One beautiful creature who refused to allow my presence to bother her in any way. Other than physically.
As we walked along the street returning to the house she’d rented, she was not only noticed by every male who walked by, there were a half dozen brazen enough to dare flirt with her, even though I was standing right by her side.
When another asshole approached, this time offering a white rose, my involuntary behavior shocked the hell out of me.
I growled along with almost ripping the flower from his hand.
While sighing, she said nothing, but I could tell she was apologizing with her body movements. With the unblemished flower in her hand, she waited until the guy with one too many earrings walked away before spinning on her heel to face me.
“What is wrong with you?” Her demand was met with a toss of her head.
“Nothing is wrong with me.”
“Then why did you act as if you were going to beat that poor guy to death?”
“I didn’t like the look of him.” The half-truth obviously didn’t sit well with her. She decided to annoy me given my false answer, bringing the rose to her nose and taking a deep whiff.
When I’d purchased three dozen for her birthday. Well, fuck. Jealousy didn’t look good on me, especially since the jerk who’d offered the flower couldn’t have been more than twenty-four tops.
And me? I was an old guy, at least likely according to my dinner companion.
“You can’t simply set a target based on how they look. That’s called profiling.”
“I can do what I want to keep you protected.” Wow. Now I sounded like an impetuous five-year-old. “Remember that danger comes in all shapes and sizes, ages as well.”
She settled in beside me, nodding as she did. I could tell by the faraway look in her eyes a memory had surfaced. “I know you’re right. When Daddy died, I think it was truly the first time Ihad to face the truth about my family. At least a hard truth. Up until then, I obviously pretended to live in a fairytale. I know you must think me reckless for coming here, but unless I break free of certain familial chains, I’ll never manage to enjoy my life. Sometimes I just need to think and regroup. You know?”
“There’s nothing wrong with needing to find your own space, Emmeline. You just need to temper how you handle the decisions you make.”
“I’ll take that under advisement.” She chuckled, taking another whiff of the rose as she did. I would crush the flower as soon as I had the chance. “How did you enjoy your dinner?”
“The stew was okay.” I’d hoped for a thick steak. She’d convinced me otherwise.
“Moqueca, a local seafood delicacy. You don’t get out much. Do you?”
“I’m not Brazilian.”
“No, but you’re Italian. Didn’t you grow up in Sicily?”
“For the most part.”
“Then what happened?”
She’d never asked me anything about my family, including when my brother died of an overdose. Maybe because up until now, we’d had little more than fractured conversations, bouts of banter instead of discussions. “Then my parents were taken away from me and my brother.”
Baptiste Prince knew the details of the story, but even Jaxon only knew the abridged version. The tragedy was difficult to think about even now.
She stopped walking, turning toward me. “I’m so sorry. I can’t imagine. I know I’ve lived a sheltered life and I’m complaining.”
“You’re not complaining. You’re like a spectacular white bird in a locked gilded cage with a voice belonging to the angels. The sound always mournful yet beautiful. An incredible little creature drawing attention for her angelic voice until one day, she can no longer sing.”
“Maybe you do understand.”
We arrived at the base of the curved stairs where she was staying. I could still hear music from some unknown source and in the various lights of the surrounding homes, she was illuminated, a dazzling shimmer of opalescence keeping my attention. She started to walk up the stairs, realizing a few seconds later I wasn’t following.
“Why aren’t you coming with me?”
Her question was complicated in ways she couldn’t understand. “I’m going to keep watch outside for a couple hours.”
