“You know, Felicity could use a girl’s day. I’m sure Veronica would like to join Kara on your day out.” Jared suggested.
“Yes, I bet she would,” Thad said. “I promised to take Lyra to one of those indoor kids play places today, and Veronica deserves some time to be with friends.”
“I’ll call Shana in case she wants to go,” Roarke said. “We just got a puppy for Christmas…” Roarke’s face reddened. “She gotmea puppy, anyway, and I need to head to the pet store to stock up on everything I’ll need for a new dog. She only had the emergency supplies. The pup needs a crate, toys…a cushy bed, the works.”
“Shana bought you a dog?” Thad asked, one eyebrow arched.
Roarke rubbed the back of his neck, his face still a dark red. “Uh… yeah. She knew that I’d always wanted one as a kid and never had the chance to have one.”
Angelo glanced toward Kara who was watching this with fascination. When Angelo looked her way, he winked at her. There was definitely something going on with these four men, some dynamic she didn’t totally understand. She planned to ask Angelo when she had the chance. It was clear that Angelo was the most positive, the most cheerful of the group, with the least amount of friction…or had been until she’d shown up.
Her stomach clenched, making the pancakes in her stomach want to come back up. She swallowed hard, trying to banish the memory of overhearing Angelo and Thad arguing about her.
“So it’s settled,” Angelo replied. “Asher and I will take the ladies shopping.”
Shopping. Shopping meant money. Money Kara didn’t have.
She didn’t want to remind Angelo she had no money except to cover her basic living essentials. It was too embarrassing to admit. She’d have to gather her courage and tell him when she couldn’t hide from it any longer.
Half an hour later, she was wearing her blue jeans and the green sweater which either Alessia or Francesca had cleaned of Angelo’s blood by some miracle. She was escorted out to a black SUV with Angelo right behind her followed by Asher Fleming, the head of the Brothers of Valor security team.
She’d been a little scared at first of the private security specialist as he’d called himself. Asher was tall and his shoulders and arms were thickly muscled, and he had a hard look to his face that said he’d seen things… possibly done things that would haunt him for the rest of his life. When he’d held out his hand and introduced himself, the ghosts left his eyes for a briefmoment, and he smiled and told her she would be safe with him. And she believed him.
Before they’d left the house, Asher had already made arrangements to fix the broken window, and he’d taken Kara’s new cell phone, adding his phone number and Angelo’s to a special swipe screen on the front for even faster calling.
There was something reassuring to know that she could call either of them immediately. She hoped she would never have to use that feature.
Asher drove them to Magnificent Mile, or Michigan Avenue, which was a stretch of road that went from the river to Oak Street. It was famous for its incredible shopping. Her eyes widened as they passed several large expensive looking department stores. She swallowed down a wave of panic. She couldn’t afford a Kleenex box from one of these stores, let alone clothing.
Tell him. You have to tell you can’t afford this.
“Angelo, I don’t think—” she started as he opened the car door when they pulled up to the curb.
He held her gaze and reached out to brush her fingers with his.
“Today is just about having fun, okay? If you see something you want, don’t worry about what it costs.” Angelo helped her down and kept hold of her hand as he led her to the first big department store.
Three women around Kara’s age were clustered together in the lobby and spotting Angelo, they all called out.
“Angelo!”
Kara clutched at Angelo’s arm a little more than she should have as he led her toward the group of women. She recognized one of the women from the night she’d taken Angelo to the hospital.
“Ladies, this is Kara.” Angelo put an arm around her, briefly giving her shoulders a squeeze before he let her go.
“Kara, this is Shana Pimms, an attorney. She’s dating Roarke. You might remember meeting her at the hospital.”
“Hi Kara,” Shana brushed her gorgeous blonde hair back over her shoulders before she held out a hand to Kara. She was a statuesque beauty with kind eyes that Kara definitely remembered. “It’s nice to see you again.”
“This is Felicity,” Angelo said as he pointed woman with dark auburn hair. “She’s a museum curator.” Felicity smiled warmly at her, and it was easy for Kara to see what made Jared fall in love with her.
“I love museums,” Kara confessed. “But I’ve never had the chance to visit that many.”
“You have a free VIP tour from me anytime,” Felicity offered.
“Thank you!” Kara hoped she’d be able to take her up on that offer.
“Now you know why she’s Jared’s better half.” Angelo’s words had Felicity chuckling.
