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“I didn’t want to wake you,” he whispers, leaning closer. “You looked so peaceful, like an angel, with your head on my chest. I seriously considered staying there with you, but I needed to get to work on fixing your finances and tracking down this crazy fucker.” His voice sounding angry when he mentions this unknown individual who’s trying to ruin me.
“Thank you for letting me sleep,” I whisper back. “I was worn out, but I’m beginning to feel better.” I take a sip of my coffee. “Just in time to do it again.” I grin at him. He returns the smile, but his demeanor changes. He seems hesitant and unsure.
“Yeah, about that.” Luke clears his throat. “Jay called and saidhe wouldn’t need you tonight. He’s really needing you to work this weekend. Thursday through Sunday.”
“Oh, sure, that’s fine,” I mumble, feeling a little disappointed, but I know the tips will be even better on a weekend. I look around and wonder what in the world I’m supposed to do for the next couple of days.
MARLEY
“I’d like to take you shopping this afternoon,” Luke informs me. “If you feel up to it?” I nod. A gorgeous smile breaks out on his face. “Give me a few minutes to wrap things up with the guys here and we’ll be on our way. I’ll take you to eat, then we will hit the stores, okay?”
“Sure, sounds good,” I say as I stand, bending over to give him a deep, long kiss. “I’ll get out of your way so you can work. I’ll be on the patio when you’re ready.” Taking my empty cup back to the kitchen and placing it in the dishwasher, I hurry up to Luke’s room and collect my purse with my tip money tucked away inside, then head out to the patio. I plop down onto a lounger and lean my head back to soak up the bright, warm sunshine. I must have dozed off because I wake to Luke leaning over to kiss my forehead.
“Hey, sleepyhead,” he says softly. “You ready? Or would you prefer to nap a little longer?” I sit up and slide my legs over the edge of the lounger.
“No, I’m up.” I yawn and stretch, arching my back. I hiss out my breath when Luke nips at my protruding breasts. “Hey!” I laugh. “You just ruined a perfectly good stretch.”
He laughs. “You shouldn’t tempt me,” he challenges. I just roll my eyes before standing and grabbing my purse.
“So where are you taking me?” I inquire as we make our way through the house to the garage. It seems everyone else has left for the day, as I don’t see any signs of the massive computer operation they had going on earlier. We enter the garage, and Luke ushers me into his vehicle before making his way over to his side.
“We’ll go wherever you want,” he answers as he is getting settled in to drive. “Anywhere in particular you want to go?” I take a moment to think. I don’t have much money for clothes shopping. The Goodwill always has nice clothes at very reasonable prices. Yes, they are used clothes in most cases, but I always wash them before wearing. It’s the only way I can afford to purchase any name brand clothes.
“How about Goodwill?” I look over to see his reaction, expecting him to be somewhat mortified, but I should have known better. He doesn’t look upset or concerned by my proposal.
“If that’s where you want to go, I’d be happy to take you,” Luke replies. He backs out of the drive. “First, I want to take you to get some food. Are you hungry?”
“Starved!” I reply enthusiastically. “Where are we eating?” He grins over at me, taking my hand briefly before needing to return to the wheel.
“How’s the Cheesecake Factory?” he asks. “There’s one near a shopping center on the other side of town. I’m not sure if there’s a Goodwill there, but we can google it. I thought we could eat, then get you some more clothes and essentials, whatever you want.”
“Thanks Luke,” I agree. He’s the most thoughtful man. I’m mentally planning out what I might be able to afford with the money in my purse. We drive in comfortable silence as we make our way to the shopping center he mentioned.
An hour later, after our bellies are full, we enter a little boutique. I already know I can’t afford anything in this place, but Luke is so excited to bring me here, I don’t have the heart to disappoint him. We walk around taking in the racks of clothes. I pretend to look at some jeans, before moving on the blouses and dresses. A cute little sundress catches my eye. It’s a light yellow with little blue flowers. The bodice is stretchy with a loose flowing skirt that would hit me just past my knees. It’s made so you can wear it off the shoulders or on, depending on your mood or the occasion. It’s in my size. Biting my lip, I debate whether or not I should torture myself by looking at the price. I know before I look, I can never afford it, but curiosity gets the better of me. I take a look at the tag before rapidly replacing the dress and quickly move on to the next rack. You could feed a small country for what they want for that dress.
