Page 35 of Let Me Protect You

Lucy shakes her head. “I’m fine. Stop treating me like an old lady.”

Mr. Milte winks. “I know you’re not an old lady. You’ll always be younger than me.”

A little bit of envy flows through me. Frank and Lucy were high school sweethearts and still love each other with all their hearts … while Elias and I lost each other.

We move to assist Lucy, and it uses all my willpower to not move away from Elias. How much longer will I survive living with him? Of us being together twenty-four seven.

I shove that thought from my brain for now and say to Mrs. Milte, “You can call us if you need anything.”

“You’re just as sweet as you were before you left town.”

I force a smile. She’s probably the only one who thinks I’m sweet unless Victor and all the viewers of Everlasting Love count. While the cameras were rolling, I had to fake my entire personality. Sweet isn’t usually the adjective used to describe me here in town.

The four of us head back toward where the Miltes came from, and Serenity follows us.

“I’m glad you didn’t get hurt coming to find me,” I say to fill the silence.

Lucy chuckles. “I’m sorry about that. I got so excited.” She glances at Elias before leaning into me, whispering, “Are you going to Vicki’s birthday party? It’s at our restaurant.”

“Yes, I was already—”

“She’s not going,” Elias cuts me off.

I swivel my head to glare up at him. Could he possibly be anymore rude? “Yes, I am. I told Kami I’d go. I haven’t seen Vicki in years.”

He clears his throat. “We’ll talk about it later.”

Who does he think he is to boss me around like I’m a child?

“What—” This time, I cut myself off, and I silently curse myself for actually listening to Elias. He’s so lucky Lucy and Frank Sr. don’t know about our situation and that I don’t want anyone to know. So, instead, I say through gritted teeth, “Fine. But we will talk later.”

Mr. Milte chuckles but says nothing.

We help Lucy into their BMW. Mr. Milte climbs into the driver’s seat, and he rummages around inside his vehicle. He finds what he’s looking for and grabs a pen to write something down. Then he sticks his hand out the window. “Here. It’s my business card, and I wrote down an IOU so everyone at my restaurant knows that your dinner is on me. But you can only use it if you’re together.” He winks again. “I’ll know if you don’t.”

“That’s not necessary,” I reply, shifting. The entire town will start to gossip if we’re seen together too much. “I appreciate your generosity, but I can’t accept it. I know for a fact that you two would have helped me if I needed it.”

The passenger window rolls down, and Lucy says, “Please, visit the restaurant. Without you, I probably would’ve fallen.”

Elias hesitates for only a moment. “Okay, if you insist. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” Frank flashes us a mischievous look. “Order a steak. I don’t mind.”

Serenity comes up to me after the older couple pulls out of their parking spot. “Here, I bought you a few essentials.”

After everything I tried to do—Everlasting Love, working at Cutesy’s—to help Serenity get money, she still buys me something. But I can’t tell her I know about her money problems, so I accept the gift.

“Thank you.” I pull her in for an embrace. Summer is attached to Serenity’s leg, so I bend down and pull her in for a bear hug. “Both of you.”

Chapter 18

Elias

The next evening, I pick at the stitches in Tía Vicki’s plaid recliner—the same one I used for my bed until I grew too big for it to be comfortable—and it creaks beneath my weight. Nothing about her two-bedroom home has changed. The open concept almost merges the kitchen and living room. White curtains with lace lining hang over the living room windows. The worn-out wood floors are covered with an area rug. That’s the newest addition. Its bright red and white colors swirl together in a hypnotic way.

When Harmony and I arrived ten minutes ago, I offered to help, but my tía shooed me to the living room and dragged Harmony with her. The scent of my family’s famous enchiladas verdes wafts through the house, making my mouth water.

Tía Vicki’s small frame moves to the refrigerator before returning to the stove. Sometimes it’s still hard to look at her. She isn’t as frail as she was after her treatments, but she’s still a lot thinner than she had been when I was young.