Page 20 of Let Me Love You

Victor tsks, and a small, annoying smirk kicks up the edge of his lips. “At least wait until we’re married for attempted murder so you might get something from my death.”

I roll my eyes and duck under his arm. He doesn’t try to stop me this time, and I make it to the top of the stairs.

I let out a huge sigh.

Reminder to self: don’t let Victor get that close to you again. Ever.

Victor says nothing as he follows on my heels. Hopefully, he got the hint that I’m so not interested in his games.

I take in our surroundings, hoping to remember my way around this place. The walls in the upstairs hallway are painted white and are completely bare without a single picture or piece of art, just like downstairs.

I always pegged him as an art man. So, why are his walls empty?

We pass an open door on our left, but there’s nothing save for a lone sofa pressed up against the far wall. Still strange it’s not fully furnished, but maybe he doesn’t use that room.

It’s too close to the stairs, so I continue down the hallway. Another door on the right reveals a bathroom. I keep going until the next doorway. Looking inside, I find Summer is sprawled out on a king-sized princess bed with pink bedding and a canopy. Harmony is digging through Summer’s backpack while Lana is unpacking a small suitcase.

There are so many stuffed bears that Summer could hand one out to every kid in Granite Falls and still have too many. A crown-shaped mirror sits across the top of two dressers. And the cotton candy-colored walls match the area rug in the center of her gigantic bedroom.

Summer pokes her head out of the sheer material of her canopy. “Mommy! Look! I have a princess bed.”

A princess bed … perfect for my princess.

My heart sinks, and my gut twists as she smiles. In a year, all of this will be taken away from her, and she won’t understand why. Knowing her kind heart, she’ll think she did something wrong.

“Do you like it?” I ask and clear my suddenly clogged throat.

She hops down from the bed and does a little happy dance. “Yes, yes, yes!”

“How about we unpack your clothes while your Mommy finds her own room?” Harmony asks.

“There’s no need,” Victor says. He strides over to the dresser and opens a random drawer. “Anything you might need is already in here.”

Summer squeals so loudly I wait for the mirror to shatter.

Victor goes to the closet next, swinging open the double doors to reveal a walk-in closet bigger than my bedroom at my condo. “And in here, you’ll find princess dresses and all the accessories you need.”

Inhaling deep, steady breaths, I ball my hands into fists as I try to calm my raging heart. But it doesn’t help.

Is the stuff we already have not good enough for his standards?

I charge over to Victor and grab him by the arm. He flashes my family a grin before I pull him to the hallway and close the door. Poking him in the chest, I bite my lower lip. Touching him definitely backfired. His chest is chiseled like he’s a sculpture. It takes everything in me to not trace down the crevices to find out just how many muscles he’s hiding under that stuffy suit.

I shake my head, forcing those thoughts out of my mind, and say, “Who do you think you are to buy my child all this random junk? She already has her own clothes.”

Victor cocks his head to the side as if studying my face, and I resist the urge to look away. “I’m sorry. I’m not exactly sure what I did wrong.”

Closing my eyes, I say through gritted teeth, “You don’t make decisions for my child. This contract is between you and me.”

He rubs his forehead. “So, you don’t want me to buy her anything?”

“Exactly. This is only temporary, and if she lives like a princess now, she won’t be able to go back to real life in a year. It’s really going to mess with her head.”

He takes a step forward and moves to grab my hand, but he pauses, probably thinking better of it. “You can take everything to your house when you move back.”

I shake my head. “You just don’t get it. I don’t have enough room for the bed, never mind everything else.”

“I’m really sorry. I wanted to make sure she was comfortable since I’m the reason she’s dragged into my drama.”