“I’m an angel.”
“So was Lucifer.”
“Okay, you know what?” She held her palm up. “I shouldn’t have asked you.”
“So why did you?” He was genuinely curious. It was no secret that they didn’t like each other.
Vanessa shrugged her elegant shoulders. “You’re awful in almost every way, but you’re honest.” She walked to the apartment door, giving him a wide berth as she passed. “While I think your examples are a little unfair and grossly exaggerated, I’m going to work on it.”
“How?” he asked, eyeing the rabbit cage as she swung open the door.
“By proving you wrong.”
She let the door close behind her, leaving him standing there alone, her spiced vanilla scent lingering in the air, and the fierce urge to pull her back into his space thudding behind his rib cage.
CHAPTER SIX
The Link was located on the east side of the Willamette River in a part of town that Vanessa didn’t venture too often, and for good reason. Anderson pulled his high-end SUV up to the street address that Vanessa had given him, but what she saw out the tinted window didn’t look like the fun, welcoming youth drop-in center she’d been imagining.
The old concrete building with mirrored glass windows was visibly run-down. Graffiti marred the exterior, and not the cool artistic kind. Nobody seemed to be around.
The only reason she knew she was at the right address was because the small sign on the door had green and yellow letters that read:The Link: Teen and Youth Community Resource Center.
“Are you sure this is the place, Miss Barone?” Anderson was always formal with her.
Normally she reminded him to call her by her first name, but today, she was distracted by the ominous building before her. Maybe this was a bad idea.
“Yep. This is it.” She watched a man in tattered clothes shuffle by, dragging a dirty sleeping bag behind him.
Who would build a youth center here? This wasn’t a place she would’ve wanted to hang out at when she was a teen.
“Shall I come in with you? This neighborhood isn’t very safe. I’d rather you not go out alone.” That was officially the most words Anderson had ever spoken to her at one time. Which meant he was as apprehensive as her.
Maybe Vanessa should go back to Joel and Lucy’s apartment. She’d look at volunteering at an animal shelter or something. Maybe she could even spend an afternoon at a soup kitchen. Or she could finally bite the bullet and call her agent to see if she could get her an audition. Maybe back in New York. She quite enjoyed living there. There must be a commercial or catalog photoshoot orsomethingthat would be a good fit.
Just then, the door to The Link opened. A young girl who looked no older than sixteen stepped outside and leaned against the front of the building, her shoulder-length hair falling forward to cover her face. She pulled her phone from the pocket of her faded, oversized hoodie, and began swiping. The scowl that appeared on her face was unmistakable. Doom-scrolling. It had certainly never put anything but a frown on Vanessa’s face either.
After a moment, the girl tucked her phone away and went back inside the building.
Jordan’s voice drifted back, listing all her faults.
When she’d asked him if he thought she was a snob, he didn’t even blink. He simply said yes, like he was stating a fact. Which was why she’d asked him. For all his gruffness, he was always honest with her. Jordan never sugarcoated anything and was annoyingly blunt. In a hundred lifetimes she’d never admit to another soul, but she’d come to appreciate his honesty. In her world, truth was a rarity.
The cold hard truth was, Jordan wasn’t the only one who thought she was a snob. Natalie and Colin obviously agreed, and the thing was, they weren’t completely wrong.
Despite the hardships, she had a very privileged life. She’d lived for luxury, attention, and the illusion of having it all. But Portland, and the people in it, had stripped the shine from all that, and shown her how hollow that life had been.
Being a shallow person had only amplified her insecurities and left her lonelier than ever. She was ready to build something real.
So here she was, because nothing gave her more satisfaction than proving people wrong, including herself.
This was day one of shattering expectations and salvaging what was left of her reputation. Her time in hiding was over. Vanessa 2.0 was ready to take her place in the world.
“I’ll be fine on my own.” She opened the SUV’s door and gingerly stepped out onto the grimy sidewalk. “I’ll text you when I’m done. It shouldn’t take long.”
Anderson nodded, though he didn’t look convinced. “I’ll wait here until you’re ready. No need to call.”
With a grateful nod, she closed the car door behind her and headed to the center’s front door, resisting the urge to pull her sleeve over her hand so she didn’t have to touch the handle. She might be miles away from her fancy condo in Vancouver, B.C., but she’d be fine.
