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Last night, the building was quiet; today, it’s teeming with noise. A baby crying, music, a too-loud TV, and the shouting of an argument can all be heard as I make my way up to the second floor. The place somehow looks even worse in the light of day. There’s a fresh bag of trash sitting in the hallway by her neighbor’s door that wasn’t there last night. It smells like rotten food. I’m shocked it isn’t covered in cock roaches and that there aren’t rats trying to get into the bag.
Fuck.
I have to get my Winter out of this building. This is no place for her to live. She deserves so much better than this.
I knock on her door and smile when I hear her sweet voice call out. I’m still smiling when she opens the door. I bite back a groan when I see her curvy body encased in her elf costume. Jesus, she looks like sex and sin.
“Hi,” she says softly.
“Hello, babygirl. You ready?”
“Oh, yes. I just need to put on my shoes and grab my coat. You can come in if you’d like. It’ll only take me a minute.”
I step into her apartment and close the door. She scurries towards where I assume the bedroom is, leaving me to take in the rest of her apartment. It’s small, and despite it obviously being rundown, she’s painted the walls the same bright white as her door in an attempt to spruce up the place. Her furniture is mismatched. Obviously bought secondhand. It’s old but clean.
Instead of a table and chairs in the dining nook there is a large desk with an office chair. It looks completely out of place compared to everything else. The desk is obviously solid wood, and the chair is an expensive ergonomic one that would fit into any corporate office. There is nothing on the desktop and it makes me question why she would have such a fancy desk, but nothing on it. Definitely strange.
Winter comes out wearing her heels and pulling her coat on, though I don’t think her coat could even qualify as a jacket. It’s seen better days but wouldn’t have been warm enough to beat the winter chill even when it was new.
“Sorry to keep you waiting. I wait until the last minute to put these shoes on. They are murder on my feet.”
I frown, not liking that she’s going to spend another night on sore feet because of those damn shoes. As sexy as they are, it’s not worth her being in pain.
“Why don’t you wear a different pair?”
“If only. The bossman picks our uniforms, and the heels are part of it. When I started at Lush, we could pick our own shoes; I miss those days,” she says wistfully.
“Does he know the shoes hurt your feet?”
She shrugs. “He thinks heels are sexy, and sexy waitresses make more money than unsexy ones.”
I shake my head. “That’s ridiculous.”
“Yeah, but the pay is better than any other club in the city and the tips are usually pretty great. I can put up with crappy shoes if it means I can pay the bills.”
She picks up her purse and walks to the door. I follow her out of the building, glowering at the men that are still outside. I clench my fists when one of the men says something crude to Winter. She completely ignores him, but it’s a struggle for me. I want nothing more than to knock his ass out. I help her into the truck and wait until her seatbelt is buckled before shutting the door and circling around to the driver’s side.
I start the truck and reach behind her seat to grab the pink bag I stashed there after my stop this afternoon. I set it on her lap, and she looks up at me in confusion.
“What’s this?”
“Open it.”
She peeks into the bag and gasps when she sees what it is. “You got me gloves?”
“And a scarf and hat.”
“Why would you do that?” she asks sounding truly confused.
“I saw a problem and fixed it. It’s too cold for you to not have gloves.”
“Thank you, Jude. This is so thoughtful.”
She pulls out the lavender material and strokes its softness with a little smile. I know for a fact it’s the softest available because I felt every option before picking one for her. She puts on the gloves and then wraps the scarf around her neck. She puts the hat into her purse, probably wanting to avoid messing up her hair before work.
I catch her rubbing the soft scarf against her cheek several times during the drive. My heart swells with pride that I not only fixed a problem for my girl but also gave her something she loves. It might be a small thing, but it obviously means a lot to her that I got them for her. Most women would scoff at getting something as simple as gloves and a scarf. Winter isn’t like that. She appreciates them as the thoughtful gift they were meant to be. It makes me like her even more.
I already knew she was special, but this proves that she’s not like the other women I’ve dated in years past. They immediately saw dollar signs when they found out I own Phoenix. It’s true that I’m a very wealthy man, but I don’t flaunt it and avoid spending frivolously. When they realized I wasn’t going to shower them with expensive gifts and dates the relationship quickly fell apart.
