His jaw tightens as he waits for me to respond.
“It’s a lo-” I stop, release my hair down my back and tuck my hands back underneath my thighs. “It’s not a long story, actually. Just a complicated one.”
“And I’m all ears,” David grits out between clenched teeth. His tone reeks of impatience, triggering me. I bet he regrets the day he booked me.
“Look,” I huff. “I’m not a prostitute but that doesn’t mean that night meant anything to me, so you can relax. This is all just a misunderstanding.” His eyes narrow and drop to my lips, as if he can tell by looking at the words as they come out of my mouth if they’re the truth.
“When I first signed up to be an escort I had every intention of following through with it.” I untuck my hands and cross them over my chest, uncomfortable under his intense scrutiny. “But then I never did. I just couldn’t. It’s not me.” I realise I’m babbling, trying to explain without getting into detail about my past. “I was ready to take my picture off the website when your offer came through. I only accepted it because of how outrageous it was, and even then I wasn’t actually going to sleep with you. I just wanted to see who you were!”
My arms rise and fall quickly with my chest as my heart pounds like a drum. Fuck, with all I’ve put it through lately, it’s a wonder it hasn’t failed on me yet.
“Then whydidyou sleep with me?” His tone gives mefrostbite, and I turn my gaze outside my window. I don’t want to see the regret that I know will be plastered all over his beautiful face.
“I…,” my cheeks flush, but I continue, “I saw you when you walked in, and I wanted you. It had nothing to do with the money.” I let out a deep breath. “I guess I wanted to do something wild. Something unlike me. Something to finally free me from the bonds of my husband.” My voice is barely above a whisper by the time I finish, but I know he heard me.
He doesn’t say anything else after my confession. I wait for him to give me the whole ‘Even though no money was exchanged, that night was still purely transactional’ speech, but it never comes. He just starts the car and drives.
Ten minutes later,we pull up at my parents’ house and I open the door, slipping out of his car without saying another word. I’m not even sure David will want to be my lawyer anymore. He seemed contemplative after our discussion, like he was reassessing his life choices regarding me. What if he thinks I like him? Or that I have some kind of emotional attachment to him because he’s one of the few men I’ve had sex with?
I swear, mortification has become my best friend lately.
Without looking back, I slam the door shut and start up my parents’ driveway, hiking my tote bag further up my shoulder. Another car door slams, startling me.
“What are you doing?” My eyebrows draw up to my hairline as David comes to walk beside me. He tucks his hands into his joggers and strolls toward the house.
“Walking you to the door.”
“Uh,” I stumble, then stop walking. “Why?”
I’m sure my face looks as horrified as I feel.
“Because you’ve suffered an ordeal in the last twelve hours and I’m not about to leave you alone now,” he says calmly as he proceeds to the front door, forcing me to scurry after him.Don’t read into it, Gianna. He’s just being a decent human being. Something you’re not used to after being married to Daniel.
Still, I don’t have the mental capacity to analyse his weird behaviour right now. How can he be cold and withdrawn one minute, then taking care of me the next?
“I think I can manage a few steps by myself,” I say, chasing him up the garden path. “I’m not about to be drugged again on my parents’ driveway. This really isn’t necessary.”
“I’ll just deposit you at the door, and then I’ll leave.”
Deposit?“What am I? A cheque? Don’t you have better things to do with your weekend?”
The blonde woman from last night flashes through my mind. Would he have left the club with her if I hadn’t been drugged? Again, the burning sensation in my chest returns, but I quickly shove it away as we approach the door. I rummage around in my bag for my keys, but before I can find them, David lifts his fist and knocks on the dark wood. Hard.
What the fuck?
“What are you doing?” I ask, my voice a harsh whisper as my jaw falls to the floor. “Someone will see you!” His broad, muscled back may as well be a fucking brick wall for all he’s listening to me.
I try to wrench him back towards his car but the door swings open and my mum’s face appears before us. I watchin horror as her almond eyes widen to the size of dinner plates.
“Hello? How can I help you?” She asks David, and I notice that her voice has dropped a pitch or two so that it almost sounds…sultry.Gross.Seems David’s pretty face has the same effect on even the most married of women.
I clear my throat behind him, and my mum’s gaze darts over his shoulder to land on my face.
“Gianna! What on Earth is going on?”
The sultry lilt has disappeared, thank God, and she says my name like she’s scolding me. I pass David with a slight shove that annoyingly doesn’t move his muscled body even an inch and step past Mum into the small foyer. Now I’ll have to bloody explain to my family why a man was dropping me off at Sunday lunch while I’m still technically married to another. Yes, I know I’m twenty-eight, but we’reItalian.
“Nothing. This is my lawyer, he was just dropping me off after an appointment.”
