CHAPTER 28
Emma
The knock on my door startled me, and I bit my lip, smothering a smile as I wondered if it was Krusk. I hadn’t heard from him all evening and I was so used to seeing him now that I felt jittery not knowing where he was.
It was so odd. We were just friends after all. I ignored the scoff that sounded in my head, beelining toward the door and pretending that I wasn’t ecstatic to see him. Looking out of the peephole, though, I frowned.
A tall, beautiful female stood there in a fitted suit that accentuated her every curve and a crimson smile on her lips.
She was looking around, and I felt heat flood my cheeks.
This gorgeous, sophisticated female was standing in my shitty old apartment building and was probably ogled the entire way up by the ne’er-do-wells that frequented the stairwells.
I was fairly certain they didn’t actually live here, but I’d never stopped to talk to them or anything, so I couldn’t confirm. The one time I’d tried to file a complaint about loitering to my superintendent, he’d asked me what I’d be giving him to deal with the problem.
The way his eyes had skimmed up and down my body had been enough to relay the message he was trying to give me. I’d given them all a wide berth after that and kept to myself. This was the only place I could afford and I’d installed a cheap security system and extra lock on my door in case.
I was certain the door addition would mean that my skeevy superintendent would be keeping my deposit, but now that I had some money in the bank, I was less worried about it. Glancing down at my outfit that screamed second hand, I cleared my throat, opening the door with a wide smile.
“Hi, there,” she said, her voice clear and beautiful.
A siren, then.
“Are you Emma?” she asked, tilting her head at me, but her expression was curious, not judgmental.
“Yes,” I responded, uncertainty lacing my tone.
“Good,” she laughed, reaching out to take my hand and placing a key fob in it. “I was worried I had the wrong address. I was certain Krusk would kill me if I did. I’m Molpe.”
“Krusk?” I asked, staring down at the fob even as every muscle in my body stiffened. How did this gorgeous female know my male?
Even as I had the thought, my brain tried to correct me.
Not our male.
But my body, my mind, and my heart weren’t listening to our bullshit.
“Yes, Mr. Everlock was kind enough to purchase a new car for you and he wanted to make sure that a female Sales Associate dealt with you,” she explained, winking at me. “And I totally get it. You’re gorgeous. I wouldn’t want any of those guys around you either.”
I blinked at her, not sure what to say, but she hiked a thumb behind her.
“Did you want me to give you the rundown? He got all of the upgrades and everything’s pretty intuitive, but just in case, I like to do a test run with our clients.
Especially the ones who pay premium to have it rushed,” she added, with another wink.
Holy shit, holy shit, holy shit.
“A… car?” I gasped, shaking my head at her. “That can’t be right.”
She frowned, tilting her head at me before her eyes cleared and she glanced around the hallway.
Nodding, she leaned forward, conspiratorially.
“New rich orcfriend?” she asked, with a grin.
“Don’t even worry about it. These guys spend crazy money on their mates.
I just fulfilled an order for an orc who owns a construction business up north.
I assume he was on the outs and it was an apology car, because she sent it right back, but—”
As the word mates penetrated my mind, it was as if her words trailed off into the ether. I couldn’t hear a single thing after that. There was no, single, possible, way that I was Krusk’s mate.
That was too much. Too real. All too soon. Shaking my head with a firm movement that startled the gorgeous female in front of me, I held my hand out.
“No, it’s okay. Krusk is just a friend, but he found out about my…
situation, I guess,” I responded, glancing around the corridor again and looking at it through her eyes.
Dingy, stained carpet, chipping paint and severely scuffed doors.
One of the numbers had fallen off of mine and it was a small miracle that she’d found me in the first place.
Swallowing hard, shame coated my insides and I wanted to sink into a puddle on the floor. “He’s just a nice guy,” I whispered, and I fought hard against the tears that were pooling in my eyes.
She narrowed her eyes at me and gave a firm shake of her head. “Oh no, you don’t,” she said, her voice like the crack of a whip. It shocked me enough that it stopped the tears that had been preparing to fall.
Suddenly, there was a finger in my face. “Don’t you even dare feel bad about living here.”
I blinked at her, my jaw dropped open, but she shooed me into my own apartment before closing the door and leaning against it. She crossed her arms, enhancing the amazing cleavage she sported, and released a long breath.
“If you think that I never lived in a place that looks exactly like this, then you’re damn wrong.
But once in a while, you need help and you can’t be too stubborn or too stupid to accept it,” she blurted, her words soft but stern.
“But he clearly has feelings for you and wants to help. If you’re the nice girl you seem to be, then sit him down, have a clear conversation about where you’re at and then see where things go.
You’ll never know unless you take the chance. ”
I swallowed hard as I licked my lips. “He keeps doing so much for me. And I… I really like him,” I admit, the words catching in my throat, because they weren’t the whole truth, before continuing, “but… I’m scared I’m letting him do too much.”
Her smile softened. “Sounds like a good problem to have,” she whispered, as if we were sharing a secret.
