I hid a smile and stood.
“You like her. Don’t bother denying it. Now, come on. Let’s get you to bed. That way you can get your beauty rest and be well-rested for her.”
He mumbled something at me but when I asked him to repeat himself he wouldn’t. He just winked at me and let me help him to bed. Just like always, as soon as he was stretched out in his bed his eyes slid shut and he was out. The medicine he was on kept him ready to sleep. The only thing that would wake him up through the night was yet another coughing fit and that night held three more for him. I hovered over him, watching his chest rise and fall, wondering just how much longer I had with him before his lungs just gave up.
The sun came up as I sat there, feeling like a piece of crap for even considering throwing away a chance to help Dad. It didn’t matter what I had to do. I was pretty sure I knew what that meant at Club Devil, but I’d face anything if it meant Dad would get better.
That was why I called Betty on the landline and had her come over early. I showered and dressed in my normal uniform of an oversized t-shirt and skirt before most people were awake for the day. It was a thirty-minute drive to the club and I spent the whole time driving with my fingers crossed that Dominic hadn’t changed his mind.
Maybe he’d expected me to return the favor last night? Maybe he thought I was weird or something and didn’t want me near his children. Maybe the offer to help Dad had been a time-sensitive one and I’d missed it.
I was in such a panic that I parked directly in front of the oversized front doors to the mansion and almost left the car running in my haste to get out. There was no guard at the front door so I had to knock. When no one answered I had the unhinged thought that they’d packed up and left, taking the club on the run so a prude like me wouldn’t ruin things for them.
I knocked harder and paced. What had I been thinking? Why hadn’t I begged them for the job the night before? Dad needed better care. I should’ve offered up anything and everything to get help.
I was going to throw up. I dry heaved once and looked up at the sky, doing my best to hold my panic inside. I didn’t think throwing up in their bushes would make them want to hire me.
Finally, I sank down on the steps and slumped over. Who needed good posture when I’d messed up so horribly?
“Well, hello there.”
CHAPTER 8
Theo
I’d known pretty little Sutton was on the property as soon as she drove past the front gates. I’d watched her knock and pace, pace and knock, until I worried her knuckles would swell and hurt. I liked watching from the shadows instead of getting directly involved but it was clear Sutton wasn’t going anywhere and she just looked so damn pitiful that I gave in to the unusual desire to go to her. Maybe I should’ve woken up Dom or Leo but I wanted to see the way Dominic’s angel reacted to me alone.
I kept one eye on my monitors while I pulled on shorts and my running shoes. It was almost time for my daily run anyway. Reaching for the glasses I wore when I knew I’d be interacting with people, I stopped and grinned when I thought of the way she’d clocked them as fake nearly right away. No one ever noticed. She did.
Our house was a mile from the club and I pushed myself to run it faster than I normally would because once I’d decided I was going to see Sutton, the idea of missing her made my stomach clench. She was still there, waiting, when I drew close. She was sitting on the steps, elbows on her knees and chin on her fists. She made a cute picture, with her long skirt and pale blue t-shirt. There was a picture of a racoon on the front and it looked like it was reading one of the classics.
Sutton jumped when I greeted her and it made me freeze where I stood. I knew that people found me creepy. It didn’t matter how much I did my best to look nonthreatening; there was a vibe I couldn’t help putting out that scared people. I didn’t want to scare Sutton. I wanted to watch her, study her, photograph her, but I didn’t want to scare her. Ever.
She jumped up and hurried toward me, not looking the least bit scared. “Oh, thank goodness! I mean, good morning. Good morning, Theo. I hope I’m not bothering you. Do you have aminute? You’re running. And I’m getting in the way of that. Oh, gosh. I’d offer to run with you while I talk but I think I’d probably die within fifty yards.”
I watched her rattle on with a smirk on my lips. She was fucking adorable. There was no denying it. I’d looked her up before her interview and her picture did her no justice. It hadn’t captured the life in her eyes and the way every expression was completely visible on her face. There was no hiding what she was thinking or feeling, no pretense or bullshit I needed to sort through. That school photo hadn’t captured the curves she couldn’t fully hide, either. It was a shame. I’d take pictures of her and show her what she really looked like.
“What do you need, Sutton?”
She sort of bounced in front of me, her energy so wild it leaked over into me and made me want to drag her inside the club and tie her up just so she’d be still. All the bouncing was making it hard for me to think.
“I want to accept the job. I need to accept it, if it’s still available.” She shocked me by reaching out and grasping my arms. No one ever touched me, but she was touching me. When people did make the mistake of bumping into me, they usually recoiled like they’d brushed up against a snake. Sutton didn’t bat a long, dark eyelash, though. She just held onto my sweaty upper arms and stared up at me with all the hope in the world in those pale brown eyes. Dominic had been right. They were the color of Leon’s bitch coffee, or what he called coffee anyway.
“I don’t know what Dom wants to do.” Lie. “If you come with me to the house, you can wait while I get him.”
She nodded hard enough to dislodge the bow in her hair. I reached up to fix it and she let me, her expression nervous but open. When I’d managed to put it back in place, she smiled.
“Thank you, Theo.”
I liked hearing her say my name. I wanted more of it. Too much, probably. I could be intense when I liked something. It’d just never been turned on a person before and I didn’t know what to expect. It scared me. And wasn’t that just the most hilarious thing I’d ever heard. Me. Scared of a kindergarten teacher with bows and glasses.
“Do you want to drive?”
She shook her head. “If it’s okay with you, I’d like to walk with you. I’ve got a lot of nervous energy to burn. I’m a morning person. I know most people find me annoying first thing in the morning. That’s why I love my job so much. It’s easy to get a five-year-old excited in the morning and we can burn that energy together. Adults are harder. Not my dad, though. We’ve always been morning people together. Our house used to be pure happy chaos in the mornings.”
I liked listening to her. She was a nervous rambler and typically I would’ve rather sliced my own ears off than listen to someone ramble, but she was fucking cute.
She surprised me when she looked up at me and tilted her head to the side. I hadn’t secured her bow very well and it slipped sideways like it’d been drinking for days.
