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I stand up straighter and stop mopping. I wipe the sweat from my brow. He’s
changed in the hours since I saw him, but other than tying a bandana around my hair to keep it off my face, I haven’t. I look the same, except sweat beads down my skin and more dirt clings to my flesh than before.
I nod. “I stole your watch.”
His eyes lighten. “You did.”
Shit, he’s not going to make this easy. But I’m not going to collapse and beg for forgiveness on my knees. I did what I had to, to survive.
“I’m sorry I stole your watch.”
He jumps onto the yacht despite the high gap between the deck and the pier. It’s a large jump most people wouldn’t dare take, but he does it with ease, like he’s made the leap thousands of times and never once thought of plummeting into the water if he were to miscalculate his movement.
I take a step back before I can help myself.
He grins like I just showed a weakness.
“Are you now? Because you don’t look sorry to me.”
“I’m sorry, I would have never stolen it if I had a choice.”
He laughs. “You had a choice. You chose to steal from me. Do you have any idea what I do to thieves?”
I stare down at his clenched fists. “I’m sure I have an idea.”
He cocks his head as he takes another step closer. This time, I don’t step back. I let him inch closer, but I squeeze the mop handle harder. I will use it as a weapon if I have to.
“But it doesn’t scare you. I don’t scare you?”
“No.”
He shakes his head. “Stupid girl.”
I narrow my eyes into deep slits. “I’m not stupid.”
He sighs. “Then why did you steal from me? There were countless other men in the bar you could have stolen from.”
I feel the color returning to my face. This question is easy. “Because you needed the watch the least. You have more money than anyone in that bar—more money than most people in this city. You could call someone and have the watch replaced in five minutes, and you wouldn’t even notice the downward tick in your bank account. You were the least likely to be hurt by my actions.”
My words surprise him. It’s clear in the way his body hardens, his eyebrow inches up, and his jaw twitches.
“Unless…” I start. “Unless, the watch was a family heirloom or gift. Did your father or girlfriend give you the watch? Is it irreplaceable?”
I don’t know why I ask. I wouldn’t rat out Jim. I can’t track down the watch and get it back for him, but at least I will know how much I truly have to repay Enzo.
He laughs. Long, hard, and his voice sounds like he’s gone maniacal. I don’t know what’s so funny, but I watch him slowly stop.
“I don’t do the girlfriend thing.”
Those words make me sad, because the tiniest part of me wanted him to take a chance and make me his girlfriend. But that’s stupid because I don’t do the boyfriend thing either. I don’t have time for it, and I won’t let some man take care of me.
“And my father has never given me a damn thing.”
His eyes are serious as he says them and I see a pit of his pain. I see how broken he is in his dark orbs where he tries to hide his shattered pieces from the world. But he can’t hide it from me, I see it as clearly as I see the sun shining in the sky.
He shakes his head again. “Why did you steal it? Planning on buying more burgers and beer with it?”
My lips curl up a little at his teasing. “It was for my father.”