I laughed nervously. “You could definitely say that. It’s just… he’s always trying to fix things for me, make my life easier. And I… feel so much for him. I do. I just don’t want to end up taking advantage of him without realizing it.”
Her smile widened to a grin. “I know his clan, and he’s a good egg,” she explained, with a shrug. “That’s actually a really good fear to have. It means you care about him—not just the comfort he gives you.”
The fear clogging my throat almost didn’t let me speak. I was feeling things that were so far away from my norm—so earth-shatteringly real—that I didn’t know what to do. “I guess. But how do you tell where feelings end and dependence begins?”
I’d been through that before with my father, and I’d learned the hard way that when the support was pulled out from under you, you could crash hard into the concrete floor.
She hummed, thinking for a moment before she responded. “You look at effort. If he’s giving and you’re giving, too—not just gifts or help, but time, honesty, care—that’s balance. Love isn’t measured in favors, it’s in how equally both people show up.”
I didn’t comment on the word she was using.
The L-word that I was pretending I wasn’t feeling.
“Sometimes I feel guilty saying no when he offers something. It just looks like it hurts him, too. But I can’t…
I can’t be that way with him. I don’t know if I can give him what he wants.
He says it’s okay to be friends, but I’m not sure if that’s really enough for him. ”
She crossed her arms, giving a thoughtful nod while we stood there in the dingy apartment staring at each other and having what felt like the deepest, most genuine conversation I’d ever had since my father passed.
“If he’s telling you that he just wants you in his life, then take him at his word at first. Then maybe try saying “thank you” with something that gives back—even if it’s small.
Cook for him, write him a note, listen when he’s tired.
It doesn’t have to be grand. Just let him know his care isn’t a one-way street.
But don’t give him false hope either. Give him your truth.
If you can’t do it, don’t keep stringing him along, okay? ”
I nodded, taking a deep breath and releasing it slowly, some of the panic in my chest leaving with it. “That makes sense. I just don’t want him to think I want to be friends with him because of what he does for me. I… he deserves more than that.”
She beamed at me. “Then tell him that. People who love honestly can handle honesty in return. Take care of each other and you’ll be fine.”
I swiped at the tear that leaked down my cheek. “You give good advice for a stranger bringing me a car,” I told her with a laugh.
She pursed her lips before admitting, “I got help, too,” with a sheepish smile.
“And I never regretted it.” She flashed the shiny ring on her finger and my eyes widened with understanding.
“He’s a good male. Just like mine. See where things go.
Don’t shut him down because you think he wants something back for what he’s giving you.
I know those kinds of males. He’s not one of them. ”
Swiping at the tear that fell down her cheek, she sniffled. “And now that we’ve sobbed all over each other, do you want to go see your new car?”
The laugh that left me was still a bit too wet for my peace of mind, so I nodded. “Yes, thanks.”
Her smile grew warmer. “Good. You’ll love all the features.”
My eyes went huge as we made our way down the chipped front stairs of my apartment building. Parked at the curb was the most ridiculous, beautiful car I’d ever seen. It was the kind of car that looked like it should come with a bodyguard and a theme song.
It was sleek midnight green, and the paint shimmered with a faint bronze undertone, like it couldn’t decide whether it wanted to be elegant or dangerous.
“The Thunderhoof Luxe 9000 Hybrid,” Molpe announced proudly, shimmying her shoulders a little.
“Top of the line. As I mentioned, it has all the upgrades. And all of the safety features,” she added quickly, as if that was what mattered most to me instead of, say, the fact that the thing looked capable of outracing a dragon.
“He was very clear that your safety came first.”
I circled it slowly, pretending to inspect the details while secretly trying not to hyperventilate. The interior was all leather and stitched runes—just like his. The kind of craftsmanship that whispered, expensive.
I listened to Molpe give her pitch about the car in the background while admiring it.
The moon roof could apparently filter in starlight on command—because of course it could—and when I slid into the driver’s seat—because I just couldn’t help myself—it automatically adjusted to my height and posture, humming politely as if it approved of me.
“This is… wow,” I whispered, because my brain had temporarily short-circuited.
The dashboard came alive with a soft chime. “Hello, Emma,” said a smooth, flirtatious voice. “I’m Trixie. Krusk has programmed me to play romantic music when you’re angry.”
I shot Molpe a look when she smothered a snorted laugh. “He said you might be angry when you get this,” she explained.
I laughed, and just like that, the ridiculousness of it all melted into something warm. It wasn’t just a car. It was Krusk trying—really trying—to speak my language, even if he did it in horsepower. Because he wanted to help me.
I’d known that he was worried about me getting to and from my grandma, but I hadn’t expected this at all. He wasn’t trying to impress me. He just wanted to give me what he thought I needed. A lone tear slipped down my cheek and I swiped at it while Molpe looked away.
The siren crouched next to me, giving me a sweet smile. “How about we take it for a spin and I’ll show you what this baby can do?”
I grinned at her as she leaned forward to press the button that started the car. As the engine purred to life beneath me, I thought maybe—just maybe—I wouldn’t fight him as hard as he thought I would for this gift.