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I’d washed Rebel’s new bowls and filled them with food and water to put on the floor next to the island before Sadie emerged from her compulsion. The dog dug in immediately, devouring the little bit of food I put down to help her stomach adjust to having regular meals slowly as I stroked her head gently.
“Hungry?” I asked, moving to the fridge and throwing it open to see what I had inside.
“I just came from being with Ivory. If I look at more food, I’ll explode.” I laughed, nodding my head and knowing she had a point. If I’d been able to spend more than two seconds in Ivory’s presence, I might have felt the same.
“Even chocolate cheesecake?” I asked, pulling a container from the fridge. I lifted the lid off, revealing one of my mom’s famous chocolate cheesecakes. Sadie looked at it, biting her bottom lip thoughtfully and I filed the knowledge away for later.
My girl liked chocolate.
Smirking, I grabbed two round plates from the cupboard. Folding and setting a napkin next to her plate, I positioned it the way I’d seen her do the night before. The bottom lined up with the counter in front of her as I set the fork directly in the center.
Sadie automatically moved to adjust it before she even looked down, her hand stilling over her plate suddenly when she realized she didn’t need to fix it.
Grabbing glasses, I left her to pull her hand back without the feeling of my eyes studying her every move. Setting them to the right of each of our plates, I grinned at her when her eyes settled on mine.
“You’re left-handed,” she said, her honey eyes wide as she looked up at me with confusion.
“I’ll manage,” I answered, shrugging it off. But I didn’t miss the way her shoulders relaxed and tension instantly faded from her body. It served as another affirmation to my suspicions, leaving me wondering just how she hid it from everyone else. I’d never heard mention of her having Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, and sadly things that separated those of us with disorders from the rest of the population came up in conversation far too often. If it were common knowledge, someone would have mentioned it to me in passing.
Cutting off a slice of the cheesecake, I set it in the center of the plate with the point facing toward her. A few moments passed where Sadie just stared at the cheesecake, her cheeks pink with embarrassment.
Biting my bottom lip to stifle my chuckle, I moved to sit next to her after filling the glasses with water. Settling my right hand on her thigh, I squeezed her gently. “I told you I see you, Baby Girl.”
She swallowed past her nerves, picking up her fork carefully and ignoring me. “I never see you drink coffee,” she said, changing the subject.
I allowed it, knowing I’d pushed her to her limit for one night. Her life was changing around her, and if I’d learned anything about Sadie, it was that she resisted change on principle. “It makes me jittery. I don’t like to feel like I’m enhanced or altered by anything,” I explained. “I never thought to offer you any. I can dig out the coffee pot.”
“No,” she said, smiling softly. “I don’t drink it either. The last thing I need is an energy boost.” She watched as Rebel finished her food, moving over to her bed in the corner and curling up to sleep. “Do you think she has an owner?”
I sighed, swallowing my bite of cheesecake and turning my full attention to her. “I think that dog found you for a reason, Carina. She’s yours, and we’ll figure it out after we hear back from the vet if anything is standing in the way of that.”
“You’re right. I know it’s stupid to worry about it until I know for sure. I just—” She paused. “I don’t want to lose her,” she admitted, shoveling another bite into her mouth. “That’s ridiculous, isn’t it? I’ve had her for a few hours.”
“Sometimes you just know when someone is a part of you,” I said. Her fork clattered to her plate, the sound particularly jarring since Sadie always set her silverware on her napkin.
“Who knew criminals were such firm believers in soul mates.” She finished her last bite with a roll of her eyes. “How many have you successfully seduced with that line? You don’t have to bother with me. I think I made it clear in the gym that I don’t need sweet lies from you.”
“I’ll never lie to you, Carina. I know that doesn’t mean anything to you right now since you’ve got your head fully planted up your own ass, but one day you’ll realize I mean it. One day soon, you’ll understand that I’m not like whoever hurt you before. I won’t lie. I won’t cheat. I won’t leave you.”
“I give it a week,” she argued, standing and retreating to the stairs. “Thanks for the chocolate, Big Guy. I needed something satisfying,” she purred. She kept her steps casual, her pace slow as she made her way up to her room.
But she’d forgotten to take care of her plate, and that alone was a sign of how cornered she was. When I combined that with her little escape attempt at the estate, I knew she rapidly approached the point where she’d need to lash out.
Rebel glared at me briefly before racing up the stairs to follow after Sadie.
Women.
15
Sadie
I didn’t think I’d ever before hated someone the moment she opened her mouth. I tried not to judge other women, since men judged us enough for everyone involved.
But the moment she twisted Enzo’s last name around on her lips like a sensual ploy of seduction, I wanted to stab my real estate agent in her perfect boobs. “Miss Hicks,” she said, shaking my hand after she introduced herself to Enzo. As if the obvious flirtation hadn’t been enough to make me dislike her, greeting the man before me, when I was her client?
I’d rather stub my pinky toe than give her a cent of commission.
She led the way up to the brick building. The interior of the ground level was dark compared to the storefronts surrounding it. Immediately, I suspected the space would be too small for what I needed.
