumbling growl of an engine came from outside, an engine I knew well.

We both headed to the living room and watched as Jude shut the bike off. He was wearing black boots, worn jeans that hugged his ass, a black t-shirt that clung to his chest, and his leather jacket. His hair was windblown, like I imagined it looked in the morning. He looked hot. Better than any man had a right to.

He swung his leg over the seat, slid off his shades, and looked up, his gaze moving over my place.

Shit.

“Looks like you have a visitor,” Fay said, smirking.

I swallowed, my mouth suddenly dry. I hadn’t seen him in four days. Not since we were interrupted by Fay and Tilly. After we’d nearly…I’d nearly let him…

I watched as he removed a large duffle strapped to the back of his bike, bypass the steps to my place, and head for the apartment below mine.

“What in the hell?”

He unlocked the door and walked inside.

“You better go see what’s going on,” Fay said, bumping her hip against mine.

“I don’t want to,” I muttered.