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I lift her chin. “Never be ashamed of surviving.”
“That’s easy for you to say.” She glances around. “You have it easy.”
I don’t bother to share my history. I have money, but that’s it. Nothing else in my life comes easily. “What about Javier’s father?”
“He’s not around.”
I figured as much. “Deadbeat?”
“Something like that. Can we not talk about me anymore? It’s seriously depressing.”
The pain in her eyes is so thick and so heavily guarded that I don’t know if she’ll ever be able to share it. Clearly, Javier’s father is responsible for the wrong turn in her life. I don’t want to pressure her about it, though.
“I want to spend time with you.”
She laughs at me, like my suggestion is hilarious. “What? Like dating?”
I look directly into her eyes so she’ll understand I’m serious. “I don’t see a reason to label it. I like you, and I want to get to know you.”
She pulls away from me and lies on her side again. I can tell the position is comforting to her. “That isn’t a great idea. Think about it. How are you going to take a hooker home to your mama?”
I can’t help but laugh, and I do it loudly and from deep in my chest. She smiles. “Oh, sweet girl. I only wish I could. That would’ve gone over like a fart in church. Sheila would’ve went ballistic, like ape-shit crazy.”
Her smile disappears, replaced by a horrified expression. “Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t realize she had passed. That was pretty rude of me.”
I tap her nose to relax her. “Don’t apologize. Believe me, the woman doesn’t deserve your concern.”
She doesn’t comment on my obvious disdain for my mother and asks, “What about your dad?”
“He’s in prison.” As I say the words, I realize that perhaps I should let her run. I need to steer this conversation away from my crazy parents. “How do you know Brady?”
She starts to say something and then stops, reconsidering what she wants to say. “He’s a friend.”
“Where did you meet him?” She gives me a look, confirming they met at the club. “Oh.”
“He was regular number four. I haven’t seen him in a long time. He was kind to me and helped me pay my rent a few times. I had a bit of a crush on him.”
Of course she did. There’s not a woman alive who can resist my brother.
“When was the last time you saw him?”
Her mouth turns down, her sad frown an indicator that Maria is one of the many women Brady’s left in a trail of hopefuls that’s never recovered.
“He used to come in a lot and pay to talk, but a while back, he came in wanting more. He had a fight with his girl and was upset. I haven’t seen him since.”
My desire to get to know her flees. The time she’s referring to is the first time Tori and I dated. Brady breezed back into town shortly after our first kiss, and swept Tori off her feet again and out of my life. Maria clearly has strong feelings for him, and I can’t get close to another girl stuck on my brother.
“I need to sleep,” I say coldly, and turn on my side, facing away from her. “I have a wedding to attend tomorrow.”
“Do you still want to get to know me?”
Her small voice makes my chest ache.
“Yes,” I answer, not sure if it’s a lie or not.
I wake to an empty bed and find Maria on the balcony. She sits in a chair, holding her knees to her chest. The solemn expression on her face as she stares out into the city is sad, but breathtakingly beautiful, too. I clench my jaw and remember my mission this morning. I can’t and won’t have feelings for this girl. She’s been with Brady, and I will not make the mistake again of being with a girl I hope will eventually get over him, regardless of how she affects me.
She turns her head and smiles. I walk out to the balcony, and she stands up.