The rest of our time goes much the same way. After thirty minutes, I’m frustrated and more than ready to leave this place behind. I need to just be honest with Luke and tell him I haven’t found anything I want, but then that wouldn’t really be true either. I found plenty of things I like; I just can’t afford them.
“I ready to go,” I tell Luke turning him. He studies me for a moment before he gives a nod. I’m expecting him to head toward the exit, but he instead wheels himself toward the counter. A clerk is waiting patiently while another woman I hadn’t noticed until this minute is carrying a stack of clothing to the counter. Luke speaks to the women for a minute, handing over a card. A few minutes later, the woman hands him his card. He turns making his way over to me.
“Come on, baby girl.” He wheels past me and out the door. “I have somewhere I want to take you.” He’s piqued my curiosity, so I follow along blindly, forgetting to ask him about his exchange with the clerks. We enter another store that has women’s cosmetics, lotions, and all types of beauty aids and skin care. I’m drooling over the variety of fragrances and types of lotions. Ibrowse the aisles. I find my favorite fragrance, vanilla coconut. I cringe at the prices Luke comes up beside me.
“What have you got there?” Luke inquires. I place the body wash back on the shelf.
“Nothing important,” I lie. “I was just seeing what it smells like.” He frowns at me as he picks up the bottle and sniffs it himself. His eyes widen before they flick up to meet my gaze. I turn to move on. I’m more than ready to leave this place. Yes, I have money I could buy a bottle of the wonderfully scented body wash and even a lotion or a body spray, but there are so many other things I should be spending my money on, instead of a luxury. I can get a bottle of body wash in a similar scent at Walmart or better yet a Dollar Store for less than half this price.
“Marley.” Luke’s voice is hard with disapproval. I turn back to see him scowling at me.
“What?” I snap, irritation at my situation and his insistence, leading to my poor response.
He sighs heavily. “What’s wrong?” he asks softly, but I don’t respond. “We’re supposed to be shopping. So far you haven’t picked out a thing.” I don’t want to lie to him, but I also don’t want to confess I can’t afford to be shopping. I know I have nothing salvageable from my home. I can’t keep wearing the same three or four outfits Dalton had picked up, but I don’t want charity either. My eyes begin to burn with unshed tears. I turn away. Just great! Here come the waterworks again for the millionth time. Sometimes I hate how sensitive I am. How easily my tears fall. Everyone sees it as weakness, and I suppose that’s true, but I truly can’t help it. They come of their own volition. I can rarely contain them which makes me angry and that results in more tears, because of course I cry over everything. Happy, sad, mad, or frustrated. Every emotion has a direct line to my eyes.
“Baby girl?” I turn to him, swiping at my face. He pulls me to him and I allow him to pull me onto his lap. I’m beginning tothink he needs to get a side car for my ass. He seems to want me on his level at all times. “Talk to me, please? What’s going on in here?” He gently taps my head.
“I appreciate you taking time out of your day to bring me shopping,” I begin, my breath hitching from trying to contain my near emotional outburst. “But I can’t really afford to go shopping right now. There are so many other pressing needs”—he starts to speak, but I hold him off— “I need to pay you back for the things you’ve already bought. I need to get my car back, find out if I can salvage my lease at my apartment. I can make do with what you’ve gotten me already until things improve.” I glance up at him expecting to see pity on his face, but I don’t. Annoyance. That’s what I see.
“Are you done?” he questions, irritably. I nod, because what else is there to say. “Good. Now listen to me.” He stares at me waiting for my agreement, which I give without hesitation. He’s done so much for me already. I can’t not listen to what he has to say. “Ibrought you shopping.Iwill be paying for your purchases. This is not something I’m willing to argue about. You can pick what you like or much like Dalton did the other day, I’ll get what I like for you. Either way, you’re getting clothes, shoes, toiletries, and things to make your life easier and happier. I won’t take no for an answer.”
I stare at him with pursed lips. I want to be angry, to argue, to honestly throw a temper tantrum like a two-year-old because it feels wrong to let him buy me things. I’ve never had anyone take care of me. Mom always frowned on accepting “charity”. Many times, we went without food or shelter because she refused to sign up for public assistance benefits after my dad left us. She worked hard, but oftentimes there wasn’t enough money to cover everything we needed, so we went without. At least until I got old enough to help contribute to our meager income. Not that I helped out a lot until I was old enough to work a legitimate job that paid a minimum wage salary.
