Page 51 of Tailored for You

I nodded. “Yes.”

Despite Charles showing up, the day had been full of surprises and fun. The morning had floated by in a blur of drawing, page after page, my creative muse finally flowing freely. It was rare that I had time to sit and draw when the inspiration hit.

I wasn’t alone while doing it, either. Enzo wasn’t handing me sharpened pencils, but he was there. Every time I glanced up, he was there, leaning against the wall or in a chair, typing away at his phone.

With him, I was completely at ease. To create and not feel rushed to do so was fulfilling in a way I didn’t know how to describe. It was a rare chance to breathe and dive into a world I didn’t often have the time to be in.

It was like I was myself or the version I wanted to be, and it was because Enzo gave me the opportunity to experience that.

How did I express that to him?

I did my best not to worry about Charles, but the thoughts of what he could and would do to Harper were always there in the back of my mind.

“Has he ever been violent before?” Enzo asked.

I whipped my head to him so fast I think I pulled a muscle. “No. He makes nasty comments, can be demeaning, but never physical.”

“Has he ever threatened you?”

I couldn’t help but snort with laughter. “Yeah, plenty.”

Only a few weeks ago, he threatened to take Harper away. It clicked.

“But he’s never been physical, and he doesn’t have much follow-through with any of his threats. He wouldn’t...” I stopped there, afraid to put the accusation out in the universe.

“Hire men to break in with the intent to harm you?” he asked. “I’ve seen people do worse because of less. I’ll take care of it.”

Charles wasn’t a good person, father, or husband. But he wouldn’t go so far as to hire someone to hurt me.

Right?

CHAPTER 16

Enzo

This was painful. I rolled over the bed in the guest room. The mattress was fine. Stiffer than I liked. The windows were open, letting in the breeze, with the curtains halfway down to keep out some of the light.

None of that was an issue.

It was the stiff cock I woke up with that was horrible. It was Serena, padding around my room, naked in my shower, that was slowly driving me out of my mind.

After everyone went to bed, I stayed up trying to find more leads, but I had nothing.

The dead ends were making me want to put a bullet through the wall. The money traced back to a shell company linked to other shell companies, and I didn’t have anyone capable of breaking through the bank’s encryption to identify the account owner.

I was at a standstill. My gut told me there was a simpler answer: Charles Clearwart. He was petty and vindictive. I wouldn’t be surprised if he had money tucked away.

The only bright side was finding that the shipment the men lost a few weeks ago. Somehow, they were surprised I didn’t congratulate them for fixing their screw-up. The mistake shouldn’t have happened to begin with.

My phone lit up, and sure enough, Serena was in her studio, up before everyone else, already working.

It might have been creepy to watch her through the cameras the way I did, but then I thought of the night in her studio, searching to find her, and stopped caring about how it seemed.

I needed to check on her—for my own sanity as much as her safety.

Rolling out of bed, I stretched and started getting ready for the day.

I didn’t spend time around kids. No one I knew had any. If I had to bet, Harper would still be funnier than any kid I’d ever come across. Smarter, too.