Chapter 21 #2
He fills me in on everything, and with every word he speaks, my heart sinks lower and lower.
I’ve been hesitant to let him in, to allow myself to love him, but he’s been here—loyal and seeking ways to protect Summer and me—and I’ve done nothing but accuse him of being an untrustworthy asshole who only thinks about himself.
Tears overflow and streak down my cheeks, and I look away. Victor shouldn’t see me cry. I at least need my dignity after everything.
“Shhh,” he says in a soothing voice. Now I’m a pathetic, sobbing mess as he guides my head to face him again. “I’ll do anything to protect you. I already have my men on it.”
As sweet as he is to want to take care of me … “I don’t want you to fix all my problems for me.”
He cocks his head as if he’s really confused. “What do you want then?”
I take a deep, shuddering breath, willing the tears to dry up. “For us to do it together.”
“Let’s do that then.”
My pulse quickens as I think about the fact Summer and I could’ve been there. What if they hurt her? The first intruder pops into my mind, as well as their threats to Summer. Could it be the same person? No, that’s impossible. I paid off the debt. They shouldn’t have me on their radar anymore.
My hands tremble as I stare at them. This is all my fault. If I was more proactive in securing my house, maybe whoever the intruder was would have left us alone.
Even though I wish Victor told me ASAP, the fact he called Elias, viewed film, and sent off their one clue … my heart twists. He was only trying to protect me. He’s doing so much for me, and all I’ve done is hold him at arm’s length at best while being a bitch.
Someone clears their throat, and we all look up. Becky, Frank’s daughter, says, “Welcome in. Do you know what you want to drink?”
We take turns ordering, and when Victor opens his mouth, Becky turns on her heel and walks off. I turn to ask Harmony what that was about when the whispers start.
“Becky just snubbed that handsome billionaire.”
“Maybe he’ll think twice about messing with our girls.”
I meet Victor’s gaze, and he shakes his head as if telling me to drop it. But these people don’t even know him. So why do they get to judge? If we put anyone under a microscope, we’ll find their skeletons.
“Don’t worry, Vic. We’ll get you something to drink,” Harmony says. “Everyone here has known us since we were kids. No one knows what’s going on yet. Once they do, they’ll love you.”
“He shouldn’t have to prove himself,” I say in a hushed tone. If I raise my voice even the slightest, I’m not sure I could control the volume with the red-hot anger pulsing through me.
Victor places a hand over mine and twines our fingers. He brings me down from making a scene without even trying. And the butterflies that wait eagerly to erupt take flight within my stomach.
“Everything is fine. It won’t be hard for me to convince them I’m serious about you.” His voice fills me up, and I resist the urge to sigh into him.
The fresh memory of our kiss sweeps into my mind. His soft touches. Our tongues sparring like it would be the last time we ever kissed. And maybe it would be.
Shit. I need to remember where the line of pretending starts and ends. I can’t allow a simple kiss to distract me from the fact someone broke into my house. But for now, I’ll have to pretend it doesn’t bother me. No one can ever see me break down, especially not Harmony.
“You two make me so happy,” Harmony says in a dreamy voice, but I don’t look up at her.
I keep my eyes where my skin meets Victor’s. “Don’t say such nonsense.”
Becky comes back, gives us our drinks, and asks for our food order. My eyes flicker to Victor, and he sits there patiently with a kind smile that reaches his eyes.
I tell her my food order and then say, “And my husband wants to try the lasagna.”
I don’t know what he wants to eat, but it’s the first item that popped into my mind after we shared Italian food together.
“Sounds perfect.” Victor leans closer and loud whispers, “I doubt it will be better than your home-cooked Italian dinner, though.”
My cheeks flame. He makes it sound so intimate when we weren’t even alone that night.
Then my mind flashes to the club. How I encouraged him to kiss me.
And then to ten minutes ago, when I finally felt his firm lips against mine.
His kissing is just like how I imagine him in the negotiations: relentless and confident.
A shiver shoots down my spine at the thought.
“I’m sorry, but we don’t serve men who go between sisters like they’re toys they got bored with.” She turns and stomps off toward the kitchen.
My jaw drops. I grind my molars together, trying to keep my composure. The hold I have on Victor’s hand tightens to a vice grip. He doesn’t deserve to be treated like this. “Let’s go.” I lean toward Victor and whisper, “I’d rather cook something for us than deal with this.”
Not to mention, I’m barely holding on by a thread.
No one argues. All of us stand, and I wrap my arm through Victor’s.
It doesn’t escape my notice he left more money than necessary on the table, but I leave it be.
Even though he keeps a smile on his face, his body is tense as I push into him.
Tightening my grip on him, I give him a reassuring squeeze.
For him or myself, I’m not sure anymore.
Abigail pops in front of us, and I almost shriek.
“I saw what happened.” She walks beside us as we head toward the exit.
“The whole town has been buzzing, and you got the shit end of the stick when you got Becky as your server tonight. Her ex-husband left her and their kids for her sister a few months ago.”
I hadn’t heard that before. And even though she was being unfair to Victor, I feel bad for her. To be honest, I can understand. I, too, held Victor accountable for all the things Paul did. “How do you know?”
“I come here a lot on the weekend for something to do.” She shrugs, her voice barely above a whisper. “When it happened, I was here and watched the entire scene unfold. It was like a car wreck I couldn’t look away from.”
Harmony informs the hostess about us leaving and follows behind us as the nighttime darkness swallows us up.
This kind of drama isn’t something we need right now. I almost walk to the car and climb in without even a goodbye, but none of them has done anything wrong to me. I can’t be that rude.
“Then how do we get the town to accept Victor?” I look between Harmony and Elias. “He doesn’t deserve their awful treatment.”
Elias doesn’t say anything. Harmony rubs her chin as if in deep thought.
“We can let the rich man open his wallet for a charity,” Abigail throws out. “If we get Mrs. Milte to like him, everyone will follow her lead.”
Mrs. Milte is the owner’s wife and the head of the charity committee. She has a lot of reach and loves to gossip. Maybe Abigail’s idea isn’t so bad. “How about instead of throwing his money around, he signs up to volunteer at the Founding Day festival?”
Victor nods. “If you tell me when, I’ll mark it on my schedule.”
My heart swoops at the gravelly quality to his voice. “Don’t tell them I put you up to it, or it won’t feel authentic.”
His fingers tighten around mine. “Tell me when, and I’ll make it happen.”
More flutters in my stomach. Stop it, damn you! One kiss doesn’t mean happily ever after.
His words came out so easily that I’m almost starting to believe he’s serious about us trying for real. And I’m in big trouble because I might want him to be.